What's the deal with nightmares?

[Merced]

I have chronic nightmares and I want talk about it. Do you have nightmares? Theories on why that happen? Stories to tell?

I wrote out my most recent nightmare here.

I didn't have chronic nightmares until I had a pretty not fun experience in a hospital. I was locked in the ER of a hospital for a week and then put in a mental hospital for another week, where things weren't okay.. Usually, my nightmares involve the worst bits of my extended stay in the institute, but past few days my dreams have been more casual. Be it, they still feel like nightmares, they aren't debilitating like the hospital ones. Also, does anyone else get panic attacks from their dreams? I've had that happen to me about four times, my family describe me as sobbing and spasming in my sleep before waking up, like I was drowning. These are things I have only recently felt open enough to let my therapist know about. Speaking of therapy, what types of therapy do you think would best assess chronic nightmares. I personally doubt CBT could put a dent into something so subconscious.

But yeah, nightmares thread.

 

[magpie]

Hey. It's been over a month so I hope you're okay with me bringing this back up.

I used to get re-experiencing nightmares about my stays in the psych hospital where I would relive things that actually happened and wake up thinking I was still in the hospital being attacked. I had these sorts of nightmares for years. Before my sister and I went off to college and we shared a room, she'd tell me I thrashed around and talked in my sleep. She said I often yelled for our mom to help me while I was sleeping, which is embarrassing and made sleeping at other people's houses awkward.

Since I've been seeing a good theraist for about eight months, my re-experiencing nightmares have decreased and I usually just get regular, non-realistic nightmares now. What made that happen is that I talked about my psych hospital experiences with her and she was validating and kind. PTSD can cause the type of nightmares you have/had. It's what caused mine. My current therapist knows I don't like CBT so she does talk therapy with me instead and it's been helpful.

I hope you're doing better.

 

[Merced]

I hope you're doing better.

Thank you for your concern, I really appreciate that. And in regards to nightmares, I have been doing better!

I'm currently between therapists (cause I get a new one every 6 months), but before my last therapist left, we did this thing called 'Rescripting'. It's when you write down what the dream is and then write down what you wished would've happened. It works for the more casual nightmares, but with the hospital nightmares not so much. Lately, I don't have dreams at all, which isn't that concerning to me. But now my daydreams drift off into the hospital and it almost feels like I am being shackled where I stand.

Is there a word for a daydream that's basically a nightmare but you're awake? Daymare sounds goofy.

Whatever it's called, it really messes with me. I zone out and I can't get out of it. Little shit can turn a peaceful silence into the echoes of those nights. It's really hard to deal with, especially at work.

Knowing that there is someone out there who also struggles with the same issues as me is relieving. Congrats on your fantastic progress thus far!

 

[magpie]

Thank you for your concern, I really appreciate that. And in regards to nightmares, I have been doing better!

I'm currently between therapists (cause I get a new one every 6 months), but before my last therapist left, we did this thing called 'Rescripting'. It's when you write down what the dream is and then write down what you wished would've happened. It works for the more casual nightmares, but with the hospital nightmares not so much. Lately, I don't have dreams at all, which isn't that concerning to me. But now my daydreams drift off into the hospital and it almost feels like I am being shackled where I stand.

Is there a word for a daydream that's basically a nightmare but you're awake? Daymare sounds goofy.

Whatever it's called, it really messes with me. I zone out and I can't get out of it. Little shit can turn a peaceful silence into the echoes of those nights. It's really hard to deal with, especially at work.

Knowing that there is someone out there who also struggles with the same issues as me is relieving. Congrats on your fantastic progress thus far!

Thanks. I don't know if I can tell you a word for it because I don't want to get in trouble for "diagnosing" you. But I experienced the zoning out thing too, sometimes I still do. It's like the thoughts just come to you and you lose a bunch of time immersed in them. It's really disorienting, at least for me. I hope you can find a good therapist you want to stick with who will be more helpful. It sounds like maybe you're being triggered a lot, which is really rough.

If you want to talk about your hospital experiences in more detail, I can always listen, in this thread or via PM. It's up to you though, I don't want to pressure you.

 

[Merced]

It sounds like maybe you're being triggered a lot, which is really rough.

Dude.....

DUDE.

That makes so much sense. I've always been under the impression that I didn't really have triggers, but if these daymares are being caused by certain things, which is what a trigger is! I am going to write down everytime it happens, and then I'll figure out what my triggers are!