Are PTSD nightmares always of the trauma itself?

[witchwomb]

*Possible trigger

The way your brain processes information can obscure a lot of the actual trauma itself. I had nightmares of sexual assault for years, even though I never had been...I guess that feeling of helplessness and victimization that goes along with other forms of trauma presents itself in some literal and not so literal ways.

[Boatsetsailrose]

Mine arnt nightmares more like sad dreams ..
I'm an adult and I go back to my child home, my m lives there alone ..I keep walking around the outside of the house watching her through the windows - keeping hidden I'm scared she'll see me .. on the last dream she did see me and it wasn't pleasant .. I haven't had the dream since ..
This dream has replayed over and over again .. maybe it's done now ?

[kxCobra]

Trigger warnings!*****

My dreams are never of the exact trauma-

I also experienced psychological/emotional trauma. You could make a case for physical abuse, but it isn't super relevant in my CPTSD anymore.

Most of my dreams deal with the themes of my abuse/childhood. I used to really not like being touched when I was younger, and although I asked not to be touched, my mother would consistently touch me in the most controlling ways, grabbing my shoulders, arms, face, directing me where she wanted to go. To a normal person I don't think this seemed like a big deal, but because I was taught to believe her crossing so many emotional boundaries was OK, I guess I tried to put up a physical one and it failed. I used to have rape dreams all the time, where people would just use me up- they would pop up right whenever I had a particularly bad incident when she would touch me. (I was never sexually abused).

Nowadays my dreams are me trying to save the people around me and ultimately failing. In a sense I was raised to be the peacemaker and to make her happy/keep her(my mom,) from getting upset, so metaphorically this makes sense, especially since making her happy would protect my Dad from any harm. Growing up if my friend/cousins ever did anything that made my parents upset I would always take the blame for it too, so protecting the people I love around me is a huge theme in my life/childhood that is expressed a lot in my dreams.

Hope that makes sense!

[JusticeBeaver]

I often dream that my mother is a zombie or a demon and she is chasing me. I have also dreamed that I was accused of crimes I didn't commit and put into jail.

My exact trauma was continuous and went on for  3 decades, there is no "trauma itself" to pinpoint, it was just a situation full of neglect, emotional abandonment, and verbal abuse by an NPD parent. I think that dreams where we feel helpless is the big issue. Something was happening to us and we couldn't stop it. Dreams of being chased, or attacked, or locked away seem like how our psyche expresses the feelings of vulnerability and helplessness.