I cant sleep :/
i had been sexually assaulted and threatened of my life a few years back. I have constant nightmares nearly every night. This damages me mentally and i need some suggestions for moving on..
Comments
Hi @icantthinkofausername, I'm really sorry that you had to experience that and that the trauma is causing you this trouble. Unfortunately when our brains can't cope with an event like this, they tend to crop up in things like nightmares and flashbacks.
The process of recovery and moving on from assault is different for everyone, but along the lines of what @redhead asked you talking to someone can be a huge help in that journey. You've made an awesome first step by coming to us here, at the same time having a professional who can help you work through it over a longer period of time is something I'd really encourage. There's a whole bunch of resources of where you can get some more support here, including organisations that specifically do counselling work around sexual assault.
Please remember to be kind to yourself while it takes some time, let us know how things are going 🙂
im no stranger to the nightmares you speak of and i was also sexually abused when i was younger also.
its very hard to go into details i get that but im wondering did you get any support when it first happened or around the time of the event?
do you have support of friends, family or professionals to help you deal with your thoughts and emotions associated with the SA?
Hey @icantthinkofausername. I'm really sorry you had to experience that. I think you are very brave for sharing, so thank you.
Nightmares 😞 oh they are terrible. I think - and this is from my own experience - the more you worry about having a bad dream, the more anxious you become about going to sleep at night. Your bed should be a safe place and right now it doesn't seem like it is for you. Am I right in thinking that?
I've tried different things to help me get to sleep at night and try to block out painful experiences that surface in my dreams so that I, too, can move on from something. One of them is I like to sleep in the same room as a friend, or I play a movie on my tv in the background, or right before bed I write all the things I am looking forward to the next day and I go to bed thinking about doing these things and so I imagine myself doing them. They don't always work and if I wake up because I have had a bad dream, then I try to acknowledge that it happened, but it is okay and I do some grounding exercises to help me remember where I am and that I am not there any more. Have you ever tried any of these things? Would they be something you might be interested in trying?
It can be terrifying being unable to control what you constantly dream about isn't it? That sleep should be a way to at least temporarily block out these thoughts?
You mentioned before that you saw a psychologist and it helped a bit? Did they happen to mention any ways of coping like @redhead suggested?
Im sorry you went through that.
Do you have any strategies you use to relax before bed or to calm down after a nightmare.
Have you ever seen or spoken with someone about this before.
