Bad dreams every night

[marta1234]

Hi, so I know that maybe this has been talked about in other posts, but I don't know if I'm having the same thing as everyone else.

So, every time I go to sleep I have a dream, sometimes they are actual nightmares, but most times they are just dreams where I feel scared all the time, the same fear that I felt when I was young. This has been going on for months now, from the moment that I started acknowledging my past and emotions. The dreams sometimes mirror past life situations, but most times it's just a mix.
However, I'm realizing that I'm (the littles) are becoming more and more scared to sleep and become anxious when I start to feel like sleeping. But tbh, going to sleep has always been a fear of mine because of the conditions I have been: as painful as this is, most of my life I had my bed in my b's bedroom, so I was always afraid of making noise.

[Not Alone]

Just a thought: would it help at all to sleep somewhere else, like on a couch or make a soft nest on the floor?

Here are a couple of articles about sleep:
https://www.beautyafterbruises.org/blog/nighttime101
https://www.beautyafterbruises.org/blog/nighttime201

[marta1234]

Thank you notalone for your insight. 
I have tried sleeping on a couch or another bed, but it doesn't change anything. I actually sleep worse.

[Three Roses]

There is a concept called lucid dreaming, where you control your dreams while asleep. With practice, anyone can learn how. Here's one article, but if you Google "lucid dreaming" there are many others.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-control-your-dreams_n_6296526

If you try this I'd be interested to hear about the outcome.

[Bach]

There is a concept called lucid dreaming, where you control your dreams while asleep. With practice, anyone can learn how. Here's one article, but if you Google "lucid dreaming" there are many others.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-control-your-dreams_n_6296526

If you try this I'd be interested to hear about the outcome.

I know someone who can do that.  I've tried it a few times.  I haven't had much success, but it does sound wonderful, doesn't it? 

[Three Roses]

After starting to have bad dreams again after many years of not having them, I brushed up on this and am now back to being able to control the direction my dreams go. It's do-able with practice and persistence.

[marta1234]

Thank you 3R and Bach for your input.
Question though, I feel like writing in detail my dreams will be traumatizing, and the site says that you have to journal to become aware. How did you do it?
Anyway, thank you for the idea, I'll be trying it out. I was starting to feel hopeless.

[Three Roses]

Hmmm... If you feel it would retraumatize you, I wouldn't do it without someone to help guide you thru it. Do you have a helpful therapist?

[marta1234]

Thanks for your input, 3R. No, I don't have a therapist right now, I saw one but it didn't work out. I've been meaning to find a new one, but with the situation right now I wouldn't be able to talk to a new one as calling or anything like that makes me feel unsafe. So I don't know if I'll have a chance to find a new one before summer.
In any case, I'll see what I can do with my dreams.
Thank you again for your help.

[Three Roses]

You're very welcome!