The practice of Lucid Dreaming has allowed me to redirect nightmares successfully in most cases, there were only few instances that I could not wake up or change the nightmare’s nature. Lucid Dreaming does take practice, though, but thankfully there are a lot of books on the subject. You’ll be able to sift through the many to find the one which you vibe with the most, as the method is very individual in nature.
Secondly, at least two or three hours before bed, I make sure to only read or watch videos that are lighthearted in nature because horror or grim content can affect the dreams or nightmares you’d face during sleep. Let go of any stress or dark thoughts before going to sleep also helps, I find exorcising these thoughts with writing them down helps the most. It allows reason to smooth these thoughts and feelings over, giving them less power to shape a dreamer’s experience!
You’re welcome! Stress, I find, is often the biggest contributing factor to nightmares as the mind is trying to deal with it. Sleep is often the time feelings and experiences are processed. Stress is like a shotgun blast to that processing, that overflow of feeling seems to lead to nightmares more often. When your situation changes, that pre-sleep period will be vital to managing future dreaming, it also allows one to begin to settle in a mental state suitable for Lucid Dreaming. I certainly hope this will help you sleep easier!