Have you ever had scary dreams and asked yourself, ‘Why do I keep having violent dreams.’ You’re not alone!
Some violent dreams would seem as if you are experiencing them in real life. You’ll even feel so scared to fall asleep the moment you wake up from such dreams.
Several factors can cause violent dreams, and those factors are what we’re here to discuss. We will also share ways you can prevent yourself from having violent dreams. Keep reading to get more details.
Why Do I Keep Having Violent Dreams
Are you constantly having violent dreams and feeling disturbed by them? Anyone in your shows will feel disturbed when they keep having violent dreams.
Sometimes, after violent dreams, most people wake up unhappy, tired, and lose their sharpness. The feeling can get even worse when one can recall the dream they dreamt at night.
You can stop violent dreams you keep having from occurring and ruining your life. The first step is to understand the cause and then the possible solution.
As said earlier, several things cause violent dreams. Let’s dive in.
1: The movies you watched triggered it
Are you a big scary movie or crime scene buff? If your answer is yes, you might experience nightmares.
However, some people may not experience nightmares or violent dreams after watching horror movies. Why? They are already used to the thrill and anxiety of watching such movies.
On the other hand, some people might be unlucky. In this case, the unlucky ones are those who experience violent dreams or nightmares after watching horror movies. Why? The film has activated the fight or flight response in them.
How do you know the horror movies you watch are the cause of your violent dreams? You’ll feel anxious and scared while watching a horror movie.
If this happens while watching a horror movie, remember you might experience violent dreams. Note that human beings are wired to develop anxiety while responding to threats.
Most people may argue that horror movies aren’t real, so there’s no way they can cause nightmares. However, it’s not about the horror movie being real or fake. It’s about how the brain reacts to the content.
Horror movies, whether real or fake, create a form of fear in one’s brain. In addition, if you have anxiety or trauma, horror movies can trigger fear and cause you to experience nightmares.
The anxiety will heighten the fear, increasing your chances of having violent dreams. Seeing blood and watching how people are being slaughtered violently may not only create fear in your mind. It may lead you to start pondering upon the safety of your loved ones for no reason.
Here’s another way to understand why you may have nightmares after watching horror movies. When you view a violent image, the brain captures and notes it. When you sleep or relax, the brain plays the information stored in your memory.
The brain reminds itself that you saw something that could be of great interest, thanks to the heightened emotion caused by the image you saw.
The Solution: There are ways you can watch horror movies and not have nightmares. One of them is to discuss the film with someone close to you and dwell more on the scariest parts.
Make a giant effort to express stored negative emotions you have locked up in your brain. When you share such negative emotions, you’ll have less repressed energy.
The target is to starve your brain of as much negative energy from the movie as possible. Don’t allow it to have access to more negative stories to work with.
When you go to sleep with less fear and anxiety, your chances of experiencing a violent dream becomes very slim.
In addition, don’t just jump into your bed and start sleeping after watching the movie. Even after discussing the horror movie with your friend, and focusing on the scary parts, endeavor to watch something lightheaded before sleeping.
This way, you may decrease your chances of having violent dreams.
2: There is violence on your mind:
Have you wondered why you don’t dream about Tom’s uncle, whom you have never met or know facially? That’s because dreams are a product of the materials we have in our heads.
Your brain takes materials from different events, tosses them together, and produces what you experience as a dream when you sleep at night. It’s just like putting different ingredients in a blender and blending them.
That said, you have a violent dream because you have violence locked up in your mind. As we said in number one, the violence may have stemmed from a movie you watched or a book you read. It can also be a violent event you witnessed or a violent video you watched.
In a nutshell, you’re having violent dreams could be the violence you have in your mind.
The Solution: The solution is identical to the one for horror movie buffs. Here, you need to rid your mind of any violence, so it can start projecting non-violent dreams.
If you watch horror movies often and notice you keep getting a series of violent dreams, take a break. Staying away from violent films or movies, in general, might help.
If you can’t just stop watching horror movies or true crime series, then ensure you binge on something lightheaded or non-violent before you sleep. You can watch a romantic movie or read a similar book, and you’ll be fine.
3: A traumatic experience:
Did you have a series of traumatic experiences as a child, teenager, or adult? If yes, you have the answer to why you keep getting violent dreams.
Trauma experienced during childhood can continuously replay itself in your dream, causing violent dreams and sleepless nights. And anything can be responsible.
For instance, children who repeatedly watched their drunken father beat up their mother may experience trauma. In addition, people living in rough neighborhoods and experiencing violence almost daily may experience trauma, leading to violent dreams.
Hearing the screams, fights, and gunshots in rough neighborhoods can traumatize one. The events witnessed might culminate in violent dreams.
The Solution: The solution is relatively straightforward. If you’re in a violent neighborhood, leave if you can. Violent neighborhoods aren’t the best place to train a child.
The reason is that the events happening around the child will cause trauma. And such trauma could have a long-lasting impact on the innocent child.
Children cannot make decisions by themselves. So, decide for your child. Move out of the neighborhood before it gets too late.
See a counselor if you experienced your father beating your mother as a child. A counselor will choose the best program to help rid your mind of those traumatic experiences of seeing your father beat up your mother.
4: Violent dreams influenced by medication:
Have you had a series of violent dreams after taking a specific medication? If yes, then that medication is the culprit.
Drugs have a unique way of altering the brain’s chemistry. Thus, if you have a violent dream when you sleep, hold the medication you’re taking responsible.
Drugs like antidepressants can have a massive impact on one’s brain. There are reports of beta blockers and antidepressants causing nightmares and vivid dreams. These drugs alter the chemicals in the brain.
Does this imply that antidepressants and beta blockers are violent to one’s health? On the contrary, they’re not. According to doctors’ prescriptions, patients are advised to take drugs that have powerful effects on the brain.
Conclusion
Why do I keep having violent dreams? You have such dreams for several reasons. If you’re a crime or horror movie buff, you may experience violent dreams when you sleep.
Trauma experienced during childhood can also cause violent dreams. Another is medication or violence in your mind.
You can address the cause of your violent dream by taking bold steps. Read the solution we gave for each challenge mentioned.
For instance, if you’re a horror or crime movie buff, endeavor to reduce or stop watching such movies, and you’ll witness some improvement.
For those with traumatic experiences from childhood, a counselor can help design a program to help restructure the mind. Furthermore, if you live in a rough neighborhood, make plans to relocate.
