Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Support Group

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TW Bad gunplay PTSD nightmare

Community Leadermujicaptsd
mujicaptsd

I'm really ticked off this morning that I had a brutal PTSD nightmare about gunplay last night.  I'm on Prazosin and it is supposed to prevent nightmares like that.  I got through the July 4th fireworks fine yesterday without having them trigger bad memories of surviving a car bombing I was in as a missionary kid in a war zone.  Then I go to sleep, and gosh darn it if I don't have a PTSD nightmare involving gun play.


TW


My nightmare was based on reality.  In 2001 when I was an emergency room hospital chaplain in Chicago, we had a gun shot wound victim come in one summer night in July, a summer night like these in July right now.  After we got him through our ER and up to the second floor to be prepped for surgery, though, the guy who shot him showed up at our emergency room door brandishing his gun.  He wanted to finish the job he had done on the gunshot wound victim we had admitted, to shoot him again and kiill him this time.  He ran over me and barged through the emergency room itself and made it all the way up to the second floor where the guy he had shot was.  Fortunately, though, our security caught him up there in time and he was disarmed with no further harm done.


After that I as hospital chaplain had a sit down meeting with gang leaders in our area and worked out a truce so that didn't happen again to our hospital.  They declared it a neutral zone for us.  So the whole incident in real life came to a happy ending.


But in my nightmare last night I got shot in the emergency room instead.  In my nightmare I got shot in the arm, I didn't get killed.  But it ticked me off that my nightmare depicted a worse version than what happened in reality.  Stupid PTSD nightmares!!  Grrr.


I tell you, I would really not mind having a day go by without having PTSD trigger me about guns, bombs, and violence.  Wouldn't mind that at all.  I deserve a break.


I really needed to vent here about it so I could go on about my peaceful business today.

silverlight
silverlight
muji,i'm so sorry you are so tormented...it is so utterly unfair,and you do indeed deserve a break...i hope you do have a peaceful day,and a peaceful,restful and nightmare free sleep tonight..
atec
atec
I hate having nightmares. It is perhaps the worst problem with my PTSD.
I've never had a nightmare like yours. I'm sorry this happened to you.
Aspiesarah3
Aspiesarah3
Big hugs muiji
Kitkat59
Kitkat59
I'm sorry muji. I hate having ptsd nightmares, they're not fun at all.
Doo
Doo
You do deserve a break Muji. Sorry you had the nightmare. I get them too when I am under a lot of stress.
patti22
patti22
Nightmares are awful. I've been dealing with them myself for months. Really messing with my sleep.
Zoe
Zoe
I'm on Prazosin too and still have lots of distressing nightmares. Sorry to hear the Prazosin let you down too and you had a nasty nightmare. Will say some prayers for you for a nightmare free night tonight. (((Hugs))).
arfie
arfie
In my own therapy, we decided it was progress when I was able to maintain through a trigger event (fireworks are one of mine, too), even though I followed up with nightmares and other symptoms. It sure didn't feel like much a prize at the time, but I have since made enough progress with it to start believing in it. I don't have many nightmares any more. Knock wood. . .
Community Leadermujicaptsd
mujicaptsd
Hey, thanks for so much support, everybody. I'm sorry others are taking Prazosin and still having nightmares like I am, too. But as arfie said, it is progress that I made it through the fireworks even if I had nightmares afterward. I had a shaky day today, I'll admit, but your support makes me more positive about tonight and tomorrow. Yeah, knock wood.
jewells1
jewells1
I am sorry Muji. Your dreams are playing "what if" due to the fireworks maybe. I know mine are.
J.
Hugs.
positiveoutcome
positiveoutcome
So sorry you had this awful nightmare. Loud sounds of any type are triggering for me. Fireworks feel as if somebody is shooting me. You have made progress and will continue having it. Wishing you sleep well without more nightmares.
Community LeaderLeo
Leo
Big purrs. Sorry I could not be here sooner, wise friemd. Peaceful rest to you tonight!
arfie
arfie
This morning I find myself wanting to claim that my next step was letting myself, "Process the nightmares." A job I might rank with unclogging a toilet, but hey. . . Ya gots to do what ya gots to do in the business of life. It gets done faster and better when I JUST quit my whining and just get with the job done. Progress over perfection, muji. We don't get to hop between hemispheres without a journey twixt the tweens. Speaking of hemisphere-hopping. . . How's that Uruguay chronicle coming?
HarrysMom
HarrysMom
so sorry, running alte, I hate that you had the nightmare and that they have so much noise with the fireworks - I could so do without them too. I need to go somewhere where there are none for this night - but that would silly as here, they like to start days early and ocntinue for days. it helped me to console the dogs. and then they consoled me right back. Muji - that is INCREDIBLE, the work you did, getting the gangsters to sit down and declare the hospital a neurtral zone - OWO - you surpassed Gandalf quite aways back Sir.
Community Leadermujicaptsd
mujicaptsd
Yeah, Lilly, that sit down with the gang leaders is an impressive story, isn't it? Makes me sound like a hero, but in truth I was naive and scared to death. I think what was really going on was that the gang leaders didn't want that mess themselves.

Plus, we got our hospital attorney to allow us to extend HIPAA privacy law privileges to gang members as "family members," so we showed them a little respect, and they showed us a lot. Never had any more trouble, not even on the lawn.
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