I go through stages. I can go weeks without having one, but then have them constantly for a period of time too.
I have really vivid dreams/nightmares. My other half calls me a psycho because of how vivid and graphic my dreams can get. He reckons he doesn't really remember any of his dreams, which I thinks strange because mine is like I've watched a film.
I usually have quite sadistic nightmares, that usually involve my children or people I love. They terrify me.
I also get sleep paralysis and lyric dreaming too. I also get it where I realise I am dreaming and can wake myself up. However sometimes it feels so real that I'm questioning whether it's a dream as I am in the dream. I had a dream about a year ago, that I was putting my children to bed, whilst running a bath, as I went to turn the bath off someone had broken into my house and pushed me in as I leaned to the taps. I then realised it was a dream as I couldn't get myself out of the bath, it was like slow motion but also I was unable to move my body properly. However I couldn't wake myself up. So I said to myself, in the dream obvs, that I'll chuck myself down the stairs and it will either wake me up or I'll break my neck! So I took a running jump and jumped over the bannister and I woke up.
Lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis affect me more than the nightmares though I think. There have been times where I've 'woken up' and I cant move, so I scream for my other half to wake up and he doesn't. When I finally come round I'm usually very upset and scared and wake him up and have a go at him for not helping me! Obviously I then figure out that he can't actually hear me screaming for help as I'm not making a sound!
I hope you feel better about it soon. Bad dreams are awful, as even when you try and think of something nice, subconsciously you know the reason you're trying to think of something nice is so you don't think of something awful and have a bad dream so you end up thinking about it anyway. It's a catch 22! X