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Researching Dreams pp 147–161Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Nightmares

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Abstract

Nightmares are defined as very negatively toned dreams and have been experienced by many from time to time. If they occur very often and cause clinically significant distress, a nightmare disorder should be diagnosed. The etiology of nightmares is explained by a disposition-stress model; in addition, traumata and psychoactive drugs might play a role. Interestingly, research has provided evidence that simple cognitive interventions like the imagery rehearsal therapy are very effective for coping with nightmares.

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  1. Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany

    Michael Schredl

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Schredl, M. (2018). Nightmares. In: Researching Dreams. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95453-0_7

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