I Had A Horrible Nightmare About From When I Was In The Homless Shelter!

[Kristina25]

I had a dream about being in the homeless shelter I was in. And I must have been really scared because my cat is licking me (not that she doesn't already lick me) but she is also like cuddling with me and laying her head on me (which she never lays her head on me). I must have been screaming in my sleep or something cuz it's like she knows something is wrong. All I remember is I was having bad dreams about other things. And I had a feeling I was going to dream about when I was homeless. I don't know why. Probably because I was having nightmares.

I remember being in the shelter again except it was a little different. And I just remember there were people coming to the staff saying they couldn't sleep. I remember trying to pinch myself in the dream and shaking my head back and forth trying to wake myself up. And I am not sure if I was really physically doing that in real life. I just need someone to talk to because I'm still scared. All I know is I'm relieved I finally woke up because I know I was scared. Someone please help me because I'm still having anxiety about it.

 

[sun seeker]

How are you doing now?

The good thing about nightmares is you can wake up from them. I suggest doing something completely different to distract your mind. Get out of bed, go to a different part of the apartment and do something you like to do. Put on music you like. Ground yourself. Do you know any grounding exercises? A simple one is to look around you and notice things using all your senses. For instance, notice all the things in your apartment or out the window that are blue. Then notice the sounds: the fridge humming, a neighbour down the hall, your cat purring. Then the other senses. It helps you tune in to the present, which is what you want.

 

[Kristina25]

How are you doing now?

The good thing about nightmares is you can wake up from them. I suggest doing something completely different to distract your mind.

Oh, I wrote this right after I had the nightmare and It's been since 8:30 AM my time and it's 10:52 AM now. So I'm fine now. But I woke up like 5 minutes after I started pinching and shaking my head. And that could have been a lot longer than 5 minutes in dream land.

 

[sun seeker]

Good, glad to hear. I think I remember correctly that nightmares are a frequent problem for you though, so if you can remember these tools for next time maybe it will help.

 

[Kristina25]

Thank you @sun seeker. I will try.

 

[Deleted member 28986]

This will sound silly, @Kristina25: Have you tried putting on some music you love and singing along to it? It seems so stupid but it can really get me out of a bad headspace.

 

[shimmerz]

Not stupid at all @The One Who Knocks , music has been a great tool for me and works really well!

 

[Kristina25]

This will sound silly, @Kristina25: Have you tried...

Omg, I thought you said "This sounds silly" I was so mad for a second there. Gonna go get me a powerball ticket cuz it's really high like almost half way to a billion dollars.

 

[Deleted member 28986]

Omg, I thought you said "This sounds silly" I was so mad for a second there.

I know what you mean. Communication is so difficult, and a sometimes I get mad instinctually because I comprehend something that's not really true.

I understand why you had a knee-jerk reaction, and I'm proud of you for re-reading the message and figuring it out. I hope you saw that I was trying to be helpful, offering advice that works for a lot of people.

Even in that simple communication, I had to translate thoughts and emotions into words, and then when you read my words you had to translate them again back into thoughts. There are a lot of mistakes that can go on during a translation. And what we just did was two translations!

I'm getting better about these things because the treatment for this kind of problem WORKS. You set your mind to it, you go to all your appointments, and even when it hurts you do it. After some perseverance, you see huge improvements in your daily life. You learn a lot of skills that help you understand others better and communicate with others better. Eventually what others say doesn't make you mad like it does now. It's one aspect of psychotherapy that is pretty well developed right now.

—

If I recall correctly, there might be some reasons why therapy didn't work for you in the past. I've had bad therapist experiences, but I've also had bad mechanic experiences and bad job experiences. But I'll still go to mechanics and go to jobs. The fact is, some people aren't great to work with, but that doesn't mean their entire profession is bad. There are great mental-health professionals, just as there are terrible ones. Don't give up after a few bad experiences. It's also possible that some of the challenges you face make it harder to feel safe with a therapist.

@Kristina25 In your mind, what kind of motivation would it take to go try specialized therapy that is proven to SIGNIFICANTLY help some of the hurdles you are facing?

 

[Kristina25]

@Kristina25 In your mind, what kind of motivation would it take to go try specialized therapy that is proven to SIGNIFICANTLY help some of the hurdles you are facing?

I don't understand the question really. I kinda do but I kinda don't. Because I don't know how to answer it.

 

[Deleted member 28986]

No problem, @Kristina25. I kinda asked my question in a confusing way.

I know you're suffering, and that nightmare you wrote about sounded awful. I don't want to see you suffering more than you have to, and I know there are SEVERAL kinds of GREAT treatments that ABSOLUTELY will help your symptoms.

You can have fewer and less intense nightmares with the right mental-health treatment. Your relationships (with family, friends, others) will be less stressful. The overwhelming emotions you feel will become less and less overwhelming, and they will happen less frequently. Believe it or not, you will even feel closer to and more loved by those you care for. It's marvelous how much treatment can change our own individual worlds.

All I really wanted to ask was:

• Are you in treatment/therapy right now?
• If you ARE in treatment, do you think it is helping? How do you feel about it?
• If you ARE NOT in treatment, do you want to be in treatment? Why or why not? Is there a reason you can't go to treatment?

The hardest part is in the beginning. You find the right therapist, go to the first session, and then you keep going to sessions. It will feel uncomfortable because you're dealing with HORRIBLE things that have happened to you. But after a number of sessions you will find that things start to click into place and your life around you simply improves—as if by magic. Skilled psychological therapy can seem magical.

Even though it's uncomfortable, you will make it. I know you're in a real bad place, but once you get started it's a lot easier to keep going.

I look forward to hearing what you have to say. :-)