NIGHT TERRORS: SCREAMS FROM YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS

Dreams are said to be the oldest language known to man yet for many they remain misunderstood. For example, many fear and reject their nightmares; versus respecting and embracing them for the important messages they hold.

Night terrors are not only dreams where you are paralyzed with fear, but are dreams where fear, upset, and anxiety are felt well into the waking state. Night terrors do not happen over night; rather they are a result of several previous dreams that have gone ignored.

What Night Terrors Reveal

Night terrors are messages repeated from your subconscious. They are communications that, at times, literally SCREAM at you (or make you SCREAM!). Night terrors are akin to you trying to verbally communicate with someone who is deaf: no matter how loud you speak, the person cannot hear you. Night terrors occur because your subconscious knows you are not listening to it. As many dreams as it may have sent to you, you have responded with a deaf ear.

Not surprising, the more you're willing to recall and understand your dreams, the less likely you are to have nightmares. Night terrors have no purpose when you're listening to your nightly dreams. Night terrors are like a crisis: they surface because a person refuses to see the signs along the path of life. As long as you're willing to address issues as they arise, there's no reason for a crisis to occur.

Night terrors have a unique way of triggering an emotional response. They are able to catch your attention unlike anything else. Your body reacts with a quickening pulse, sweaty palms and feet, and elevated blood pressure. All of this is a result of the fear and adrenaline moving through your physical, mental and emotional energy centers.

Research reveals that fifty percent of your dreams can be classified as nightmares. In truth, this depends on the individual. For again, those who are willing to dig into their dreams, understand them and apply their meaning, have far fewer night terrors than those who choose to remain unaware and in denial.

Using Your Dreams for Healing

One of the worst things you can do is to ignore your dreams, but even more destructive is the temptation to BLOW OFF your nightmares! They will keep recurring with greater intensity, and if they go unheeded, a negative situation is likely to occur. I once worked with a client who had three recurring nightmares of broken plumbing within her house. After the second dream, this client had her pipes checked out by a local contractor. Upon a thorough investigation she was told the plumbing in her house was fine. Then after the third recurring dream, she visited her physician and discovered that she had polyps in her colon, which if left untreated could lead to colon cancer. After taking steps toward healing her colon, the dreams stopped and never returned. To this day, she is in excellent health and regularly uses her dream journal as her own internal physician.

Most night terrors however stem from an inner conflict within the dreamer. This may involve a fear of confrontation, feeling controlled or manipulated by another, or overall feelings of powerlessness. Common nightmare themes include being pursues or chased, feeling trapped or suffocated, and free falling. Record your dreams and learn to interpret your dream themes and symbols.

You have the ability to understand and prevent night terrors from occurring through your willingness to work with your dreams. Each nightmare contains a very valuable lesson. Respect them. Embrace them. Learn from them.

Copyright © 2003 Laura V. Hyde, All rights reserved. If you are interested in publishing this article, please email contact@selfhealingexpressions.com.