New Study Examines Complex Relationship Between Nightmares, Suicide and Depression
A recent study refutes the research which shows nightmares are indicators of increased risk of suicide. A group of Swedish researchers (Hedström et al., 2020) studied a group of more than 40,000 participants with an average follow-up of 19 years and found the rate of suicide linked to depression was not worsened by nightmares. Their
No need to fear the Old Hag: Sleep Paralysis briefly explained
Locals will warn you never to sleep on your back in Newfoundland, or risk a visit from the Old Hag. She steals in on the night fog just as you are falling asleep. She is an apparition that crawls up from the foot of your bed and sits on your chest so heavily you can’t
Turning Toward Our Nightmares: How This Paradoxical Move Helps Us
The surprising thing about nightmares is that there is nothing to fear. This is not to dismiss them. They feel absolutely real, and our heart-pounding response to them is also very real. But as frightening as the characters and situations nightmares depict may be, the dreams themselves are like paper tigers, playing out on the
A Brief Introduction to Experiential Dreamwork
Have you noticed that your dreams are more dynamic and intense during these uncertain times? You are not alone. Many people are reporting increased nightmares and disturbed dreaming, and want to know what this means and what to do with their dreams. This introductory course in experiential dreamwork will give participants several simple yet powerful
How Focusing Can Help During the COVID-19 Crisis
There are countless resources being freely offered right now to help us all manage the stress and trauma of COVID-19. This article offers some specific practices that are based on focusing, a gentle, embodied way of sensing inside that is particularly well-suited for managing overwhelm. Focusing is a soothing practice for all forms of regulation:
Dreamwork for Yourself, a guided, leisurely journey
Dreamwork for Yourself: Syllabus, March/April 2020 This pilot course will take you on a journey, via your dreams, deep into your inner world. As a cohort, we will explore various personal practices aimed at recalling, recording and then deeply experiencing our own dreams. We will learn what works best for each of us as
Working With Your Dream: How to journal associations
This is a sample of one of the written prompts for the course, a free offering to give you a sense of how to use journaling to explore associations to your dream. The course will go beyond this to include both written and live group discussion, video presentations, responses to questions and more. It’s not
Do your dreams both fascinate and mystify you? We have answers!
Dreams are invaluable allies in our relationship with ourselves, but for most people, they seem like a nonsensical mystery, or they are barely ever recalled. How do we remember and make sense of them? I have some answers for you… When I wrote my first book, A Clinician’s Guide to Dream Therapy (Routledge, 2019), I
Come home to yourself via your dreams
Is your inner life getting lost in the fray? Are you feeling overwhelmed with information, tasks and all the shiny objects that bombard us from the online world? Yes, this is another invitation, but one with a difference. This is an invitation to slow down and look inward, an opportunity to come home to yourself