First I have to admit that my anxiety of concussions has troubled me ever since I passed out and hit my head twice in high school (not sure which led to which because of temporary memory loss). The symptoms were mainly dizziness and headache. MRI showed everything was normal and I haven't pass out after that, so hitting my head again became my biggest concern. And I did hit it again and again.

But what's the most disturbing is hitting my head in dreams, because they are totally out of control. The devastating impact feels as real as hitting my head in real life and sometimes I can even hear the sound of the hit. After these dreams I always sleep more hours than usual and feel less functional.

Sometimes it's related to the situation in dream, sometimes it just happens randomly. Sometimes my head is close to the wall after I wake up. These dreams happen more and more frequently recently (several times a week), and now I'm worried that I'm hurting myself while asleep.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar? Did you find out the cause?

Ive been dealing with night terrors for over 15 years. They used to be unbearable, and disturbing.....PTSD can bring them on for many....I had to find a balance so I medicate....Now just heavy dreaming, sometime annoying but I now get 8 hours of rest and sleep, instead of 1 to 3 hours of sleep and tossing and turning all night and angry.

Hi Ericc,
Welcome to NeuroTalk.

The cause is probably just because of the way dreams work. Sometimes we can casually come across something or hear about something in our daily life and for some reason dream about it the next time we sleep.

Dreaming about something that has happened in the past that hurt us and that now we're afraid of happening again is probably really common and understandable.

I've always been concerned and extra careful about slippery footpaths and stairs because I've fallen in the past and hurt myself very badly. I think that's totally "normal" whatever normal is for us. I used to avoid going up and down stairs though and that wasn't really a healthy situation but I got over that without too much criticism and eventually got on with my life. Still careful, but not as hesitant.

Just don't let it become all consuming or change your sleeping habits for the worse.

davOD, So sorry to read about your night terrors for so long too. That's horrible. It's good to hear you get better sleep these days, but gosh, 15 years. That's just way too long to deal with.

Thank you both for your patient replies.

I understand having nightmares is not that rare after these events. But I'm still concerned that I'm physically hurting myself during sleep because the pain in dreams feels so realistic. It usually wakes me up.

I admit this concern seems strange even to me if I haven't had these dreams so frequently. I will appreciate it if you have more suggestions.

Vivid dreams and nightmares can really affect how you feel for awhile.
If you had been bumping your head you would probably have sore spots or lump's.

It might be wise to explore your concerns relating to dreaming and head hit anxiety and why your dreams involve head hits. There might be books on that or see a specialist if it is affecting your life too much.

Personally I dont find it strange at all. I used to wake up from a night terror and still thought it was true, still happening....Some times I would just get up turn on lights , figure out what day it was, time, were am I, its goes on and on!

I still have nightmares from years ago that I remember!...That is one hell of a nightmare if you remember it for years!

When you say hurting yourself? Bruised, cut? any signs of injury? If not thats how intense they can be.....Its awful and I understand...I could wake up screaming in pain, or drenched in sweat, so get up and wake up, and the pain wasnt there.....

I now medicate with heavy Indicas (legaly) it has been a blessing, over and over....It was my shrink that pushed me in that direction as she had a few patients it was working well for...It works great for me, and I dont care about long term effects....Going on so long, unhappy, sleepless was killing me! I enjoy my peace now, and I actually look forward to going to bed and sleeping

Ericc,
Think practical changes first. Something else you could try is just rearranging your bed situation. Make it so that it's impossible to actually bump into the wall or the headboard or bedside table. You could be bumping when you roll over and it's waking you out of one of your sleep stages or disturbing the depth of sleep and setting off nightmares. Move further away.

Put pillows up around you or move the bed. See how it goes.

Practice good sleep hygiene as they call it. Get into a good routine. e.g. downtime before bed. improve sleeping environment. follow your sleep rhythm/body clock. etc. Easier said than done I know.

Another idea that Jomar reminded me about when talking about books. I have lucid dreams. Not all of them, but sometimes. I can change the ending of my dreams. It can be learned. There are books and articles about this and it's very interesting.

all the best...

Thanks again for your replies.

No, I haven't found bruises or cuts on my head after having these dreams. This may be a good sign, though I usually don't get bruises after hitting my head in real life either.

Actually I've tried putting pillows/stuffed toys around me, but it only worked for a while. Guess I should look into improving my sleep quality.

Ericc,

I agree with the need to learn good sleep hygiene. An added point for you is to purposely expose your mind to stimulations and experiences in the last hour before going to bed that replaces your head bump anxiety with entirely different thoughts.

It sounds like you are experiencing a PTSD like form of OCD. It takes effort to replace those thought patterns. It is a primitive thought level that is part of your mind's survival system. At this point, it is the beaten path of thought through your mind. You need to establish a better, safe path of thought.

You need to treat your mind like it is a toddler or puppy. It is predisposed to act impulsively due to the repeated anxieties. Telling your mind "No, Don't think that way." does not work any more than telling a toddler or puppy No. Replacement behaviors work better. In some cases, this is called CBT, Cognitive Behavior Therapy. That would be used for reactions to thoughts/events.

When you are asleep, you can't tell your mind NO or use CBT. Instead, try to replace the thoughts/behaviors before.

When I had dogs, they liked to bark. They would not respond to "No bark." I taught them to whisper. When they barked, I would replace that behavior with a command to "Whisper." Their minds switched to whisper. No problem. This replacement behavior also often works with toddlers.

You can use this with your brain. Find a stimuli that is not triggering but is able to grab your attention. It might be a music playlist, A video, a book to read. Full your mind with these non-triggering images, sounds, and words during the last hour before bed. Have your bedtime tasks done before settling down with this so that when you get in bed, nothing breaks your stream of thought related to the last stimulations you experienced.

I'll explain how I use this. 20 years ago, my mind would not let go of the days events and just relax. I found a few videos that I would watch as that last stimulation. I watched Celtic Woman performances hundreds of times as I prepared to get a good night's sleep. My mind had their music and dancing playing. I learned to get great sleep. Before I learned this, I dreaded trying to sleep. I had stressful dreams and never got a good nights sleep.

After I over came by early struggles, I not longer needed to listen to "The Girls" to be ready to sleep, BUT. I still needed to use medication to help me sleep as my body liked to jerk and react to every tactile sensation and heard every sound. I took gabapentin for 22 years before bed. It helped my mind ignore those tactile sensations.

I recently decided to stop taking gabapentin after realizing it might be causing a side effect I did not like. 4 weeks ago, I stopped cold turkey. I entered gabapentin withdrawal and the miserable insomnia it caused. Now, I heard and felt every sensation and would get stuck paying attention to them. I was not falling asleep until 3 or 4 am.

So, I used replacement behavior to overcome this. I started listening to comforting music 30 minutes before going to bed. For me, a long time favorite has been Diana Krall, The Look of Love album.

Now, when I get in bed, my mind is replaying the melody and even words of those songs. It has something comforting to focus on and is able to ignore the ticking clock, my wife's breathing, the cool sheets, and such.

I know others in the TBI community who need to use these techniques to go to sleep, even 15 years after their TBI.

Videos are best in the beginning because they occupy both auditory and visual sensory channels. Having a small library of videos or YouTube channels can fit the need. Repeats can work. I watch How To channels, 4x4 channels (MischiefmakerTV), towing and recovery channels (Matt's Off Road Recovery), sailing channels, and more. They all do not leave me with any triggered thoughts.

It takes work and experimenting to find the substitute stimulation but the work pays great benefits. My sleep is so good, I usually wake up naturally after 7 hours.

It is important that you know you do not have other issues. I have Central Sleep Apnea. It can also cause stressful sleep and even nightmares. I have it under control most of the time. If I have a nightmare about being trapped underwater and struggling to get to the surface, I had a apnea episode. I know I need to correct my sleep posture.

A FitBit or other biometric watch can track some of your sleep behaviors.

I hope this helps.

My best to you.