Dreams That Leave Me To Afraid To Fall Back To Sleep

[kris]

I have alot of dreams about people dying. Sometimes it's people I know sometimes I don't know them. Some of the people are friends of mine now, and others are classmates from elementary school I haven't seen in years. When the people die it is not just a normal passing, the people die tragically such as being murdered by intruders or being burned alive by a fire started by aresonists.

As well as these dreams, I also occasionally have dreams where I am being raped by people I don't know. Sometimes as well the person is suppose to be me but looks nothing like me, and I have been orphaned by my family dying in a house fire not just my immediate family but all my aunts, uncles, cousins and everything. In these dreams I live in a home with this man and woman who have adopted me, and then the woman dies and I am left living with this man. He starts to sexually abuse me and the story just goes on and on about different ways he does this.

All these dreams leave me not able to sleep, because I don't want to go back to dreaming about these things.

 

[suzie q]

Hello Kris,

What horrible dreams you are having! I understand not wanting to go back to sleep, but have you tried to go back and sleep? Has the dream picked up where you stopped? Does another bad dream kick in? Are you taking any type of med to handle your PTSD symptoms? Sleeping pills?

I found that some meds I have taken caused me really evil, vivid nightmares. Even though I've worked on alot of my trauma in CBT, I still have bad nightmares. Yours, IMO, sounds like they are based on the most fearful things you could exprience/ed. These types of dreams would often give me body memories the next day. If that happened, I got with my therapist immediately and processed as much as I could. I personally believe that some dreams can lead you to things you might need to work on. It gives me a sense of confidence to believe that and allows me to open up when I'm not so terrified. (ie..when you first wake up)

I started a dream log years ago and it has helped me work through the feelings of those nightmares with my therapist. I keep a journal beside my bed, and when I wake, I start writing the memory and feeling of the dream. Mine was never like a diary, just words on a page that helped me explain the dream later. Very, very helpful for me. I found that, most often than not, I could go back to sleep after I had written without the dream picking back up.

 

[midi]

Nasty dreams, eh. I used to have the same rape dreams over and over, every single time I slept, from the time I was 5 until my mid-20s. I didn't want to sleep either.

We gotta work through these dreams, and as we do, they'll get less frequent. The fear of sleeping is hard - maybe you can try different meds or holistic methods to help?

The best of luck to you in taking back control of your sleep!

 

[kris]

How is someone suppose to "work through these dreams," just by talking about the abuse and what they mean in comparison to the dreams? I guess though, I do sleep fine until I wake up from these horrible dreams, then I can't seem to fall back to sleep because the dreams freak me out and make me "afraid of the dark" so to speak. As in someone is going to bust into my bedroom and start shooting or whatever else odd scenario is happening in my dream that night. So would a sleeping pill help with any of that? Since your suppose to have a full 8 hours of rest after taking a sleeping pill, and I don't need it to fall asleep initially.

 

[midi]

Well, I'd get a dream journal and write about dreams after they happen, and maybe find a dream partner that you can discuss them with. Find somebody who can give you support and an outside view that may help clarify some of the issues you're still having. Talking about the dreams will help start the healing process. I found with sleeping meds, at least I was able to fall asleep, instead of being a fearful insomniac (although that's not your issue). It was better to sleep during the day instead of the night, when I was petrified. You could also see about soothing non-med things to do when you wake from a nasty nightmare, like soothing teas, music, or a hot bath.