Recently, the team of ThePleasantDream, to understand the effect of trauma on people’s dreams conducted a survey.
502 people participated in the survey from across the globe. Among them, 92.2% of the participants had experienced a traumatic event in their lives.
Of the 502 participants, the maximum participation came from the United States of America, with 51%, followed by 19% from India.
The team collected data through an online survey conducted on the website and on social media platforms.
Let’s see what the research revealed.
Demographics of the survey participants
Of the 502 participants, 52.9% belonged to the age bracket of 21-35 years, followed by 16.7% falling in the age bracket of 15-20 years. Further, 11.8% of the participants belonged to the age bracket of 40-55 years.
Besides, the major participation came from female respondents as they comprise of 68.6% and male participants are 31.4%.
Furthermore, the survey received major participation from The USA (51%) and India (19%). Besides these, 7% of the participants were from Canada, 5% were from the UK, and 3% were from Australia. Further, 13% of the participants were from Jamaica, Bangladesh, Nepal, Serbia, and other countries.
50% of the participants were working professionals, followed by 26.5% who were students. Additionally, 11.8% of the participants were entrepreneurs.
What do the statistics say?
92.2% of the participants said that they did experience a traumatic event in their life. These traumatic events could have been a nasty breakup, the death of a loved one, or the loss of a job, etc. 7.8% of the participants answered that they have never experienced trauma in their lives.
Again, out of 92.2% of the participants, 80.4% people said that they had experienced traumatic or weird dreams after the traumatic event. On the contrary, 19.6% did not experience any traumatic dreams following their traumatic experience.
What was the most common recurrent nightmare after the incident?
18% of participants answered “being chased” as the most common nightmare they experienced after a traumatic event in their life. Followed by “unprepared for an examination” and “falling from a high altitude,” with 18% and 16%, respectively.
Besides these, various other distressing dream scenarios were mentioned by the participants, as can be seen from the below-given graph.
How often do people experience traumatic dreams?
The participants were asked ‘how often they had traumatic dreams?’ The team received a variation of answers –
- 30.4% of participants experienced traumatic dreams “once a week.”
- 21.6% of participants encountered “once a month.”
- 17.6% suffered from traumatic dreams once in “2-3 months.”
- 15.7% of participants answered “once a year.”
- 14.7% of participants struggle with traumatic dreams “every day.”
Do people still experience these traumatic dreams?
Experiencing trauma can often leave a person in a shattered and agonizing condition for a long time, so the team asked the participants if they still experienced traumatic dreams. To this, their answers were –
- 51% answered “Yes.”
- 49% answered “No.”
What was the preferred coping mechanism to deal with their traumatic dreams?
Traumatic dreams can be filled with anxiety and can severely hamper sleep.
One common characteristic of such dreams is that they are recurring in nature, i.e., once a person experiences trauma, they may repeatedly see some traumatizing dreams after the incident.
When asked how they managed their traumatic dreams, participants gave the following answers:
- 42% answered “keeping busy” is the best way to cope with traumatic dreams.
- 17% of respondents answered, “Talking to a loved one.”
- 14% of respondents answered “meditation.”
- 7% of respondents each answered “psychologist” and “journaling.”
- 4% are still dealing with traumatic dreams
- 3% claimed that weird dreams/nightmares stopped for them automatically.
- 1% of respondents answered “Qi Gong,” “Playing games,” and “Praying.”
Expert’s Opinion
Dr. Nereida Gonzalez-Berrios, MD, reviewer and certified psychiatrist of ThePleasantDream, commented, “Traumatic events can severely impact the inner framework in our brains, and people can also experience a change in their dreaming patterns.”
She further added, “Most people experience traumatic events during adulthood, something which is corroborated with the findings of the survey as well. The survey also revealed that working professionals suffer the most from traumatic dreams.
This happens as adulthood is the most stressful time when people are busy juggling their careers, relationships, along with their familial obligations. “
While talking about the coping mechanisms of traumatic dreams, Dr. Nereida said, “It’s unfortunate that the majority (40.2%) have chosen to distract themselves rather than heal the root cause of these distressing dreams.
Healing the trauma could significantly reduce or even stop the occurrence of such dreams.”
She further elaborated, “People need to consult a mental health professional or resort to journaling & meditation to start their healing journey. This would greatly benefit them and enable them to enjoy a peaceful & refreshing sleep.”
