Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Support Group

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Night Terrors

Unbroken1
Unbroken1

Hi.  I've been suffering with Night Terrors for about 40 years.  Not sure exactly when they started but I know I was very young.


Most nights I scream out in my sleep very loudly.  Sometimes I cry in my sleep.  


So going from undealt with childhood trauma into adulthood where I also experience a great amount of trauma Complex PTSD.



I've seen many councilors, therapist, psychiatrist and tried even more phych meds but nothing helps.


I've requested to try EMDR but my councilor said EMDR is very intensive therapy and I need to be prepared for it first.



These night terrors have had a toll on my health and my life from lack of sleep.  It also has a major toll of any serious relationships.



I don't know what to do and I don't even know if anyone even knows how to help me.






Community Leadermujicaptsd
mujicaptsd
I got kidney damage from the huge amount of Seroquel prescribed for my nightmares since I got CPTSD at age 11. Now I'm 63 and on Prazosin because it's liver processed and it's working, Let me know if you do EMDR because I'm interested, Unbroken1, ok?
arfie
arfie
Hello Unbroken. Welcome to DS.

Gentle empathy. Nightmares/terrors genuinely suck, both literally and figuratively.

A dream journal was key to processing my own repressed trauma far enough to bring a halt to those long, lonely nights. Have you tried it? Just wondering.

Gentle support while you find what works for you. You are not alone.
Unbroken1
Unbroken1
Thank you both for your suggestions. I have tried Prazosin but nothing seems to work.

I do journal but most times I don't remember my dreams.
arfie
arfie
Dreams do, indeed, fade quickly. During the years I kept a dream journal, I kept a glass of water, a pen and paper by my bedside while I slept. The water allowed me to wash the taste of nightmares out of my mouth without leaving the bed. Recording my dreams and/or the emotions they left me with before my feet hit the floor aided in the recall. With practice, I came to have a pretty vivid dream recall, but even then, the dreams faded quickly.

That dream journal guided many of my therapy sessions during that phase of my healing journey. Neither the shrink nor I had any deep superstitions about dreams, but they offered a boat load of clues on what was simmering below the surface of my psyche.
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