Do Old Traumas Wake You In The Middle Of The Night?

[Changing4Best]

I don't usually remember any dreams, but I have been waking up at 2-3 AM (sometimes 4 AM) and not being able to go back to sleep again after having trouble sleeping when I go to bed at 10PM. Maybe I get 3-4 hours of sleep if I am lucky.

I was wondering if this is a sign of old traumas that happened around that time of night being triggered? Or... ?

 

[digger]

A lot of people with insomnia (trauma related or not) seem to get the waking at the same time of night thing, so it might just be that. As far as I'm aware, there was no specific time of night my trauma occurs (night time generally is an issue for me though), but I frequently wake at the same times during the night - I just put it down to my body clock getting itself into a screwed pattern, or possibly that I get woken when I enter particular phases of sleep which happen to occur around the same time each night. I'm just guessing really though, I don't know enough about sleep science to do more than that.

 

[digger]

If you Google it, it does seem to be a pretty common thing with insomnia.
http://doctorstevenpark.com/why-do-some-insomniacs-keep-waking-up-at-the-same-time

 

[Chava]

I have woken up with panic in the middle of the night, and wanting to kill myself out of nowhere. But I know I also wake up around 2 or 3am if I'm taking more than one tramadol a day for pain...I seem to wake up about 4 hours after I have gone to sleep. I looked it up and it had something to do with that medication messing with REM or some other part of the sleep cycle. So, hard to say if it's trauma or sleep-cycle related. But if you don't have other symptoms besides just being awake and not able to sleep, maybe take a look at it from sleep cycle perspective (whether affected by meds, evening activity, or whatever). ?? When I can't get back to sleep I really just have to get out of bed...go sit in a chair and read a bit, or walk around a little...then sometimes I can sneak in another hour or two of sleep.

 

[desiderata310]

This is certainly me.
Before I was put on something for sleep I would have nightmares that would wake me usually around either 2 or 4 am. Then I was done for the night.
The medication has helped as it is difficult to stay awake with the medication but the problem is I go BACK into those nightmares so while I am not conscious, I am also not rested. *sigh*

 

[Changing4Best]

@digger thanks for the link, it brings forth some other ideas I had no idea about. I usually sleep on my side, or snoring wakes me up, so the link made a lot of sense.

 

[The Albatross]

Old traumas, memories and nightmares about traumas and memories still pretty much rule my nights. I've come to accept that at least it's better than them ruling my days. It has slowed up some, but with increased stress, my brain spits them out and serves them up fairly regularly. It is not very restful.

 

[Changing4Best]

I slept better last night, thankfully. I had to give up a pet recently because I was unable to pay her vet bills. She had been my PTSD Service Dog, but she was no longer able to serve me in that capacity and had become a pet. So I had to give her away. You are supposed to retire these dogs when they reach the age of 9 or so, but I had to give her up at age 7, due to her health problems. I have been under a lot of stress due to her loss and I was also grieving (I should say I still am). All this had added to my sleep problems, which I have had quite often anyway. I am just so grateful that I slept well last night. Friends were praying for me about this yesterday, so the prayers must have helped, as it was the first good night's sleep I have had in a long time.

I had therapy today and we discussed all this too, for the whole session. I feel less stressed about it all now. It has been a tough road to travel though!

I have decided, for a number of reasons, that I will not get another service dog, nor any other pet either. I will always miss her, she was the best dog I ever had. I guess to end my dog ownership days on a good note in terms of having had such a fine dog is better than if I had, had to suffer the situation if the next dog were to be a dud. So, this is it.

Sleep issues may not plague me as bad now, after this therapy session and with everyone praying for me. We shall see!

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories with me. Carry on.