Dreaming in Times of Collective Crisis: A nocturnal perspective on Ukraine
Recently I dreamt I was standing on a rocky, mountainous ridge, the stone an iron colour, like dust mixed with blood. I am looking for a way down, and all the options seem treacherous. Suddenly, the ground begins to split under my feet, a massive slice of it neatly dropping away. It feels as if
Nightmares and the Nervous System: A new way to understand and treat nightmares
In the world of trauma therapy, a paradigm shift has been taking place over the past decade or so, a marked shift toward embodied and somatic approaches to the understanding and healing of trauma. The polyvagal theory by Dr. Stephen Porges has led clinicians to consider that much of what was previously viewed as pathological
Treating Trauma and Addiction with the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model: A Bottom-Up Approach
A timely and compassionate book on treating trauma and addiction using the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model. Just at a time when the wider world is waking up to a more compassionate and inclusive way of understanding trauma and addiction, a timely book that addresses these issues in personal, historical, embodied and practical ways has arrived.
A shift in dreaming patterns from the first to second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic A year and a half ago, as the full scope of the pandemic that was descending on us became apparent, there was a global increase in severe stress, worry, fear and uncertainty. Reports of heightened dream recall and dream vividness
Dreaming with our hearts as well as our minds
New research uncovers a brain-body network that creates our dreams So much of the research into how and why we dream has focused on the brain rather than the body… with the possible exception of nightmares where physiological fear responses are clearly a part of the experience. My sense of dreaming has always been that
Three kinds of evidence to suggest they do! Everything that makes us what we are, from the structure of our limbs down to the arrangement of our cells has been selected to give us an advantage over thousands of years of evolution. So, by this logic, dreams must increase our chances of survival in some
Does Your Child Have Nightmares?
When should you be concerned, and what should you do? All of us can clearly recall at least one heart-pounding, fear-inducing nightmare from childhood that startled us out of our sleep. Whether it was a chasing dragon or a precipitous fall from a great height, it felt so real it left us shaken long after
Does Your Child Wake Up Screaming? How to understand and treat night terrors
I used to dread going to bed when we lived in my lovely heritage apartment in Vancouver. Every night, about two hours after falling asleep, I would be startled awake by the most blood-curdling, agonizing screaming from the woman next door. Her window faced ours, and she sounded as though she was being murdered in
Dream Changes During the Pandemic Reflect Massive Collective Trauma
A multinational study concludes that dreams are a reflection of massive collective trauma, and that dreams and dream recall must be integrated into approaches for improving mental health and health in general. By Dr. Leslie Ellis Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has collectively been dreaming more, and our dreams have reflected