Trauma Fueled Nightmares and Night Terrors with PTSD

Therapy in a Nutshell

Therapy in a Nutshell -Emma McAdam

Mental Health, Health & Fitness, Education, Health & Fitness:mental Health, Self-improvement

4.8 • 657 Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Learn how to stop nightmares and night terrors in adults, understand PTSD-related sleep issues, and get practical treatment tips for better rest and recovery. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership What’s the difference between nightmares and night terrors—and how do you stop them, especially in adults? In this video, we break down nightmares vs night terrors, including how they relate to PTSD, trauma, and stress. Learn how to recognize the signs of nightmare disorder, and what treatments like Imagery Rehearsal Therapy, trauma-focused therapy, and sleep hygiene can do to help. We also explore night terrors in adults, which are rare but sometimes linked to PTSD. Whether you're seeking effective night terrors treatment, support for trauma-related sleep issues, or just want to understand why your sleep feels so disturbing, this video offers insight and real tools. If you or a loved one suffer from intense dreams or frightening sleep episodes, you’re not alone—and healing is possible. #Nightmares #NightTerrors #NightTerrorsInAdults #HowToStopNightmaresInAdults #NightmareDisorder #PTSD #sleeptherapy Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell Learn more in one of my in-depth mental health courses: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com Support my mission on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/therapyinanutshell Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.therapyinanutshell.com Check out my favorite self-help books: https://kit.co/TherapyinaNutshell/best-self-help-books Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger Institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction. And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services. Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to another episode of the Therapy in a Nutshell podcast. I'm Emma McAdam and I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist.
0:09.0	And this podcast is all about taking the life-changing, but usually kind of complicated topics of therapy and boiling them down into simple, easy-to-understand concepts that you can use in your daily life. If you find today's
0:21.7	episode is helpful to you, please pass it on to someone else who could benefit from it as well.
0:25.7	Each podcast episode comes from a corresponding video you can find on the Therapy in a
0:30.0	nutshell YouTube channel. Also, these podcasts are educational and don't replace the advice
0:34.6	or direction you may be receiving from a therapist or other health professionals.
0:38.3	Now please enjoy the episode.
0:40.3	A friend recently described to me a time when she woke up to her toddler's screams in the middle of the night.
0:46.3	She found her daughter standing on her bed, eyes wide open, and screaming with fear.
0:51.3	As she tried to calm her three-year-old, it quickly became obvious that the child was still asleep.
0:57.0	And she couldn't wake her up. My friend eventually got her daughter to lie back down and close her eyes,
1:02.0	but it was pretty upsetting for them both. Now my friend thought her daughter was having a really awful nightmare, but actually it was a night terror.
1:10.0	Both nightmares and night terrors are pretty common in kids.
1:13.6	In adults, they may be a symptom of underlying trauma.
1:17.6	And in this video, I'll explain the difference between night terrors and nightmares,
1:21.6	as well as some things you can do to alleviate both.
1:32.3	Nightmereers and night terrors are often lumped together, but they're actually quite different. If you have PTSD or a history of trauma, nightmares can be a really common symptom.
1:37.3	But I've recently learned that night terrors can also be a symptom of trauma occasionally.
1:42.3	Usually not, but sometimes. So today we're going to break
1:45.7	down the differences so that you can know what to do about them, whether for yourself or a loved one.
1:51.7	Okay, so what are nightmares? You're probably more familiar with nightmares because you might
1:56.1	remember having one. That's one of the things that differentiates them from night terrors.
	...

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