What Is Your "breathing Into A Paperbag" Nightmare Rescue Equivalent?

[Shellbell]

dharmaBum,

I understand how horrendous a criminal trial is, I had one myself and I was the only victim. A criminal court case is a trauma by itself and is terrifying I know.

I feel for you deeply having to go through this. I really hope it goes well and he gets what he deserves.

Do you have good support around you throught this? I didn't, and I think support makes a big difference.

Wishing you some peace and really hoping you are able to get some decent sleep.

 

[dharmaBum]

No Bad Dreams Last Night!

I had a Tai Chi class, and practiced using a few acupuncture points for nightmares. While I fell asleep, I thought about the exposure key-words instead of trying to avoid the bad dream content.

I did "wake up" after an hour or so and walked about the house talking in my sleep. My husband tried to make sense of me, but it was then that I realized that I wasn't fully awake. It was a stress dream about my recent job, which was processing ballots for the US election.

 

[dharmaBum]

I haven't had a horrible dream again, in I guess 9 days. It actually feels like much longer than that. It is such a relief to get a break. The exposure stuff I did kind of got the negative keywords of the dream stuck in my head a bit, and then that would pop up throughout the day kind of like a flashback. I got in for an EMDR session and my practitioner recommended using the positive dream imagery rehearsal more than just straight exposure, since that might improve the chances of something positive getting stuck in my head.

She said she actually had an elderly patient riddled with a lifetime of nightmares about an abduction she experienced who became nightmare free after a lucid dream where she realized she could stab her attacker. I'd love for that to happen! I don't think I've ever had that kind of dream about my tormentor.

 

[Smushroom]

Glad to hear dharmaBum! I am so happy to hear this! I am going to takl to my T about this tomorrow night. I need to find a way to stop these nightmares. I have not had any success with anything yet.

I am hoping this is a permanent thing for you :)

 

[dharmaBum]

It's been over two months, and I still haven't had an intrusively horrible nightmare. I've had some bad and weird dreams here and there, but nothing like the awful, rape-specific nightmares.

 

[Venusian]

That's great news! I'm glad you found something that helps!

 

[out like a lamb]

I can't offer much advice on how to stop the nightmares, but here are some of the ways I cope after having a one:

- I turn on the lights (to prevent me from falling back asleep & right back into the nightmare)

- In lieu of using a fitted sheet, I have a plush blanket that covers my mattress, so when i wake up, there's something RIGHT THERE that's soft and comforting for me to touch (don't have to go looking!)

- I keep aromatherapy lotions & oils by my bed. and will put some on after having a nightmare.

If it's a particularly disturbing nightmare and i can't go back to sleep, I'll do some art therapy. I might draw out part of the nightmare... and then do a soothing, comforting drawing afterwards (those drawings, for me, often look like one big spiral, drawn with chalk pastels.

I guess spirals feel really safe and comforting.) I might also make tea to help keep me calm. So what works, for me, is not avoiding the dream, but... I suppose letting it pass through me. The self-soothing helps with this. I find that the more I fight the dream (telling myself i'm not going to think about this...I'm not going to go there....), the more they pop up.