Recently I saw a client who was having nightmares. They were a reflection of an event that happened in her past as a child. A recent event had the memories rise to the surface, resulting in reoccurring nightmares.

I gave her one of my favourite tips for dealing with them.

A few weeks later she returned.

'How are the nightmares?' I asked.

'Gone' she said. 'Thanks to a flying pineapple'.

'A flying pineapple?'

'Yes', she said, 'it came to me in the dream, and I've not had a nightmare since'

Well. That was unexpected.

She went on to describe that the nightmare reoccurred, and as it was happening an object appeared and it happened to be a pineapple. A flying pineapple. She could reach out her arms, hold on to the pineapple and it flew her away from the situation she was in and the impending danger.

Clearly, when giving her the tip on how to deal with the nightmares, I did not mention a pineapple. Or any other flying fruit for that matter. But the tip I gave her worked - in her own way, she managed to create a safety net, a humorous one at that which has taken the fear away from the situation.

If you suffer from a reoccurring nightmare, or simply a bad dream here is a wee tip.

As soon as you notice that you are dreaming or having a nightmare - tell yourself that it is just a dream / nightmare. Without waking yourself fully, remind yourself that you are the creator of your dreams, you can change the outcome, intervene in the event.

Using your imagination, find whatever feels right to come in and rescue you from the situation. I usually make suggestions such as Spiderman comes in - deals to the bad guy and whisks you away; a helicopter appears from the sky and douses the fire and then smothers it with marshmallow and you all have a feast. You get the picture. Turn it around, use your imagination to your advantage. This works incredibly well. It quickly calms you down, it helps you feel safe and gives you back the control. A control you felt may have left you a long time ago.

Enjoy your pinacolda.