Flashbacks and night terrors

[Mike Church]

I am sure that all of us have experienced these horrors and that they have had a profound effect on us.

I have a great psychiatrist ( damn I cant spell that) and he gave me some information that I had forgotten about and I want to share it with all of you.

We had a deep discussion about it one day and he planted the seed in my mind that it was in fact MY OWN MIND cleansing itself of all the shit that had accumulated. From that day forward, while I continued with the nightmare and the flashbacks I realized what I was trying to do and it helped my a whole lot.

Another thing he suggested. How soon we forget. In order to ground myself in the present when it was happening he told me to put a heavy elastic band around my wrist and when this stuff was going on to snap it against my wrist.

Well brothers I did it and do you know what happened. I got yanked right back to the present.

From then on I realized that while the nightmares and flash backs were terrible in themselves I somehow know that they could not hurt me.

I am not saying this will work for everyone but you never know.

I can attribute my easily forgetting things to the advanced state of decay from being on this earth for 62 years. Just kidding brothers.

Any one else got suggestions to help fellow brothers?

 

[Sick Puppy]

I have had horrible nightmares for most of my life so I am pretty used to it. I often wake up screaming or crying; my relatives, close friends, and partner have gotten used to this. Luckily most of them sleep very soundly so they won't neccesarily wake up if I am in the next room making a lot of noise.

I was diagnosed with PTSD for my childhood abuse so I have also had my fair share of flashbacks. Recently I have developed PTSD for a trauma that happened much more recently, so although I do not remember all the specifics of it from day to day, they return in the form of flashbacks or nightmares. I know this is my mind's way of showing me what happened so that I may work through it; because of this, I am able to tolerate it better. It can still be hell, though.

 

[Wuamei]

Here are some recent threads related to this that may provide some help:

https://www.malesurvivor.org/cgi-local/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001511#000005

https://www.malesurvivor.org/cgi-local/ultimatebb.cgi

https://www.malesurvivor.org/cgi-local/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001451#000005

Victor