{"id":16567,"date":"2013-02-04T11:14:05","date_gmt":"2013-02-04T19:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?page_id=16567"},"modified":"2018-07-06T13:40:48","modified_gmt":"2018-07-06T20:40:48","slug":"nightmare","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/nightmare\/","title":{"rendered":"Nightmare"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TheA nightmare<\/strong>\u00a0is an upsetting or frightening dream.<\/p>\n

What is a Nightmare?<\/h2>\n

Nightmares are common, and some dream studies have shown that about 75% of dreams are negative. The content of nightmares varies greatly from person to person, and may include painful memories, realistic but fear-inducing scenarios, or fantastical scenes of monsters and ghosts. Nightmares are particularly common among children<\/a>, who frequently dream of frightening but unrealistic scenarios. Among very young children, nightmares can be especially upsetting because they may not understand that the nightmares are not real or that the scenes in the dreams could not happen.<\/p>\n

\n\t

Find a Therapist<\/a><\/h2>\n\t
\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\tAdvanced Search<\/a>\n\t<\/form>\n<\/div>\n

What Causes Nightmares?<\/h2>\n

Many scientists believe that dreams play an important role in memory, learning, and processing the day’s events. Nightmares are a slight variation on this, and may be a way for people to deal with fears<\/a> and address trauma. However, some factors make nightmares more likely, including:<\/p>\n