nightmare can't stop thinking about

[sky]

My ex abused me for years, physical, emotional' etc.  I have been away from him for many years now but the other night I had a very disturbing dream about him and I wish I could stop thinking about it but it plays over and over in my mind. Its terribly oppressive and upsetting. Question is there some technique to use to help me stop thinking about it?

[seasaw_]

I'm so sorry for the pain you endured then, and the aftershocks you're dealing with now. 

I experienced nightmares every, single, night from October '14 until February of this year about my mom.  EVERY night.  Really bad, always different, they always interrupted my sleep, sometimes I could get back to sleep, sometimes not - sometimes I woke up sweating, shouting, crying - finally when I started experiencing actual symptoms of exhaustion I went to see my doctor and she prescribed a PTSD medicine calls prozosin.  It's technically a blood pressure medication.  It TOTALLY nixed my nightmares.  I had to stop taking it after a couple of weeks because of the BP aspect of it, but the nightmares never came back! 

Hope you find something that works for you.

[Kizzie]

Hi Sky - Do you have someone a friend you could talk to? Very often just getting these things out into the light of day and talking it through with an empathetic person can help.  Are you under some stress which may have caused the nightmare?

[sky]

Thank you seasaw and Kizzie - actually have been under some stress recently and I did talk it out with a friend and that seemed to cause it to fade.  I appreciate your compassion - thank you!

[Widdiful Falling]

If it comes back, and you find you're still rehashing it, please don't hesitate to talk it out as many times as you need to. Write it down, cry about it, just get it out of your system.

I have disturbing dreams, too. They seem to increase in intensity as I reconnect with the feeling side of myself. Healing is hard, and can exacerbate your symptoms. Don't give up! I'm so glad you have a friend to open up to about your dream. I hope it stays away! 

[sky]

Thank you Widdiful :-)   its really nice just to hear others express how they have the same problem!  I find that's true about dreams happening more often when one is dealing with an emotional issue - thanks again for the encouragement - I think we can heal.