Summarize the following:
A bad dream can leave strong images in your mind that are difficult to forget. If you have a bad dream and can’t forget it, find a way to distract your mind. You could get out of bed for a few minutes. Consider watching peaceful images of a beach or mountains from a sleep or meditation app on one of your devices.  Leave your bedroom for a bit and sit or lie someplace relaxing. Turn on a dim light if that helps you feel better. Read, watch a funny show, or listen to soft music, all of which can divert your attention from the nightmare. Show a pet some love, which can calm you and help you forget the dream. Talking to your pet may also help you. For example, stroke your cat and say, “Hello Socks, would you like to snuggle for a bit? What a good kitty you are. Listen to you purr. That makes me happy.” Load apps on one of your devices that promote sleep and/ or meditation. These often have soothing music and images that can distract your mind and relax you. Cognitive reframing is a technique that has you step back from a situation and alter its various aspects. Change out terrifying parts of a bad dream positive images. Reframing the storyline of your bad dream with different and happy images can help you forget its details. In turn, this can help you relax and get back to sleep.  Keep in mind how often you forget dreams in the process of thinking about other things. Reframing your bad dream in alternative terms can help you forget it just as quickly as other dreams. Switch the storyline of the bad dream as soon as you wake up. Remove whatever upsets you by thinking about it or even writing it in a journal you keep next to your bed. This is especially useful because handwriting is closely associated with memory. Replace the bad elements of the dream for something happy and positive. For example, if you dream that a whale capsizes your boat, tell yourself or write, “A giant whale swam next to us and then guided us to a tropical paradise.” Avoid assigning meaning to your dreams as well. Remind yourself that dreams are just a product of your brain’s processing functions. They do not indicate something about you or about the future. Try not to assign meaning to the dream or to try to interpret the dream. If you want to consider the dream further, then do so later on when you are feeling calm. Dim lights can provide comfort in the dark of the night. Turn on your nightlight or small lamp next to your bed as soon as you wake up from a bad dream. This can relax and re-orient you to your surroundings.  Choose a light in a soothing color that won’t stimulate your body to wake up. Hues in the red, yellow, or orange range are the best choices.  Set the light near your bed so that you can turn it on easily when you wake up from a bad dream. If you have a clock in your bedroom or next to your bed, turn it so that you can’t see the time. Watching time pass can make the physical and emotional distress from a bad dream worse.  Ignoring your clock can help you forget the dream and get back to sleep more quickly. What you smell can positively affect your mood and your dreams. If you wake up from a bad dream, place some fresh flowers or an aromatherapy oil next to or near your bed. These may help soothe your thoughts, relax you, and help you fall back asleep. Consider some of the following scents:  Coconut Jasmine Lavender Marjoram Peppermint Rose Vanilla Grounding exercises can help to reduce anxiety and calm yourself down after something frightening has happened. If your bad dream has left you feeling shaken, then doing a grounding exercise may help you to feel better. Most grounding exercises require you to engage with the five senses. A simple exercise that you can do is to name or write:  Five things in the room that you can see. You might see a clock, a picture, your cat, a lamp, and a dresser. Four things you can feel. You might feel the blankets on your skin, your pillow, cool air on your face, and your cat’s fur. Three things you can hear. You might hear a car passing by, your cat purring, and the sound of a fan. Two things you can smell. You might smell the lotion on your arms and the scent of fresh rain coming in through your window. One thing you like about yourself or that other people like. You might note that one good thing about yourself is that you are kind to people.
Distract yourself. Reframe your bad dream. Turn on a nightlight. Ignore your clock. Bring some fresh scents into your room. Perform a grounding exercise.