Nightmares: What They Reveal About Our Emotional State
8 min read
Sofia veil
Anxiety
Sleep
Trauma
CBT
EMDR
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Nightmares are unsettling dreams that leave us feeling distressed upon waking. They serve as valuable indicators of our emotional state, often signaling stress, anxiety, or underlying trauma. But why do we have nightmares? What roles do they play, and what causes them? More importantly, how can we restore peaceful sleep when nightmares become overwhelming? Let’s break it down together.
What Purpose Do Nightmares Serve?
As unpleasant as they may be, nightmares play an important role in our psychological balance. During REM sleep, the phase where dreams are most vivid, the brain actively processes and assimilates experiences from the day. Nightmares might act as a way for our mind to "digest" emotions, helping to externalize repressed tensions and anxieties. In this sense, they function as an emotional release.
Their nature also depends on personal and emotional context. A single nightmare may be a reaction to temporary stress, whereas recurring nightmares might indicate a deeper issue that requires action or introspection.
A nightmare could be a sign that our mind is trying to process a strong emotion or unresolved trauma (Walker et al., 2009). This is why individuals who have experienced traumatic events (accidents, assaults, grief) often report recurring nightmares on the same theme. Their brain is attempting to reintegrate the experience and lessen its emotional impact.
Some theories suggest that nightmares have an adaptive function. They may be a mechanism inherited from human evolution when our ancestors needed to remain constantly alert to predators or social conflicts. Nightmares may have emerged as a way to help us better anticipate and manage dangers.
The threat simulation theory (Revonsuo, 2000) suggests that the brain uses dreams, including nightmares, as a way to rehearse responses to potential dangers.
In other words, a nightmare could be an unconscious alarm, urging us to react to a difficult real-life situation (work-related stress, relationship problems, suppressed fears).
Possible Causes of Nightmares
Nightmares can stem from various sources. Here are the most common ones:
- Stress and Anxiety
Periods of intense stress can trigger nightmares. Chronic anxiety may manifest in recurring dream scenarios, often featuring deep fears (loss of control, imminent danger, failure, etc.). - Unprocessed Emotional Overload
Sometimes, our unconscious mind expresses emotions through nightmares when we struggle to manage them consciously. Repressed fears, internal conflicts, or unexpressed emotions can resurface in distressing dream scenarios. - Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
People who have experienced traumatic events (accidents, assaults, loss of a loved one) often suffer from sleep disturbances (Gill et al., 2023). Recurrent nightmares are common and usually indicate that the...