Sexual Abuse Support Group

Sexual abuse is a relative cultural term used to describe sexual relations and behavior between two or more parties which are considered criminally and/or morally offensive. Different types of sexual abuse involve: Non-consensual, forced physical sexual behavior such as rape, incest or sexual assault, or psychological forms of abuse, such as verbal sexual behavior or...

3,544 Members
16,257 Posts
0 Online
Personal Challenges
/ Sexual Abuse Support Group

nightmares come back ( could trigger)

star755
star755
I haven't been on here in a while but I keep on getting flashbacks and nightmares of the sexual abuse I suffered as a child I just don't know how to cope with them they feel so real I know they're not but it is so hard sometimes to cope. The nightmares make me feel angry and dirty all over again and takes me a couple of days to get over them. Because of what I went through it makes it to sleep in the first place sometimes I stay up and read until the early hours so I get nightmares Im just so scared and angry all the time and wish my parents noticed that something wasn't quite right with me but they didn't so the abuse just carried on.
omii
omii
I understand Star. I have suffered from night terrors much of my life, particularly until about the age of 30. As I healed, the nightmares decreased and now, although I have them occasionally, it is not a nightly ritual and I don't dread sleep near as bad.

I hope you have support and a therapist to help you get through what happened to you. I think LivinOn was correct. And as your conscious is better able to handle your feelings and memories, your subconscious will begin to let go. You cannot go back and be un-abused or have your parents notice and protect you, so I wish you healing instead.
LuckyEmpath
LuckyEmpath
I am sorry you still suffer with nightmares and flashbacks. They are a terrible side effect of abuse. I suffered with flashbacks at the beginning of my healing process and nightmares my entire life. I still get the occasional nightmare but they are much less often now. And now, when I wake up from a nightmare, I am able to say to myself "It was only a dream. It did not just happen. I am safe." and I calm down within 5 minutes.

The key to reducing my nightmares and flashbacks was processing the feelings. I had to feel all those horrible feelings none of us wants to feel. Once I got to a point where I had processed them enough, the flashbacks stopped. Then, as I processed more, the nightmares happened less often until it is like it is now - I get them about once a month instead of every night. Unfortunately the only way to heal from the abuse, is to go through it by feeling everything that you didn't allow yourself to feel when it happened. If you do not have a therapist I would urge you to get one. Please don't go through this alone. You deserve to heal and you deserve to do it with someone who can help you get there.

Take care
sugarbear75
sugarbear75
I am in this process also. My flashbacks and my dreams are getting worse. I feel like they get all jumbled up some and mixed up. I am afraid at what I will see and what is going to happen. I know if I am angry or upset either I am in flashback mode or gonna have a bad one. So lots of prayers and will pray you heal. I am sure your parents wish they would have noticed also. I do not know your parents. Mine were apart of my abuse. Prayers and Hugs John 3:16 KJV For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.