Seeking professional help for nightmares: A representative study

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Nightmares are defined as disturbing mental experiences that generally occur during REM sleep and often result in awakening. Even though about 5% of the general population suffers from nightmares, little is known about seeking professional help in this patient group. Methods: A quota sample of 2019 participants representative for the German population was studied. Results: The findings indicate that every eighth person with frequent nightmares (cutoff: every other week or more often) sought at one time of his/her life for professional help for coping with nightmares. Socio-demographic variables did not correlate with help-seeking behavior. Conclusions: Nightmares are an undertreated condition and future studies should aim at a more throughout understanding why nightmare sufferers rarely seek help for their condition.