An unfortunate obstacle that has challenged Beau over the past few months is nightmares. Since the early fall he has routinely had bad dreams a couple times each week.
When the nightmares hit he will run into our room and jump into bed with us. While crying he will tell us he had a bad dream and then he will do something that a lot of us probably understand: he will refuse to go back to sleep.
Beau will kneel between Sid and I at the top of our bed and not dare close his eyes because he “doesn’t want to go back into it.” After my attempt to settle him down I will drift off to sleep only to awake an hour later to find Beau in the same position with eyes wide open. I vividly remember feeling that same fear when I was a little boy and I actually still feel it to this day. If I wake up from a nightmare I know the moment I even think about shutting an eye that I will find myself right back where I was prior to waking up.
Beau after a night of no bad dreams.
I recently did a Google search about peacefully falling back to sleep after a nightmare. Some good tips were given: turn on the TV to something lighthearted, eat a snack/drink some water, or find a pet and cuddle it for five minutes.
Perhaps the next time Beau comes into our room after a nightmare I will fix his favorite drink (hot milk). We don’t have any pets and although I could turn on a Peppa Pig episode I am so burnt out on that show I am pretty sure it would only trigger nightmares for Sid and I.
Maybe the best option after a nightmare is just to pray? I am sure some of our nightly prayers would do a good job at soothing Beau. As for my own bad dreams? I don’t think there is anything that could make the evil go away faster than reciting the St. Michael prayer.
But what about all of you? After considering the Google search and my own personal solution, do you have any remedies for returning to sleep after a nightmare? I would conclude this post by writing “sweet dreams” but I think that is a little cliché so I will just end like normal (which actually works 😂)…Don’t Blink.
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As a lifelong “Lucid” dreamer/nightmare survivor (I can still vividly remember my first dream when I was four or five. After too many nights months of terror, I finally ‘took control’ and told the most frightening dream characters to “go away!”. It worked. Still does today.
That’s a great tip, Jon. Funny how you mentioned that you remember your first dreams from when you were very young…I do too! I wonder if Beau will remember these dreams he has been having when he is my age.