Nightmares are flashbacks or similar to them. Google Pete Walker Flashbacks Management.
Work with him through the list.
Also, essential oils. I kid you not. You can go to any licence massage therapist who does these with the certificate of therapy with oils.
Ask for a custom blend for sleep and nightmare. It should contain Geranium. All ingredients should be on the label.
My best blend was primarily ylang ylang, lavender, sweet orange, and geranium. Must be therapeutic grade oils not the kind you put in a diffuser.
It comes in a tiny bottle usually dark blue or brown glass, but the tiny dropper plastic attached to the top and you put a couple drops on the pillow case each night.
a cheaper alternative that's faster would be to order your own oils of these from Eden's garden on Amazon prime and put them with some distilled water in a diffusing alarm clock right by his bed.
the theory about why this works is that smell is one of the more primitive parts of the brain and it sends subliminal messages to the brain that you are not back in Afghanistan or wherever the trauma occurred because the smell is too different. My therapist also swear by them and said eucalyptus tea tree peppermint and the stronger oils like these will get the point across to the brain. My therapist also swear by them and said eucalyptus T tree peppermint and the stronger oils like these will get the point across to the brain faster so I would keep he tree specifically bottle by the bed or peppermint whatever works and smell that to shut the flashbacks off if awake.
Finally, nobody does well with nightmares from heat. Do not use a memory foam mattress. They trap body heat. A cool waterbed or a traditional spring matress is best. Have a ceiling fan on all year. Keep the room a cooler temperature. Whatever tricks the brain into knowing it feels very different from the trauma time sleeping should help. Having a soothing routine before bed is essential for me, too. No scary TV, etc. Lowering lights at sunset also reduces stimulation. Keep volumes low after dark.
Exercise during the day. Regular massage. All will help. Yoga. All this is better than any pills.
King size beds helps reduce overheating from body heat. We cuddle up and then separate right before falling asleep. Listening to your heart by laying on the chest of your calmer loved one trains the PTSD sufferer's body to match the rhythm. Women's heartbeats are slightly faster than men's. So it works better with the woman having the PTSD, but it's worth trying.
These don't all have to be used. Just using some regularly and one daily can really help. I don't have the flashbacks or nightmares now because of these.
I hope you find a good method.
Work with him through the list.
Also, essential oils. I kid you not. You can go to any licence massage therapist who does these with the certificate of therapy with oils.
Ask for a custom blend for sleep and nightmare. It should contain Geranium. All ingredients should be on the label.
My best blend was primarily ylang ylang, lavender, sweet orange, and geranium. Must be therapeutic grade oils not the kind you put in a diffuser.
It comes in a tiny bottle usually dark blue or brown glass, but the tiny dropper plastic attached to the top and you put a couple drops on the pillow case each night.
a cheaper alternative that's faster would be to order your own oils of these from Eden's garden on Amazon prime and put them with some distilled water in a diffusing alarm clock right by his bed.
the theory about why this works is that smell is one of the more primitive parts of the brain and it sends subliminal messages to the brain that you are not back in Afghanistan or wherever the trauma occurred because the smell is too different. My therapist also swear by them and said eucalyptus tea tree peppermint and the stronger oils like these will get the point across to the brain. My therapist also swear by them and said eucalyptus T tree peppermint and the stronger oils like these will get the point across to the brain faster so I would keep he tree specifically bottle by the bed or peppermint whatever works and smell that to shut the flashbacks off if awake.
Finally, nobody does well with nightmares from heat. Do not use a memory foam mattress. They trap body heat. A cool waterbed or a traditional spring matress is best. Have a ceiling fan on all year. Keep the room a cooler temperature. Whatever tricks the brain into knowing it feels very different from the trauma time sleeping should help. Having a soothing routine before bed is essential for me, too. No scary TV, etc. Lowering lights at sunset also reduces stimulation. Keep volumes low after dark.
Exercise during the day. Regular massage. All will help. Yoga. All this is better than any pills.
King size beds helps reduce overheating from body heat. We cuddle up and then separate right before falling asleep. Listening to your heart by laying on the chest of your calmer loved one trains the PTSD sufferer's body to match the rhythm. Women's heartbeats are slightly faster than men's. So it works better with the woman having the PTSD, but it's worth trying.
These don't all have to be used. Just using some regularly and one daily can really help. I don't have the flashbacks or nightmares now because of these.
I hope you find a good method.
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