Since they sound like "gotta work on this in therapy" type dreams, I'd suggest talking to your T to process the material to move it through.

Having a gentle routine before bed can help also. Sometimes it's hormones, too. I say this as someone who has nightmares as a part of life.

If they still don't go away or turn in to night terrors maybe see a P for Meds? I take prazosin for my night terrors and it has worked for them. It's commonly prescribed for sleep assistance for people with PTSD.

Hiya Jill,

Totally agree with Catalyst that first stop would be talking to your T about them, with the other suggestions for back up (a nice night routine sounds lovely).

I would also suggest thinking through several different ways of continuing/resolving the dreams in your imagination while you are awake. What else could happen at the point where you ordinarily wake up or finish the dream? This can be quite a fun exercise, though it might feel scary to remember the dream again at first. I won't make suggestions for ways to continue these ones because I think it's important that the imagining comes from you - but for example, a dream I have is of being caught in a tsunami. Instead of being overwhelmed/ drowning/ waking up (like I do in the real dream) I can imagine grabbing on to something floaty and hanging on to it until the waters calm, or that I actually fly to perch on a safe tree until the tsunami ends, or that I am an amazing swimmer who can breathe and see underwater, and I dive down and go with the flow and explore the underworld while everything is in chaos until it's time to find the land and walk there again.

It's funny - that is an actual nightmare I have, but I've never got around to doing this exercise on it until I wrote this just now. The first two endings I wrote weren't satisfying for me, but the third one is, and now I kind of look forward to having this dream again. I think it helps to keep going until you find an ending that feels right for you.

I also want to agree with both Jones and Cat on taking the dreams into therapy. I've used dreams throughout my work in therapy and had a number of major breakthroughs by examining my dreams. Especially when I was actively recovering memories and processing trauma, dreams for me seemed to be a way for my unconscious to get my consciousness's attention.

AG

Hey Jill, Dreams are extremely important; especially recurring ones. I have them too. Try to write them down. I have hundreds written down and email them to T. He actually said I was better at interpreting them than him. But, defintely bring them to therapy. You may be amazed at what you will discover and it is freeing when we understand them. It really is a great skill to develop and fun. I will re-read yours again and see what I can come up with. There is a website and book by a man named Tony Crisp; type his name in the search engine. You may find it helpful. There is a "dream dictionary" there. I feel it is very accurate and the symbolism is very telling. Keep dreaming!

Jillann,

Sounds very disturbing, and I can understand why you wouldn't feel rested after waking up.

I, too, think dreams are important, and my T has encouraged me to keep a notebook by the bed and write down anything I can remember before I even get out of bed. I believe that dreams are how our unconscious tries to work out things that happen during our conscious life.

I know there are dream workshops where you can learn how to interpret the messages of our dreams. I went to one that was facilitated by a Catholic nun. Very interesting.

I looked up Tony Crisp as Veryhopeful suggested. When I was a kid, I had a recurring dream of falling off the top of chapel steeple (which was located very close to the edge of a bluff) and continuing to fall off the bluff as well. My other recurring dream was of watching an airplane crash.

According to the dream dictionary, falling could mean "a threat to usual sources of security." (Apropo for a child with abandonment/deprivation.)

And the airplane crashes could mean... fear of falling!

So, very interesting. If you look through the Tony Crisp website, I'll be interested so see how it relates to your experience (if you care to share it).

Lots of good suggestions in response to your thread.

-RT

Red Tomato, An important way to recall a dream is that there is a "space" between actually sleeping and being fully awake. It's that space where your eyes are still closed (very important); you know you are "waking" up then you can begin to feel the dream unfold and recount the details....the details are really important. The symbolism is huge. i.e. water is our emotions, fire is passion (good or bad), a car is yourself. Then you learn to ask questions. What color is the water? It it black or clear blue, etc. Who's driving the car, can you find your car? Tony Crisp describes this on his website. I find dream interpretation faciniating. I'm glad you checked it out.You can really resolve a lot through interpretaion.

Thanks yall. I have tried talking about dreams before in therapy but T does not seem to be that interested in them. I know I have problems with anger but I'm not in a good place right now to address that. Being pursued and made to be angry and then waking up with all that fear and adrenalin running through me is by far the worst. Jones I really like your suggestion to try to imagine how to finish the dream while I'm awake that might be better.

AG and cat how did you broach the topic of the dreams with your T? My T just doesn't seem interested when I bring them up. RT I'm not sure what symbolism there was in my dreams. I know I hate "little Jill". T keeps urging me to have compassion for her. In my dream I was searching for ways to kill her.

Hi Veryhopeful, nice to meet you. I poked around a little on that website. Neat stuff. I liked the idea of going toward that which frightens us in dreams. I always run away, hence waking in the night. I'll have to go back and dig around when I have a little more time.

I was sitting in the chair last night typing this out and fell asleep. DH came and woke me at 11:30 and told me to go to bed! I've got to get better sleep soon. I fell asleep at my desk at work yesterday afternoon too. Ack.

Jillann

Do you take any sleep or night time meds?

Hi RT - No I don't take any nighttime meds. My Pdoc has prescribed Trazadone to take at night but I have not really tried it. I don't have problems going to sleep. It is staying asleep that is the problem. If I wake with one of these disturbing dreams it is difficult to return to sleep. Not so sure meds will help with the staying asleep problem.

Jillann

Hi Jillian, I am really surpised your T is not that interested in dreams. They are extremely telling. Granted, some dreams are just goofy stuff. But what you're expereincing is something powerful that is trying to "get out" or be released and when it is understood it loses its power and can free you up. Don't be afraid of the dreams. They are speaking to you for resolution. Try and approach with non-judgement and gentleness. Anger is not a bad thing (we are all taught it is!)) It is something natural but needs to be expressed and processed and then it can be ameliorated (smoothed out, made bearable). I feel for you. There was a time in my life where I was actually afraid to go to sleep because of the dreams. That is exactly what prompted me to educate myself on interpretation. Try and set some time aside for that and I think you may feel better; I know you will feel better. Your T may never had any training in that department and you, my dear, could educate him. Afterall, they do learn from us too! Take care.

Jillann,

I agree with Veryhopeful and hope you will try to work with your dreams rather than fight them.

As for sleep - I do take trazodone, first 50mg and now 100mg. I couldn't shut my mind down to get to sleep. Trazodone is also used to treat depression, but it is frequently used for the sedative side effect.

I understand your problem is the opposite. There are medications that will help you stay asleep - Silenor, Restoril, Lunesta, for example. These may be helpful when you really, really need to get some rest. Waking up fatigued is not a good thing, as you well know.

The thing I've found about really getting knocked out (I used to take Ambien and that really did it for me - but then I started getting the "do crazy things that you don't remember" side effect) is that I tended NOT to dream. That, of course, wouldn't help you to deal with your dreams, but this type of medication might get you some relief and it wouldn't be necessary to take it all the time.

I've also taken xanex, an anti-anxiety med, that did double duty of calming me down and helping me get to sleep. The problem I eventually had with xanex is that you build up a tolerance and must increase dosage to get the same effect. So now I'm back on Trazodone.

And, as mentioned previously, there are also meds for those with nightmares - tho I don't have any experience with that.

Probably the healthiest option is self-care before you go to bed. Take a hot bath. Listen to soothing music. Drink warm milk (but don't snack - ). Listen to a guided meditation to help your mind think about soothing things. Do progressive relaxation to let the tension drain out of your body. See what doing some or all of these things help you while consistently doing them for a week.

If you still think you need help, I'd recommend going back to your pdoc. (But first give the Trazodone a week trial so you can at least tell the doc you tried it.)

Hope this helps. If not, hope it doesn't hurt.

Big, big hugs to you, Jillann. Oh, and give Little Jillann a nice cuddle from me.

-RT

FYI to all interested; There is a gifted and award winning musician named Chuck Wild(his music is exactly the opposite of "Wild"). It is sedative music used in hospitals and other places of healing; such as our bedrooms should be. I discovered it when I was walking through the fire's of hell a few years ago. I heard it on a music channel and it stopped me in my tracks and my body just began to melt. It was and still is such a healing experience for me. My favorite is "Dream, A Liquid Mind Experience".(no pun intended,Jill) I play it over and over again every single day. just letting it fill my house. I absolutely love it and so does our cat; he meditates to it every morning, right on top of the cd player....I'm not kidding! Check it out on Youtube. You can purchase it from his website. The guy is really serene and compassionate. He composed this line of music due a very tramatic time in his life where he could find nothing else to calm him. It may not be a cure all, but I know it will help. I think everyone would really find peace in this music.

Jillian,
Everyone has given you really good advice here in the forum. Iknow I have struggled with recurring nightmares over the years (PTSD) and my T always says it is my brain's way of processing old information--trying to make sense of it. He, however, is interested in my dreams.

I do think the anger is something that you may be hanging onto and it's something that will have to be worked out with your T at some point.

I take Ambien for sleep and it does help quite a bit. Hope you find your sleep better in the future.

LJB

Jillann,
I am sorry your T isn't pursuing this with you. Both of my Ts were very open to discussing the dreams. As far as how it went, its pretty much like anything else I talk about. I tell my T I had a dream that I want to talk about, I tell him the dream, and then usually offer any insight I have about its possible meaning, then he offers insights based on what he knows about me and what I said. We discuss it and explore it together.

The last dream I brought into therapy was a very painful dream and very sexual to boot. I was really upset about it and told my T that it was really difficult to discuss but I thought it was important. I managed to choke out the details and what I remember him saying very gently was how powerful the dream was and how courageous I was to talk about it and he was honored I would trust him with it. Then we spent the rest of the session talking about it and how it fit into what I already knew and how I felt about my father and the abuse. It was a really powerful session and I had a major breakthrough.

It may be that you need to push your T a little harder to explore this more.

AG

PS VH, thanks for the recommendation! I had never heard of him but checked it out on Itunes and I am listening to one of his albums as I type. Very calming.

AG, good you spoke of just a dream. Anything sexual is SO uncomfortable. My T said it's uncomfortable for him too. But once it's laid out on the table and respected, it feels relieving and can create those breakthroughs.
So glad you found Chuck Wild's music! I LOVE it and it helps me so much.