Can anybody help with a nightmare Ive been having?

Question

I saw my father get shot in the head and die when I was 4. I went to therapy for years. Now suddenely, Ive been re-living that moment over and over in my sleep. What could this mean?

Answer 1

I'm so sorry for your loss and trauma.
I have some old resolved issues that still pop into my consciousness when I am under great stress. Maybe that's what is going on with you.
My therapists has used a technique called EMDR with me to help me process those traumatic memories and it really works! Now I can process things on my own when I feel the anxiety and fear coming on.
If you have a therapist, ask them if they can help you learn this technique. If not, maybe you can look for a therapist who knows this technique and get it cleared out for good.
Good luck

Answer 2

Just because you go to therapy doesn't mean that the emotional problems associated with the event go away.

Yes, therapy can, given time and competent professional treatment, ease the psychological burden of a trauma, but it can only give one tools by which to deal with the incident.

Very emotional and defining moments in our lives become touchstones for us, ways by which we gauge how far we have progressed. Thus, it is very possible and likely that you will revisit the trauma throughout your lifetime. And each time it reoccurs, it is your mind's way of gauging how far you have come and how well you are dealing with it.

Imagine slow-cooking a pot roast. It can take 3-4 hours, depending upon the receipe, the amount of meat and vegetables used, etc etc, so you don't simply put it in the oven and forget about it. You go back to it at regular intervals to see how well its progressing, and to make any changes if necessary. Maybe you add more juice, or you stir up the potatoes because they are sticking.

Trauma is the same way. And the triggers could be just as varied: stressful time in your life, anniversary (or close to the anniversary) of the incident, conversations with family members, even a passing reference you picked up somewhere (like something similar happening on the tv.)

For very traumatic incidences, we often can't deal with the magnitude of it all at once. So, we break the emotional impact up over time, giving into it more and more the more comfortable we are in our lives. Since I don't know the circumstances surrounding the trauma, it could be that your mind feels as if you are ready to really dive into the experience now, without the fear of 'cracking up'.

Or, it could be some other circumstance associated with the trauma that has rewoken within your consciousness. Each person could be having nightmares for very different reasons, and it would very much depend upon an examination of the person and their life. It isn't necessarily 'abnormal' to suddenly be having nightmares of the incident again. Perhaps if you stopped and thought about what is going on in your life, you might be able to understand why they are coming back at this moment. Good luck.

Answer 3

Firstly I would like to say that I am sorry you had to witness this however sometimes these dreams aren't always what they seem. Think about how you were feeling before you went to bed that night, what had you been thinking about before you went to sleep. Did you go through a period where you could not remember what had happened & is there still details that you can't seem to put together.
You need to take all of this into account before this dream will mean anything at all to you. Is there something in your life right now that gives this dream some significance.
I hope that this has been of some help to you & good luck with everything from here on in

Answer 4

I'll never stop the nightmares of my tour of duty in Bierut.
I don't want to. I never want to forget my friends that I lost there. Sometimes I get really upset if I can't remember exactly what one of my friends looked like. I always see them, crystal clear, in my dreams. Even though the dreams scare the sh it out of me sometimes, I would rather have them, and the sleep disorder that goes with, then forget a single detail.
The nightmares are disturbing, forgetting is far worse.

Answer 5

It is a fear that still lurks within you because you must have really been afraid when your father was shot. It is something that you can't forget even though you think that you did. Maybe that's why you still kept on dreaming about it.

Answer 6

i'm really sorry that happened to you, hon. you don't say how old you are, but if you're going thru a rough time right now, that could be the reason or it could be just some unresolved emotions about it. obviously, something is happening and i would seek help to resolve this issue. good luck

Answer 7

i read once that dreams are a way for our brains to try and unwind things that we just cannot understand. the fact that you're re-living this horrific event is your brain's way of reminding you that it is still trying to understand what happened. even if your life is fine during your waking hours you should pop in for some "maintenance therapy", since your heart is still telling you that you haven't quite gotten through it.

Answer 8

Something could've triggered it. Like a picture of a gun, or seeing a certain person that you recognized previously. Or that you just miss him.

Answer 9

people werent meant to forget some things.
emotional stress is something you should overcome, not run away from. all phycologists do is cover it up, from what I've seen.

Answer 10

just pray before you go to sleep!..it doesnt mean,dont bother