Sexual Abuse Support Group

Have you tried OTC sleep aid? It's probably not the best thing to have to have drugs to help you sleep but sometimes it is More important to get some sleep.
What bad would come of you telling your doctor?
As for the dream, I have had some of my dreams turn around backwards on me like that. It's normal I think. I try to think of it like a computer glitch.

Ah, I so used to hate those dreams when you wake up and freak out because it seems so real! I would wake up in a cold sweat of terror from that kind of stuff and not be able to go back to sleep either for hours or the rest of the night.
My therapist did some kind of REM therapy with me to get me out of the really bad nightmares. Not long ago I had the first good dream I ever remembered having. My mother showed up at the end of it and as soon as I saw her face in the dream, some kind of internal alarm clock woke me up.
No nightmares since ?December or January? Tho I have had sleepless nights after being triggered.

To help you fall asleep, you might like to try chamomile or Sleeptime Tea.
For the nightmares I personally always remember this:
Psalm 4:8
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
It's always helped me. You'll be in my prayers, friend. And I'm always here if you ever want to talk. BIG hug and lots of love.

I have tried OTC sleep aids but they don't do anything for me. I'm on Lunesta now, and it works great, but they are almost gone. I have a very hard time talking about it all and can't really picture myself saying anything to my doctor. Plus she would try to make me go to counseling I'm sure, but I can't because I'm still under my parent's insurance and they can't know. Thanks for everything.I'm glad I'm not alone and your thoughts and advice help.

On nights that I have a hard time falling asleep or have nightmares that cause me to wake up and have trouble going back to to sleep, I take an OTC medicine that is herbal. It's Melantonin. I have used that for the past year. It helps me a lot.

I try to also write down the dreams I have so I can discuss it with my counselor (I recommend you getting one if you don't have one) and that seems to help. My last night mare was of my biological father hurting me (which is far from the truth). It was scary but I also was able to wake myself up enough to know that it wasn't happening all over again. I use to have dreams that would cause me to hyperventelate at night and I didn't tell anyone. My counselor still doesn't know about those dreams. I tend to have flashbacks during the day that causes me to hyperventilate. I hate those. I just have to keep telling myself that I am okay and safe. It takes practice to get there but it helps.

Also another OTC medicine I use to take to help me fall asleep was Benadryl. It helps with my allergies and with my asthma as well as help me to fall asleep. I found that the best thing for me to do is use aromatherapy. I love it. I sometimes use the sleep body wash from Bath and Body. It's amazing.

I agree with Carina. What bad would come of you telling your doctor about having trouble sleeping at night and why your having those problems? He or she would be able to refer you to a counselor that is trained to help you through this.

I don't know really what to tell you to try as for the fact that I don't know what all you tried. But I do recommend trying some of the above information. Most importantly, I would suggest telling your doctor.

They now make an OTC sleep aid with melatonin, tryptophan and something else. I hear it is pretty good. You can find these in most health food stores.
It's too bad you need to keep this from your parents. Since you are 20 I'm pretty sure that it would be totally illegal for a doctor or counselor to discuss your case with your parents but I do understand the fear you must have about having them find out.

i have tried melatonin but it didn't work for me. i was thinking about trying to write down my dreams, but usually when i wake up from them im trying to make myself forget them because i don't want to remember them. i cant go to counseling yet because im under my parents insurance still. once i go back to school im thinking about trying a school counselor though so i don't have to worry about that. until then im just not sure what to do. if i tell my doctor she will try to make me go to counseling which is not a choice for me right now so it seems pointless to tell her.

i know how you feel.i do the same thing.my dreams have been happening more and more now.i have them everynight now.and i have them if i take a nap during the day.my stepdad is in jail for molesting me.so in my dream...i have a dream that he gets released from jail and he finds me and starts doing the same things to me over again

I think you have also said your Mom did not support you when you told her what your dad had done to you. Your Mom sided with your dad. Because of that, and probably other things you don't remember taught you that you could not trust your Mom or your dad. Maybe you nightmares are your subconscious mind informing you about people you should have been able to trust hurting you.

I am going to assume that in your nightmare you do nothing which would be sexually provacative. So the nightmare may also be a reminder that you are a victim, that you should feel no shame about what happened.

How old do you think you are in the nightmare. If you are still a child in it, there may also be a message of "That happened quite some time ago and it is not happening any longer."

i don't know for sure how old i was in the dream. i think i was just the age i am now but im not positive. it's all very vague now. i tend to be pretty good as making myself forget the details of my dreams for the most part and just remembering the basic concepts of them. i usually dont want to remember them when i wake up so i dont write them down or anything and just try to go back to sleep.