• 💖 [Donate To Keep MyPTSD Online] 💖 Every contribution, no matter how small, fuels our mission and helps us continue to provide peer-to-peer services. Your generosity keeps us independent and available freely to the world. MyPTSD closes if we can't reach our annual goal.

Trauma from a nightmare….?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Luigiii

Learning
i woke up a lot during the night and i got tired of it so I decided to be on my phone for an hour and then tried to sleep again. I feel even worse than if I just hadn’t slept at all.

Have you ever had a nightterror that was very realistic and everything feels real but what was happening was so bad that even your subconscious self lowkey knows this isn’t real. You feel stuck, not just in the nightterror like you can’t wake up but also in what’s happening like whats happening is so bad you just can’t move or say anything. When you finally wake up you’re all sweaty and breathless.

I feel like i just got traumatised from the nightterror about trauma. Is it even a nightterror or is it called something else? How am I supposed to sleep again? I’ve had nightterrors before, bad ones. But sometimes it just feels a bit extra. I think I was in a kind of manic episode and everything was going quite good but now i think it triggered a depressive episode.
(Correct me if you think I’m using the terms wrong its something my therapist told me i was in but everyone is so difficult about explaining things to me)
 
Diagnostically speaking -> PTSD can cause nightmares and night terrors can be traumatic experiences, but neither nightmares nor night terrors can cause PTSD. If you're having repetitive night terrors into adulthood that may be a medication side effect, so double-check what meds you're on (if any).
 
seems to me that whichever expert i quote, there will be another expert around to shoot it down. experts are notorious for disagreeing with one another.

the important part is that i believe i understood you well enough to share my own experience with nightmares/night terrors/ptsd flashbacks. to my just-a-patient senses those three are solidly intertwined. the biggest diff between the three is how awake i am when they occur. nightmares indicate that i actually managed to get to sleep. night terrors happen when i am almost asleep. flashbacks are nightmares i have while i am wide awake. i don't much care which experts agree or disagree with my interpretation. it works inside my own head and that is enough for this beaten crazy bitch wolf.

i, too, feel retraumatized by all three of them and have found considerable relief in letting the retraumatization serve as an opportunity to process and heal the original trauma. it seems to be working. it's been a goodly while since any of the three has been a significant problem for me.
 
Diagnostically speaking -> PTSD can cause nightmares and night terrors can be traumatic experiences, but neither nightmares nor night terrors can cause PTSD. If you're having repetitive night terrors into adulthood that may be a medication side effect, so double-check what meds you're on (if any).
Yeah i’ve been diagnosed with ptsd and I don’t use meds. I didn’t mean that my ptsd was caused by nightterrors sorry if I wasn’t clear

seems to me that whichever expert i quote, there will be another expert around to shoot it down. experts are notorious for disagreeing with one another.

the important part is that i believe i understood you well enough to share my own experience with nightmares/night terrors/ptsd flashbacks. to my just-a-patient senses those three are solidly intertwined. the biggest diff between the three is how awake i am when they occur. nightmares indicate that i actually managed to get to sleep. night terrors happen when i am almost asleep. flashbacks are nightmares i have while i am wide awake. i don't much care which experts agree or disagree with my interpretation. it works inside my own head and that is enough for this beaten crazy bitch wolf.

i, too, feel retraumatized by all three of them and have found considerable relief in letting the retraumatization serve as an opportunity to process and heal the original trauma. it seems to be working. it's been a goodly while since any of the three has been a significant problem for me.
I feel understood but do you mind explaining how it helped with the healing process?
 
Have you ever had a nightterror that was very realistic and everything feels real but what was happening was so bad that even your subconscious self lowkey knows this isn’t real. You feel stuck, not just in the nightterror like you can’t wake up but also in what’s happening like whats happening is so bad you just can’t move or say anything. When you finally wake up you’re all sweaty and breathless.
Yep. I've woken up in a full blown bad panic attack where my heart felt like it was gonna stop beating. Opening eyes to panic and hysteria is completely awful.

How am I supposed to sleep again?
I'm not sure exactly for you personally but, grounding, creating a comfortable place (weighted blankets I've heard are amazing anxiety).

Also talking myself thru these things helps a lot. My therapist helps a lot too.

Hugs 🫂
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top