Nightmare disorder part of sleep disorders?

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Like many autistics I have a persistent sleep disorder. I'm on two types of medications for that which have been working tolerably until another facet of this problem became more intense again - the nightmare thing.
I was later told that an actual nightmare disorder can accompany many sleep disorders.
I am way too old for this, and it gets embarrassing when my neighbours can hear me apparently screaming (wasn't aware I still did that) and makes me forego going away on trips or other activities which involve me sleeping in close quarters, because I'm embarrassed about what might happen. Not to mention the nightmare activity happens in REM, so I am getting basically no slow wave sleep which means no real sleep at all.
It is making me consider a medication change. I didn't want to go the benzo route because of the addiction risks (both current medications are not addictive) plus I have always refused any kind of "psych" medication because I'm too proud, I suppose. But there is the other risk that if I don't get this crap under control, there's the risk of going back to "self medicating" with alcohol - drinking until I pass out and am too sedated to dream.
Has anyone with sleep issues had any success with benzo medications? I know they did prescribe antidepressants to help with physical pain problems, and similar effects can be had using Valium or similar, while primarily mood drugs, for sleeping issues.
Experiences? I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, or how to bring this up with a doctor without looking "drug seeking."

Prazosin is used to treat nightmares. It is an old blood pressure medication that should be easy to obtain from any doctor if you ask for it to treat your nightmare problem.

Benzodiazepenes are generally a pooroption for sleep as they surpress various stages of sleep. They will put you to sleep but you won't get good quality sleep. You can also build tolerance much more quickly than other types of medication.

Some BetaBlockers like Prazosin(which are kina blood-pressure meds) are sometimes used for nightmares. They also may help with certain anxiety issues. They can be taken long-term unlike benzos. I never heard of benzos being used for nightmare problems before but I'm NOT saying that they won't help but I'm NOT sure that they will help with that.