Nightmares are a common manifestation of stress, trauma responses, and sleep disturbances. Sometimes individuals will experience repetitive nightmares that cause significant distress. The way to address this issue is using what is to use the Nightmare Protocol. It is used in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) as a distress tolerance tool.
Relaxation
The first step to this protocol is to engage in relaxation, mindfulness, or grounding tools. These might include meditation, safe space visualizations, engaging with the five senses, or making sure you have access to a supportive person. From there, the next step is to write down, draw, visualize, or use internal narrative to describe the nightmare in as much detail as possible, making sure to stay regulated. Should it become distressing take a break, reach out to your support person, or re-engage in mindfulness and grounding activities.
Description and Imagination
First describe the nightmare in as much detail as possible you can begin to reformulate the ending. Pick one that prevents or resolves the distressing parts of the nightmare. You can be realistic or use your imagination. This is your nightmare, and you get to decide how it goes. Once you have an alternate ending rewrite or describe the nightmare to include this resolution. Make sure to keep practicing your coping tools, and go over this new ending before bed, or even throughout the day. By practicing this you have the power to begin changing your nightmare and decrease the amount of distress it causes.
If this is challenging on your own, or you don’t have much practice with mindfulness or grounding it can be helpful to go through this process with the guidance of a trained mental health professional.