After being threatened with a gun... my subconscious is afraid of being shot while asleep (even though consciously I know I'm safe)

[raw472]

So awhile back I was threatened with a gun in my bedroom, and ever since then I gradually developed chronic insomnia over the course of about five months and I believe it's because my subconscious is afraid I may be shot in my sleep so it keeps me awake (even though I may be in a very secure location or even thousands of miles away from where this event happened)... So even though logically I know I'm safe (alarm, locked doors, motion cameras, and now a 12-gauge), it's like I'm unable to convince the "subconscious" side of me that I'm safe and I'm just not sure how to... is there a way to teach my "subconscious" self that I'm "safe"? Anyone else also feel like their subconscious is (or was) stuck in flight-or-fight mode (even though they consciously know they're safe)? Is there some kind of treatment for this?

So if I lay down to try take take a nap, I can tell that my subconscious is afraid that if I fall asleep that I may be assassinated while sleeping... it's like I just don't know how to convince my "subconscious" side that I'm safe... So ever since this event happened I've had no ability to actually fall asleep during a nap.

I take Remeron (15mg) at night and it gives me a restful night of sleep approximately every other night (but the other half of the time I wake up exhausted). And with Remeron, it almost always puts me to sleep within an hour so I have no problem actually getting to sleep during the night... although I will wake up a few times on the bad nights... I've also already cut out caffeine...

Any other medicines that may possibly help? I've already tried Zoloft and it didn't help at all, and have also already tried the benzo-type medicines and they don't give me a restful sleep. I'm thinking about trying Prazosin though...

 

[Kubash16]

Prazosin is typically prescribed for nightmares, not necessarily sleep itself. Have you tried Trazadone, Klonopin, or Paxil? Or even good old Benadryl or NyQuil?

I am so sorry for what you’ve been through by the way. As far as fight/flight-welcome to PTSD ?.

Are you currently in therapy or have tried EMDR?

 

[raw472]

Prazosin is typically prescribed for nightmares, not necessarily sleep itself. Have you tried Trazadone, Klonopin, or Paxil? Or even good old Benadryl or NyQuil?

I am so sorry for what you’ve been through by the way. As far as fight/flight-welcome to PTSD ?.

Are you currently in therapy or have tried EMDR?

I've tried Trazodone, Paxil, Seroquel, Doxylamine, Temazepam, and Xanax. If I take Xanax at night (i.e. 0.5mg) then my sleep won't feel restful (even though I may still sleep 6-8 hours)... could Klonopin (also a benzo) be different or work better? Remeron has worked the best, and I've tried dosages of 15mg, 30mg, and 45mg... and found 15mg to give me a restful night of sleep every other night (which means the other 50% of nights I wake up exhausted even though I still got 4-5 hours of sleep).

I was seeing a psychiatrist but all he did was just prescribe whatever I wanted to try... he didn't seem to know how to fix this fight-or-flight issue (except saying "talking about it" is what works... well, there's not much for me to talk about since it was a simple event in my case). Now I get my Remeron (and Xanax) through my primary doc.

 

[Kubash16]

Something my psychiatrist said: he does not work with anyone who has a trauma history unless they are currently in or have graduated therapy. He said the medications he put me on are temporary to help me make it through therapy. -Something to think about.

Klonopin knocks me out in minutes and keeps me out just makes me groggy and my pdoc wouldn’t prescribe more. He’s got me on Trazadone.

 

[Friday]

When it’s the act of going to bed that f*cks me up? I move my bed to the middle of my living space. In theory, bad sleep hygiene :p; but in practice, what that does is normalizes my bed. Because I’m sitting on it, doing things, seeing it, etc... over time it loses it’s OMFG no. Just no. Not doing that. Huh-uh. Can’t. Make. Me. that happens when I walk into my room (or even just sort of feel it lurking behind the door/wall ).

When it’s the act of being helpless & unaware? Same sort of work arounds.

- I got great sleep with my dog... because he was on watch. Same, I sleep far better in the daytime when other people are awake and aware, as they are on watch.
- On my own, decoys are useful. The whole, yes there is a bed in the middle of the room. There’s also a bed in the closet/ under the stairs/ behind the false wall, whatever. :whistling:
- On my own sleeping in crowded places. Predominantly this has meant beaches or city parks in the daytime. Very, very public. Very, very crowded. And I blend right in with everyone else who is sunworshipping in a bikini or has fallen asleep with a book on their face. Great tans when I’ve done this. Choose SPF 5 zillion. You’ll need it. Even on cloudy but warm days. My fav Indoor places are airports & hospitals, because there are always exhausted people sleeping somewhere, but libraries & other places work, too.
- Sleepig in various states of dress/readiness helps when I trust myself to spring to action if alerted. This usually comes somewhat down the line on the whole helpless/vulnerability scale. Meaning I’ve already chipped off the sharp edges on falling asleep, and being woken up in event of emergency; but feeling unprepared if there is an emergency needs work. Gym clothes are a personal favorite. Although it can have the unexpected side effect of feeling like I’m going to the gym in my pajamas.

^^^^
These are just a few examples, and none meant to be forever, but to start training myself in different ways to meet what’s elbowing me awake, and telling it to shove off.

 

[raw472]

Something my psychiatrist said: he does not work with anyone who has a trauma history unless they are currently in or have graduated therapy. He said the medications he put me on are temporary to help me make it through therapy. -Something to think about.

Klonopin knocks me out in minutes and keeps me out just makes me groggy and my pdoc wouldn’t prescribe more. He’s got me on Trazadone.

So are you able to fall asleep during naps? And by "graduated therapy" you mean EMDR? Is EMDR something I can do on my own or is a psychiatrist needed?

 

[Kubash16]

Can I fall asleep for naps? Eh only if I really need to but that’s always been a thing.

Graduating therapy? When you and your therapist decide you have worked through your trauma, have coping skills and can utilize them effectively.

EMDR? A type of therapy that can begin after you have been in traditional therapy for a bit. Executed by specially trained therapists, it retrains how your brain responds to the memory.

 

[Friday]

Is EMDR something I can do on my own or is a psychiatrist needed?

Kubash16 is exactly right. Just to expand a bit...

EMDR is a highly specialized therapy that even the training requires advanced degrees to get a slot it, and then has several different types of training one has to complete in order (including supervised hours with clients). So a masters or doctorate level therapist (like a psychiatrist, although it’s rare they do therapy on top of med management, some do. Most prefer to be part of a team.) would first complete the basic EMDR training, and then attend more trainings (and supervisory hours, etc.) on different types of trauma, age ranges, etc.

Can you find morons teaching “emdr“ on YouTube? Sure. You can also find people blowing themselves up. Neither is the smart thing to do.

 

[Kubash16]

Something else I wanted to mention: traumas generally aren’t “simple”. Especially if your brain is struggling with it and it obviously is because you are having difficulty sleeping.

 

[Sideways]

traumas generally aren’t “simple”.

Simple trauma = medical shorthand for ‘single event’ trauma:)

 

[Kubash16]

Simple trauma = medical shorthand for ‘single event’ trauma:)

Ya, just not sure that’s how OP was meaning it given that he said there isn’t much to talk about. What I meant is that sure the event may have only happened once or didn’t last long, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t caked in layer after layer of feeling and complications.

 

[EveHarrington]

Anyone else also feel like their subconscious is (or was) stuck in flight-or-fight mode (even though they consciously know they're safe)?

All of us.

This is what happens when you have PTSD.

Have you been diagnosed or just experiencing this one symptom?