Nightmares
If you find yourself experiencing nightmares you may be suffering from one of the following conditions:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD is a disorder brought on as a result of a severe trauma (outside the realm of the typical human experience). The "trauma" can vary but examples are a life-threatening event, seeing another person killed or seriously injured, or being the victim of physical or sexual assault. To the individual, the event becomes one that is constantly relived and re-experienced. They have intrusive, recurring thoughts or nightmares about the event. The individual will constantly look to avoid situations or circumstances that are similar to the event and they may actually block out the memory of the event.
Depression
Depression is one of a range of moods a person feels that can vary from feeling down as a result of having a bad day, to a debilitating feeling of sadness that may overwhelm you and prevent you from performing normal daily tasks. Depression can occur in people of all ages and the episodes can last from a few days to several weeks or months. It is thought that young adults experience depression more frequently, and that it affects twice as many women as men.
Panic Disorder (Panic Attacks)
Panic disorder is an anxiety based disorder in which the individual has sudden, recurring feelings of terror that strike with no warning. It affects at least 1.6% of Americans and it can appear at any age. These episodes are called panic attacks. A panic attack is mainly characterized by periods of intense fear or discomfort. It has a sudden onset that gradually builds to the most intense point of the attack within approximately 10 minutes. During a panic attack the individual reports feelings of intense doom or a sense of pending danger or disaster. People experiencing these attacks will try to flee from the place where the attack is occurring. They also report that the feelings are so intense that they were fearful that they may lose control, have a heart attack, go "crazy" or even die. It is important to realize that each individual experiences these symptoms at varying levels.