Dreams

[walking on broken glass]

I have posted about disturbing dreams before, as an inevitable outcome of all the recent family turmoil and rehashing things in therapy.
My therapist had recommended to me writing my dreams down and keeping some kind of dream journal to take away their power and make sense out of them. I also read about image rehearsal therapy, where you rehearse the dream when awake and change the ending so that it feels safer. However, currently my dreams are very elusive and fuzzy: I wake up with the vague memory of a dream relating to family but I don't remember the particular details and the exact content. I might recall a broad context (like a dream about a family gathering, a conversation with my parents, a trip with my sister) but the details are not there anymore. This is very frustrating because I cannot do any of the work I described above with almost next to nothing to work on, but I still wake up feeling upset and not well rested. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to deal with this?

[Lookin 2 B Free]

I'm sorry you're having disturbing dreams, WOBG.  I have them too - "killing fields" type dreams when I'm under stress.  Very unpleasant. 

Hopefully someone on here knows more about this than I do.  I did dream journaling some 15 yrs ago for a while.  It seems to me I read or was told that if I went ahead and described everything I could, even if it was vague and pretty limited, that would help me start remembering them better. Maybe it moves the mind in the direction of priortizing that more.  I'm not sure.

I hope you get some relief soon!

[Creative_Name]

My suggestion is EMDR. It's a type of therapy for trauma that uses bilateral stimulation to mimic REM sleep and help things get "unstuck." That's a very elementary explanation. It's the gold standard for trauma.

Also, reframing the nightmares for what they are - your brain is in a place it feels you can handle processing things that have happened. Also an elementary explanation so, even though it feels terrible, it's a healthy sign.

I'm sorry you're experiencing this though, they really can be so distressing.


For me, noticing the themes helped. I thankfully have a very safe husband... but my nightmares were mostly about him blatantly cheating on me without remorse and when I confronted he'd act as though it was the most normal thing for him to do. It was so distressing because he's my closest and safest person.

It wasn't about him. It was about confronting something wrong and there being a total lack of accountability while also acting as though I was overreacting.

Anyway, EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) is incredible. You can find certified therapists on EMDRIA . Org if I'm allowed to say that?

[1footouttadefog]

I think viewing you dreams as a potentially positive thing helps.

While negative in content and how you feel, the fact you are having them can mean positive things are talking place.

It can mean your subconscious feels like it's safe enough to process some things that are backlogged.  It can mean progress is being made and strength is being gained and that negative emotions and feelings are being rewritten in a way that they are no longer in the heat and now with the same painful energy they have had until this point.  The rewriting can mean they will now fade to become just regular memories with no physical feelings or strong emotional sensations attached. 

I hope you find peace and healing as you go through this painful part of your journey

[walking on broken glass]

Thank you creative name and 1footouttadefog!

It's encouraging to know that this is perhaps part of the healing process, and not regression.

I did consider EMDR therapy but ended up having therapy with a therapist that practises the psychodynamic approach. I think talking to her does help.