Looking for advice / help - flashbacks while asleep?

[AFletcher8]

Hi. The reason I'm not sure if this is the right place is because I'm not sure if it's a PTSD symptom, but that's what I hope to find out. I've been working with my therapist recently on a reoccurring nightmare /sleep terror I have had for as long as I can remember. However it doesn't feel like a dream, it feels like reliving. We've not determined what it's about or what triggers it. Something will happen that kick starts it, I'll then have it several times a night - once a night - a few times a week - once a week.....and so on until it's just once in a blue moon. However as soon as the trigger reappears, the cycle starts again. In fact the majority of the time the cycle doesn't get all the way to the end before restarting. It's awful. I wake at the same point every time, and because I'm terrified I'm wide awake. It wasn't so bad before I had my daughter, but now I can't afford the sleep deprivation. My one year old sleeps better than I do.

My question is, could this be a flashback? I wasn't sure as it happens while I'm sleep. When I'm going over it with therapist I can (if I'm feeling brave) feel into it, like I'm there. I don't like doing it though, I have a history of dissociative seizures and the dream can trigger them.

 

[Unlovable]

Hi. The reason I'm not sure if this is the right place is because I'm not sure if it's a PTSD sympto...

What is your dream about? Have you ever tried lucid dreaming? Going into the dream aware that it's a dream and changing the outcome.

 

[barefoot]

Sounds like it could be a night terror? I have them. My T says they are a trauma response. I don’t generally remember the content of them (sometimes I do if I wake up in the middle of them) but I am left with a sense of fear, dread, disorientation, which can linger for a day or two afterwards. Not fun!

 

[digger]

@AFletcher8 please sign into your account to make replies. If you are having difficulty doing this please open a help--ticket. Thanks.

 

[AFletcher8]

Ugh. I'm trying to reply but on my phone this site is awful and full of ads :-(

Lucid dreaming doesn't work with this one. I can't see anything in the dream, and I've never been able to make make myself open my eyes. It sounds a lot like the night terror. The sleep deprivation is murder.

 

[Phantom Shadow]

I have them at different times and can't always figure out the trigger. Have talked to I am blue in the face with my T that I had but no good.

 

[AFletcher8]

I have them at different times and can't always figure out the trigger. Have talked to I am blu...

Aye, I know we may end up having to move on. I've had it for add long as I can remember so I get the feeling it may have happened when I was very young, and I know this can make it more difficult / impossible to recall. I also have a problem that, for me, touch and imagery tends to be more useful than words in expression and recall. But because I can't anything on the dream I'm reduced to touch. Ugh it's so tiring. Luckily I have a very patient T.

 

[barefoot]

May be worth seeing if your GP can refer you to a sleep specialist/clinic? I’m going to see one in a couple of months. Not really sure what I’m expecting from it or what - if anything - may come out of it but it felt like time to get an expert view. My T is great in lots of ways but I am keen to see how a sleep specialist may approach my sleep stuff and what they may suggest.

 

[AFletcher8]

May be worth seeing if your GP can refer you to a sleep specialist/clinic? I’m going to see one in a...

That's interesting. I have spoken to gp about this a couple of times, but they always try to blame it on meds (pain killers & antihistamines) even though I said it's happened before I started taking them. They just say to stick at it with T. I might see if w can make any more progress, if not I'll go back to gp and ask specifically. Thanks.

 

[barefoot]

Certain pain killers (tramadol especially!) make me quite trippy in my sleep and can often trigger a night terror. So, there could be a connection in that your meds might be exacerbating your sleep stuff. But if you were having the sleep problems before you were taking the meds, it sounds like a separate issue. Might it be worth speaking to GP about changing your meds to see whether your current meds are exacerbating the night terrors?

My T is of the opinion that my night terrors are a trauma response and that it is anxiety leaking out and trauma emerging and my psyche trying to process stuff while I’m sleeping. So, the hope is that with more work, more processing, more healing etc, my sleep won’t be disordered in the end. T isn’t actually looking to treat or “cure” the night terrors - she thinks it is a symptom of trauma and that the symptom won’t go away until we have “dealt with” the traumas. But this is a very slow process and I’m interested to see what a sleep specialist will make of it and whether they may have any other suggestions.

 

[Phoenix(not)]

I used to get a lot of flashbacks. I did a ten day residential Vipassana meditation thing in the hope it would help with my anxiety issues. My psychologist supported my application. It was not easy to master the techniques, nor doing the ten days (no talking to anyone). In particular, there was one section where we reviewed in our minds "troubling" events. I guess for most it was not a big deal but for me I was being prompted to re-live the event (that "got me" my PTSD). This concerned me greatly at the time. I had not expected this and was unsure how to deal with it. The techiques involved "teflon mind" / accepting it and letting it wash over me. I finished the ten days and went home wondering if continuing doing this would help me. It more than helped. I wanted to shout from the tallest rooftop that it is a cure. Alas, it is not, I will never shake off the exaggerated startle response, nor fail to respond poorly to stressful events. They still get to me but I overcome rapidly. The flashbacks however, seem to have been well and truly put to rest. As I write this, I cannot help but see the event in my mind's eye, but it is now a "dull thud". For me, this method and exceeded expectation by far. I know it has helped other PTSD peers because I recall doing a post (on a different forum) and much later, I received several supporitve pm's. I think it is worth discussing with a therapist. Cost is by voluntary donation and they are held all over the World, just google Vipassana if you're curious. I repied to this thread only because this technique helped me a lot in ending flashbacks.