about

Hi, I'm ZeldaNES. I'm an eighteen year old senior in high school. I'm a nerd, gamer, and I love literature.

Mental health is a category I know a lot about because I'm constantly around mental health services. I actually have clinical depression, SAD, and an anxiety disorder that I've been dealing with my entire life. I've been in treatment for about three years now, so any answers about those particular topics will have some experience behind it.

Feel free to ask anything you want.

advice

Hello. I usually have a lot of trouble sleeping and I've had nightmares before, but last night I had a really awful nightmare. I'm not sure of all of it, but I remember this really distorted face and I'm guessing it was a woman in the corner of my room and she kept coming closer and closer and her mouth was opening and I was terrified. It took me a moment to realize I was half awake and screaming. It was even worse that I was home alone, so I ran out of my room and to my kitchen where the light was.
I'm wondering if it's the medication I took, "hydroxyzine", that my doctor prescribed to help me sleep, but my mother's taken it before and said she never had nightmares and I can't find anything in the side effects. And while I only plan to take this once a week, I'm almost scared to go to sleep tonight because of how severe the nightmare was. I'm also prone to continuing dreams or repeating dreams, usually within that same week, so I'm not sure what to do. I really do not want this nightmare to come back because I've never been so scared in my life. I was in tears because it was so scary and I couldn't get back to sleep after I woke up. I want to know if there's a way to keep this dream away or if it has anything to do with my medication. If it's the medication, is there anything else I can do to help my insomnia aside from using prescriptions?

I used to have violent and terrifying nightmares constantly, so I understand where you're coming from, but you shouldn't be afraid to sleep. The best thing to do after a nightmare that is really frightening is to turn on a light and do something to distract yourself from the dream, like reading a book for instance. When you feel like you've relaxed and calmed down, try going to sleep again. Nightmares rarely ever continue in the same night after waking up.

As for the insomnia, the only advice I can think of would be to drink some chamomile tea. It can help you sleep. Another more expensive option would be to look into doing a sleep study with a psychologist who specializes in sleep disorders. I can tell you from experience that it definitely helps with insomnia, and while it may cost more, the results are normally a long term solution.

I hope everything works out for you.

[view]

<<< Previous Advice Column
Next Advice Column >>>
eXTReMe Tracker