My Nightmare

[ashdawn8287]

Since I started therapy I have been getting intense nightmares. Ranging from killing my ex to my fiancee cheating. I know it sort or pertains to the past, but they aren't real flashbacks. I wake up with the same horrible feeling every time. That I am in some way threatened with danger. It throws me off the rest of the day and it makes it hard to maintain this positive attitude I've been working on so hard.

Any tips my fellow sufferers or survivors?

 

['91 Girl]

No tips except relaxation exercises when you wake up. We often can't really control our dreams, sadly.

But I will say to pay attention to the strong ones, even if they aren't directly trauma-related. I find that for me, I don't really dream about the traumas per se, but I dream about the emotions connected to the traumas. So I wake up in a panic on a regular basis because of my random dreams. Often the feelings will be helplessness, powerlessness, fear, sadness, betrayal, and people close to me hurting me or being hurt. Those things didn't really happen in real life, but my brain takes the emotions and creates scenarios where I might feel those emotions.

 

[ashdawn8287]

My dreams come in the exact same form. I realize it is feelings from the past and have no rationality behind them. They are just awful though aren't they?

 

['91 Girl]

Yes, they are. I hate it.

 

[ashdawn8287]

Me too, me too.