I have terrible nightmares and cant sleep

I have a problem which has been going on for a couple years now. I always have a hard time getting to sleep and once I do sleep I wake up at least 3x a week screaming. I can remember sometimes having dreams. I dont know whats wrong docs say its stress but i cant stand waking up so many times a week. help!

Sleeping pills (the kind that *keep* you asleep rather than *put* you to sleep) are always an option. Although I wouldn't recommend it, they leave you feeling muggy and awful in the morning, but mainly, they don't allow you to escape the nightmare.

No one knows what dreams are exactly, but there are proven ways to influence them and even control them. A good start if you don't remember your dreams clearly, is to keep a dream journal next to your bed, and each time you wake up, write down what you remember right away, before it can disappear. This allows you to train your mind to keep thinking about the dream when it's over, thus remembering them, and if your conscious mind knows what's going on in your subconscious, it lets you influence it.

Once you remember your dreams you may also understand them. If that's the case, deal with whatever issues are causing the nightmares. If not, begin carrying around a note, or a watch, or necklace, all day every day. Look at it a lot of times throughout the day. The idea is that, when in your dream, you notice this item isn't there, and you're so used to it by then, you'll realise it's just a dream and begin controlling it instead of it controlling you.