How can you stop a recurring nightmare?

That is a very terrifying dream... I myself have never had a reoccurring dream as such, but I have had other reoccurring nightmares before.Well like I've said before which might not help but it could and hopefully should. Try to release stress by taking the nightmare and writing about it in a personal journal and or diary or maybe even drawing it in your own way. Take the frightening thought and your emotions and make it into a memory of work and art. Even listen to your favorite song or soothing tunes before you go to bed at night.

I used to have recurring nightmares - nowhere near as terrifying. What i did was as soon as i woke up i wrote it all down in as much detail as possible i then only thought about positive things if i was trying to go back to sleep. then the next day i would read through it and think about it. you might not want to think about it but if you learn the details you will find it easier to tell your subconscious that it is a dream and from there you can get out a bit easier. another random one for if you want to realise its a dream- this is from a wiki how i read after watching inception. but look at your hands regularly during the day and count your fingers. it sounds insane but if you get into the habit during the day then when your asleep if you remember to you will all but surely have more or less than ten fingers then you will be able to tell yourself its a dream and you are more likely to be able to manipulate it so its not bad anymore and if thats not good enough you can wake yourself up much easier from there.

Logical Deer and Mash's advice are brilliant. If over time this doesn't help, it may be worth finding a counselor to talk it out with. They can teach you how to deal with it until you can stop it.
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Just quickly adding on to what Mash said, do look at your hands and do count your fingers. Do some research on lucid dreams and then go to sleep. I did that and when I did, I realized I was dreaming in a dream. I looked down at my hands and one had an extra finger and one had a ying-yang in my palm. From there, you can take total control of the dream. This might really benefit you in combating your terrifying nightmare. xx