Horrible Nightmares

[strongwoman]

i started haveing nightmares about a week ago and its like im reliving the abuse again. never had them till i started therapy about 2 weeks ago.. its horrible.. i use to sleep alot during the day (stay at home mom) and now i dont nap and go to bed late like around midnight because im scared and dont want to dream these horrible dreams.. any suggestions on how to stop them or well.. anything??

 

[BloomInWinter]

i started haveing nightmares about a week ago and its like im reliving the abuse again. never had them till i started therapy about 2 weeks ago.. its horrible.. i use to sleep alot during the day (stay at home mom) and now i dont nap and go to bed late like around midnight because im scared and dont want to dream these horrible dreams.. any suggestions on how to stop them or well.. anything??

I've had insomnia & nightmares for over 30 years. This is the best I've slept in my adult life...and I get usually between 3-5 hours of disturbed sleep a night now. Which, sadly, is a big improvement! A way to feel immediately better is to not beat ourselves up for having nightmares, insomnia, sleep fears when we have them. Then, to learn to comfort our frightened selves when we wake up.

The nightmares seem to serve a critical memory processing function in me. My amnesia seems to let down as nightmares first on some traumas. Though others seem to just torture me. I used to drink to pass out so I could sleep, but after a sexual assault I got sober and stopped sleeping at all.

You're not alone anymore. (((strongwoman)))))

 

[strongwoman]

I've had insomnia & nightmares for over 30 years. This is the best I've slept in my adult life...and I get usually between 3-5 hours of disturbed sleep a night now. Which, sadly, is a big improvement! A way to feel immediately better is to not beat ourselves up for having nightmares, insomnia, sleep fears when we have them. Then, to learn to comfort our frightened selves when we wake up.

The nightmares seem to serve a critical memory processing function in me. My amnesia seems to let down as nightmares first on some traumas. Though others seem to just torture me. I used to drink to pass out so I could sleep, but after a sexual assault I got sober and stopped sleeping at all.

You're not alone anymore. (((strongwoman)))))

I was a bad drinker as well. i would drink till i passed out but then feel horrible the next day cause i let the alcohol win.. now that im sober the nightmares are worse, not wakeing up crying but haveing to think about what i dreamed and telling myself that it wasent my fault, that HE had no right to do this to me, and NO means NO!! i dont take sleeping pills i just stay up till im almost dead tired. the past 3 days i have been been putting my kids to bed and i wake up from the nightmare and then go lay with my husband. i just want them to stop!! :(

 

[allitherapy]

I think the nightmares are part of healing. I could certainly live without them, but I think they are an important part of processing the trauma. Sometimes what we can't do consciously, our brain does for us subconsciously when we sleep.
Even so, they are horrible and I wish none of us had to have them. I had another really bad one last night and wet the bed again. It was even worse this time than before. I woke up while I was going, but couldn't stop it and was too afraid to move, so I just sat there wetting myself. I felt so little. I wish there was a way to make this stop happening :(

 

[Marie E.]

(((Hugs)) to you Alli!!

 

[strongwoman]

i think i have been crying also in my sleep cause i have been wakeing up the past 2 days with dry crusties rolling down my face and all around my lashes. i know its not an infection cause its white and clear, infection make your eyes burn and yellowish crusties. ive been switched over from paxil to zoloft over a month ago and i believe its working with the lifting the deppresion off my shoulders. .. this is so hard to deal with and i just wish it was over and never happened. im 28 now and im glad that im getting it done now, that im dealing with it now!!