Scared To Sleep

[tll]

I should really be sleeping right now, I know better than to let my fear of nightmares keep me from sleeping. Here I am though. I'm already on 30 mg of prazosin for nightmares but it still doesn't work. Ill be dreamless for the first week or so on each dose then they come back. The nightmares are the worst part of PTSD and it makes me so angry because I can't control it.

I've tried meditation, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, etc.

I don't even watch anything that could possibly be perceived of as scary on tv.

I just want to feel safe in my dreams too.

 

[Sues]

Hi tll, I'm awake with you! I have nightmares and I hate it and can't control it too. It really sucks. It feels so helpless to be trapped in a nightmare like that.

I usually stay up hoping to be exhausted enough to sleep and then hope I don't remember my dreams later on.

 

[tll]

I've been trying the staying up thing too. I know it usually doesn't work but I guess nightmares when the sun is up is a little less scary. I just wish I didn't have to work tomorrow so it wouldn't matter if I sleep or not.

At least I'm not alone though. I never thought anyone else could understand how bad the nightmares are until I found this forum.

 

[Sues]

At least I'm not alone though. I never thought anyone else could understand how bad the nightmares are until I found this forum.

That's right, you're not alone anymore! There are several threads on here about nightmares and being afraid to sleep. I just started one the other day.

I sleep with a light on. It helps. I sleep a lot less/worse without a light on. I think it's my intense need to feel safe, and the fact that I don't feel safe.

I've found that so many things don't make sense about all of this. But sometimes I just tell myself that it's ok, it doesn't have to make sense.

 

[Shellbell]

I don't know if unprocessed traumatic memories coming through in nightmares, can be stopped. Maybe someone will come along and say they can and I will be interested to know how.

Medication can help, I know Seroquel helps me, not completely, but it does lesson the nightmares in intensity and frequency. I know my T wants to eventually do EMDR to process the traumatic memories and hopefully that will end the nightmares.

Continual nightmares are terrible and I feel for anyone going through this.

 

[tll]

And it's really not just the nightmares. It's the night sweats and the panic that comes with them. When they're really bad I even have trouble getting past the nightmare the next day, week, and so on. I've been reading through the posts in this section- it's all common stuff. It just sucks.

 

[maddog]

Tll and everyone dealing with the fear of sleep, you have touched on one of my most endless, distressing, terrifying and brutally unending realities. For a variety of reasons going back to my childhood, I am deeply afraid of sleep in and of itself, and that's all before considering the terrible nightmares, or their after-effects that can live on long after the night as you say Tll, or the panic that never dies no matter how much I ground myself to the present...

In truth I have found no effective sustainable strategy to deal with this problem. It is, if you'll pardon the pun, my greatest nightmare.

My fear has created a whole raft of obsessive safety behaviours which, while probably unhealthy, are absolutely crucial for me to have any chance at sleep. I cannot be without my keys and phone attached to me, usually sleep fully clothed and often with my shoes on (therefore able to be up and out quickly in the event of threat), usually need both lights and background noise going all night, usually need to lie on the floor facing towards any entry/exit point... etc.

God, this is embarrassing... but true.

I am working on it in T now, finally, and it's helping a bit.

I'm so sorry to everyone who deals with this.

Maddog

 

[Sues]

Thank you for sharing maddog. I'm glad therapy is starting to help some, and I hope it gets better for you.

 

[Ayasha]

Nightmares are the bane of my existence, I fully understand what you guys mean.

Something that has helped me (some nights, not all) is to look at pictures or think of stories that make me smile even a little--anything to make me feel happy rather than scared before sleep. I've tried staying up (I think nearly 4 days was my record) and it made it so I had waking nightmares.

If you're able, I suggest trying the picture thing. I know it might not be a solution but maybe it will help some.

I hope everyone here gets some good rest soon.