I have never sat bolt upright in bed upon waking from a nightmare.
No gasping. No screaming. In fact, I usually figure out I am dreaming and force myself to wake up to get away from the scariness. Maybe that explains it: I already know it is a nightmare before I wake up so it is no big surprise.
I see this violent awakening behavior all the time though on TV, most recently on Medium and Ghost Whisperer. I do not know anyone that has ever done this.
Do you?
