Nightmares: How Do Nightmares Develop?
Nightmares like most other problems can start with something tiny, or indeed something significant. Many books will be written under the pretense that they are able to diagnose everything about a dream and its causes - this is simply a great way to sell books! The actual causes of nightmares can be anything from a defect of the brain, to events in everyday life - such as seeing a disturbing image, or encountering a new fear. In short, nightmares are not always spurred by important events as most people will suggest, most are purely random, in fact - the only time that there is cause for worry is when this is not the case. It is an unfortunate fact that some people suffer terrible plight at some point in their life, I will not go into depth on repressed memories here, but it will serve to say that they are thoughts locked away in the back of the mind due to their nature. Of course when one falls asleep, the subconscious mind is given much more freedom, and sometimes these trapped memories come back to haunt the dreamer, which will not only affect the quality of sleep, but also a persons daily life. In these cases nightmares can be difficult to dispel, especially if they frequently recur.
Next: Difference Between Nightmares And Night Terrors?