Blogpost 6: A Nightmare on Elm Street: Nightmares

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 2010 American horror film that is a remake of Wes Craven's 1984 film of the same name. The story revolves around several teenagers who are stalked and killed in their dreams by an enigmatic man named Freddy Krueger. The teenagers were not aware about the cause of this strange phenomenon but their parents hold a dark secret about this from the past.

This is a movie that really scared the crap out of me. Just imagine having a killer in your dreams and you can't get rid of him because you need to sleep every night to rest and you just dream about him every time. You will need to fight him, run as fast as you can and get away from him every night in your dreams just to stay alive. Well, that would just be so difficult and you probably won't be able to rest and sleeping would just be harder than being awake. This movie also made me wonder what is a nightmare really all about and what can we do about it?

According to the article entitled Common Questions About Nightmares by International Association for the Study of Dreams, a nightmare is a very distressing dream which usually forces at least partial awakening. The dreamer may feel any of the following emotions in a nightmare: anger, guilt, sadness or depression. The most common feelings are fear and anxiety. Just about everyone has this at one time or another, although they are less common in adults. Some nightmares can be caused by certain drugs or medications or it can also be by illness and fever. Many people experience nightmares after they have suffered a traumatic event, such as surgery, the loss of a loved one, an assault or a severe accident. Other people experience this when they are undergoing stress in their waking lives. Finally, some people experience frequent nightmares that seem unrelated to their waking lives. These people tend to be more creative, sensitive, trusting and emotional than average. 

"It may be surprising to learn that many people are not really disturbed by their nightmares, even though the experiences themselves are distressing. Research has shown that about half of people who have quite frequent nightmares regard them as fascinating and creative acts of their minds, and either view them as very interesting or dismiss them as 'just dreams'. This illustrates the fact that one's attitude toward nightmares is quite important."

I believe that a person's attitude toward anything, not just nightmares, is really important. It always falls down on how we look at things and how we take them. Just like in nightmares, sometimes, I feel like it's just a mindset that we shouldn't get affected by tit because they're just dreams. If you think your nightmares are frequent, too disturbing or distressing, consulting a therapist would be good. You should never hesitate to consult a therapist, if you really need one. 

I believe that nightmares can be lessened or even prevented if only people are knowledgeable about it. Movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street may be really scary but just like what I always say, movies are just for entertainment. So, next time you watch a movie like this, you should keep in mind that it's not true and you shouldn't really be scared of it.