Nightmares
Usually when I have a nightmare I wake myself up moving around in bed and when I wake up I realize it was a dream and I calm down a while ago my foster sister had a nightmare and was freaking out bad screaming and everything our foster dad came in to calm her down and she's hitting and screaming and everything it really scared me he had to grab her and hold her to where she can't move to get her calmed down wtf is going on with her? I'm not ready to ask what happened so I'm going to wait she's been awake since but is just laying there fighting and crying off and on
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Omg sweetheart that was horrible. I'm sure it was a nightmare about what happened to her. I'm sure your foster dad did that so she couldn't hurt herself or others. Idk much about the system but that's what makes sense to me. It looks like she has a long road to recovery and it's going to take some time for her to get well.
Just remember, there's a lot of issues out there and each person is different so don't think it's towards you personally because it's towards the trauma they have, not you. I spent all day with my BFF yesterday because of the same kind of thing your foster sister went through. It's not an easy battle and they need a good friend to be there. The door is open walk through it. Be her friend. You need one too. Stay safe girl and we all love you.
My son has aspergers and when he was younger he went into fits due to overstimulation and I'd have to put him into a 'body hold'. He'd be in between my legs, with my legs rapped over his and my arms around his chest. It's not fun to be in one, and it's not fun to be the holder.
Nightmares are the Pits! We have no control over our subconscious, but we do have control over how we react when we wake up. Here's a website about teen sexual assault...maybe help both of you? https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-new-teen-age/201207/7-ways-help-teen-survivor-sexual-assault IDK,, have you told her about you coming onto DS for support....you could direct her to 'nightmares or journal for support?
Nightmares are expressions of emotional challenges which are trapped inside the body, and need to be processed with a professional person, but she can also Fight Against the dream when she wakes up and calms down by turning blasts from the past into empowerment opportunities.
Through """""visualizing different outcomes""""" (kind of like what I do daily if I find myself talking to me negatively, or something challenging comes up and I get frustrated/angry....Shift My Sails or Start My Day Over Again) to these dreams, I'M THE BOSS! ! ! YOU DON'T GET TO DO THAT TO ME, EVER AGAIN. TAKE THIS AND THAT, YOU ABUSIVE A-HOLE! ! !"
I think it's Very Wise of you to let her tell you, "if she wants to and in her time". Perhaps you can teach her what you do to calm yourself down after a bad dream..
Hugs and I hope you and Max will have a Beautiful Day!! ml.
That's how he held her idk what all happened with her this morning but I'm mostly scared to ask I know her moms bf molested and raped her for a long time so I'm sure it had something to do with that
Nightmares and night terrors are extremely common in sexual abuse survivors. PTSD nightmares are not your typical nightmares; rather, abuse survivors often feel the attack or an aspect of the abuse is actually happening to them in their sleep. These are nightmares that your foster sister would remember the next day.
A night terror (which is likely what your foster sister experienced) is slightly different. The person appears to wake up and scream in terror. However, most of the time, they aren’t actually awake. Thrashing, hitting, and kicking are common. Your foster dad was holding her down, to prevent her from accidentally hurting herself or others. If it was a night terror, your foster sister most likely doesn’t have a memory of what happened.
While the night terror is taking place, it is important that you stay back from her a bit, so that you don’t get hurt. Also, do not try to wake her up, because that’s when she could become (unintentionally) dangerous. However, it can help for you to talk to her in a calm and soothing voice. You can say things like “It’s OK,” and “I’m right here.” For a severe nightmare or night terror, you may want to wake your foster parents for help.
By the way, there are techniques that therapists use that can help reduce or eliminate both the nightmares and night terrors that your foster sister is having. For PTSD-related nightmares, therapists often use Imagery Rehearsal Therapy, where survivors rewrite the endings of specific, recurring nightmares, and rehearse them until they are no longer scary. For night terrors, one option is anticipatory waking, which involves setting an alarm for about fifteen minutes before night terrors typically happen. Feel free to message me, if you’d like to know more.
I’m really sorry you had to witness this. I know it was super scary. Big hugs.
When my kid was about 2 or 3 years old she had a night terror and my mom told me to let her work her way through it and not to try to wake her up or touch her. But then suddenly she stood up in her bed and started bashing her head against the wall. My mom told me to grab her immediately and stop her. That is really the only time anyone should intervene physically when someone is having a night terror. When they are doing something that can seriously injure or kill them. If they are just thrashing about in their bed and not hitting the wall or the floor or anything else that can cause injury just let them be. They are very scary. I never saw anyone have one before. I just know I woke up in the middle of the night to a blood-curdling scream. I never ever heard anyone scream like that before, let alone a toddler. She never had once since. I hope your foster sister will be ok.
Those things are a bitch. I experience them sometimes but not often anymore. I woke up to a couple nightmares lately but I think im over it for a while. Sometimes change, traumatic things around you or just new people in or out of situations can trigger little things that can get it going but that's just my experience. I'm sure it's scary to see it. It's scary to be the one in it fs. Sometimes we wake up fighting and other times we wake up and realize it's not real. Other times we wake up seeing the people who are in the dream irl. It's a bitch either way. Hang in there cute stuff.