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First ptsd nightmare. "Worst dream Ive ever had."

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May

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Hello reader. I'm 18 and when I was 13 I was sexually assaulted for 2 years. I have been diagnosed with ptsd and after reading about it I was happy that I at least didn't have the nightmare's. Untill now.

Last night I had a nightmare about my trauma: The one I told about the assault first, laughed at me and told me that it couldn't have been to bad. He tried showing me that what happened to me wasn't as bad as I was making it out to be, and did so by assaulting me himself. And said: "See? That wasn't to bad was it?"

It was horrible. Especially because I trusted him.

When waking up, I couldn't clam myself down at all. After about 5 minutes of hyperventilating and crying, I called a close friend that managed to calm me down.

As I said, this was my first experience with a ptsd/ trauma related nightmare. I didn't know symptoms could start this late after the trauma. I also do not know how to deal with the nightmare's.

I would like to know how you cope with your (first) ptsd nightmares.

Thanks in advance.
 
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I'm sorry that happened.

My first nightmares happened when I was 24. I was going through a 5 year relationship breakdown and I think the stress of that triggered everything. Before those nightmares I didn't acknowledge what had happened as I had blanked it all out.

So it's not uncommon at all for these to start years after it happened.
Is anything stressful happening in your life that might have triggered this?

Grounding techniques help.
Reminding yourself you're safe now.
Whilst the feelings and sensations and everything feels 'now', it isn't.
Looking after yourself when it happens. Make sure you eat well, and do self care.
 
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I'm sorry that happened.

My first nightmares happened when I was 24. I was going through a 5 year relationship breakdown and I think the stress of that triggered everything. Before those nightmares I didn't acknowledge what had happened as I had blanked it all out.

So it's not uncommon at all for these to start years after it happened.
Is anything stressful happening in your life that might have triggered this?

Grounding techniques help.
Reminding yourself you're safe now.
Whilst the feelings and sensations and everything feels 'now', it isn't.
Looking after yourself when it happens. Make sure you eat well, and do self care.
Thank you for sharing. I don't thing this week was particularly stressful or different from others. My sleep schedule could be better though.

One of the main reasons I struggle calming down (in general) is because I still live with my parent and my assaulter. Moving isn't an option because of the money
I'm sorry that happened.

My first nightmares happened when I was 24. I was going through a 5 year relationship breakdown and I think the stress of that triggered everything. Before those nightmares I didn't acknowledge what had happened as I had blanked it all out.

So it's not uncommon at all for these to start years after it happened.
Is anything stressful happening in your life that might have triggered this?

Grounding techniques help.
Reminding yourself you're safe now.
Whilst the feelings and sensations and everything feels 'now', it isn't.
Looking after yourself when it happens. Make sure you eat well, and do self care.
Thank you for sharing. I don't thing this week was particularly stressful or different from others. My sleep schedule could be better though.



One of the main reasons I struggle calming down (in general) is because I still live with my parents and my assaulter. Moving isn't an option because of the money, so I'm stuck here for now. But it is hard not being able to close this horrible chapter of my life and start a new one. Even though I do not get assaulted anymore, it's hard not to think about it.

The grounding tips are great though. I will keep them in mind in case I need them <3
 
Hello May,

I’m sorry that you’ve had your first nightmare related to your ptsd. It can be a fairly common occurrence for some people, others not sure much, a once in a blue moon type deal. It’ll be a while until you know where you land on that scale, but luckily there is a bunch of things you can do to prevent nightmares. Im going to list a few that I use:

stick to a routine for nighttime - whatever that may look like to you

make the temperature in my room optimal for sleep - everyone’s different, but I prefer it cool, so I put a fan on a low setting, some people prefer the window open over a fan. I also wear light Panamas.

have a diffuser on with my favourite scent

I’m scared of the dark, so I have a dim salt lamp that lights just enough of my room for good sleep, while also given me the comfort of being able to see what’s going on around me.

No caffeine after 2pm

play a relaxation tape or podcast or read something relaxing right before I sleep


if I’ve had a nightmare, a mixture of medication and journaling really help me personally.

I called a close friend that managed to calm me down.
Im so glad you found this useful. If you find yourself woken from a nightmare at a time where you can’t call anyone, usual grounding techniques that you’d use for panic attacks and flashbacks work well for me.

wishing you a restful night tonight
 
Hello May,

I’m sorry that you’ve had your first nightmare related to your ptsd. It can be a fairly common occurrence for some people, others not sure much, a once in a blue moon type deal. It’ll be a while until you know where you land on that scale, but luckily there is a bunch of things you can do to prevent nightmares. Im going to list a few that I use:

stick to a routine for nighttime - whatever that may look like to you

make the temperature in my room optimal for sleep - everyone’s different, but I prefer it cool, so I put a fan on a low setting, some people prefer the window open over a fan. I also wear light Panamas.

have a diffuser on with my favourite scent

I’m scared of the dark, so I have a dim salt lamp that lights just enough of my room for good sleep, while also given me the comfort of being able to see what’s going on around me.

No caffeine after 2pm

play a relaxation tape or podcast or read something relaxing right before I sleep


if I’ve had a nightmare, a mixture of medication and journaling really help me personally.


Im so glad you found this useful. If you find yourself woken from a nightmare at a time where you can’t call anyone, usual grounding techniques that you’d use for panic attacks and flashbacks work well for me.

wishing you a restful night tonight
Thanks a lot. I hope it's a once in a blue moon thing for me, or less ofc. I will try to better my sleep schedule and get some routine going.
For now I just want to drink or get high or whatever, I'm scared to go to sleep tonight
 
It is always more simple to push everything down to the abyss, but speaking from experience, it’ll hit you in the face, hard.

it’s so understandable to want to drown it out, but if that mindset becomes the regular it’s a slippery ass slope. Do you have anyone you can really talk to re this?
I have a therapist, but I don't feel likes he really get's it, if that makes sense?
 
I would like to know how you cope with your (first) ptsd nightmares.
My cousin was abducted murdered in September, and the weekend of waiting on information was very traumatic. I have dreams about other people I know being murdered and me finding their bodies in similar states to what my cousin’s was found in. While deeply upsetting, I first remind myself that the dreams aren’t real. My brain is trying to process. I calm myself physically with deep breaths and relaxing my shoulders. I then tell give myself grace to feel the feelings about my cousin. I don’t know if this is helpful, but I wanted to share. Good luck to you.
 
When waking up, I couldn't clam myself down at all. After about 5 minutes of hyperventilating and crying, I called a close friend that managed to calm me down.

As I said, this was my first experience with a ptsd/ trauma related nightmare. I didn't know symptoms could start this late after the trauma. I also do not know how to deal with the nightmare's.
For me:
1. Clean dry clothes. Clean dry bedding. Because guaranteed everything is soaked with sweat.
2. Get away from the bed. Find a place to calm down.
3. Make a "nest" (blankets, pillow, maybe some cushions) somewhere you feel safe and do something calming. Listen to music, put on a favorite dvd, something distracting.
4. Don't worry about going back to bed. If you can then OK, if not then OK.
5. If you can't sleep don't go crazy about it. Rest all you can.

My nightmares were worse when I was stressed. Adding stress makes things worse so more nightmares. Getting calm and if you can, back to sleep is the ultimate but I find worrying and ruminating and all that other stuff gets in the way if I don't find a distraction to keep it down.

The Pancake theory applies here too. Either you did or you didn't get back to sleep. You didn't fail. You don't "have to". You just did or you didn't.
 
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