"How do I decrease the amount of TRAUMA /PTSD dreams?"
Вставка
- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- This week licensed therapist Kati Morton discusses trauma, PTSD and our dreams. She also explains how we can best support our children when we know they are struggling, how to know how much something we experienced affects us today, and why we can overshare with our therapist right away. She then offers some basic anger management tips, and how having a TBI can affect our mental health.
Ask Kati Anything, your mental health podcast, episode 232 audience questions:
1. I would be grateful if you would discuss trauma/ptsd dreams... particularly how to decrease them and how to recover after having them. 02:32
2. Hi Kati! I have a teenage daughter who is the light of my life and a great kid - she's incredibly empathetic, kind, creative, and doesn't get up to any real trouble (other than a little attitude with me here and there), but I worry about her mental health. Her dad and I had a difficult separation some years ago, and he drops in and out of her life - also she has struggled with anxiety since childhood, and is very hard on herself. When she was smaller I had her in play, art, and animal therapy to help manage her anxiety, but she'd always be positive for the first month or so then grow to hate going. Now she is... 09:25
3. How do we know if something that we experienced actually affected us and if so, the severity of which it impacted us to make us who we are today? My therapist will be going on maternity leave again for the second time within the last few years and it is expected that she will be away for an extended period of time (potentially up to two years). I'm going through an interesting period, I say interesting because I've been trying to figure out for months now, how and what I'm feeling about this situation. (For context, I was told I have alexithymia with my depression and anxiety). Intellectually I... 14:19
4. I was just wondering if this is something that is common or whether I'm weird. When I first met my therapist I had complete verbal diarrhea about a few things that happened as a teen. I apologized and she said it was ok and was very reassuring that I didn’t need to apologize. This was a few months back and we have talked about them in more detail since, I haven’t brought it up with her yet but I think I may have had a light bulb moment as to why I did that. I think it's connected to when I was trying to get someone to hear me.. 25:24
5. Can you talk about some basic anger management/frustration tolerance tips? I feel like I lose my temper wayyyy too easily, and it's NOT the type of person I want to be. I know you've talked about anger not being a "bad" thing, and that it can teach us something, etc. But I'm talking about the times when I am losing my cool for trivial things, or when I know I'm overreacting (cursing because I caught a red light, being snippy and defensive with people when they don't deserve it). I am getting better at calming myself down after being triggered, which is... 30:55
6. How does a brain injury impact someone who also has CPTSD? I was in 4th grade when I had an accident and received some brain damage on the front of my brain. I also grew up with emotional neglect/abuse, physical abuse, witnessing domestic abuse, bullying, and sexual abuse…I know that is a lot and I know CPTSD takes some rewiring of your brain to overcome. I just wonder if I struggle more than most because I also have that TBI to work with? Are there any tools/tricks to make it easier? I am in talk therapy and EMDR. 38:43
www.ncbi.nlm.n...
PUBLISHED BOOKS
Traumatized geni.us/Bfak0j
Are u ok? geni.us/sva4iUY
Join this channel & access more perks:
/ @katimorton
ONLINE THERAPY
While I do not currently offer online therapy, BetterHelp can connect you with a licensed, online therapist: betterhelp.com... (enjoy 10% off your first month)
SOCIAL
X: / katimorton
TikTok: / katimorton
Facebook: / katimorton1
Instagram: / katimorton
Pinterest: / katimorton1
Patreon: www.katimorton...
PARTNERSHIPS
Linnea Toney linnea@underscoretalent.com
I was so embarrassed when I trauma dumped on my new therapist. She acknowledged it and I felt worse. Yes, it held old trauma in the whole thing. Unfortunately, I left because of my shame and fear of rejection. Not sure where to go now. It feels like I am never enough to handle these moments.
Ptsd sufferer for years. I can share that my experience is that the nightmares happen as you deal at first with your issues but then over time you can be triggered by any life stress even things that maybe entirely unrelated but triggers you in some brain way and you will get a night or a couple of nights of nightmares seemingly out of the blue. With those events, it’s easier to recover if you remember that they are at least not from the initial trauma but triggered by some other life stress. One good thing for that is knowing that if you do have an uptick in the nightmares out of the blue you can identify that your stress/anxiety in daily life events is too high and you need to work on whatever is happening in the now. They crop up out of the blue seemingly and it’s not any less distressing but at least when you wake enough and think it through you don’t have to deep dive into the content of the dreams as you have likely dealt with it but it’s just like hitting a nerve when body tissue is inflamed.
I never thought of this pattern. Thanks.
Very true & explains a lot. Thanks
i have loads and loads of CPTSD. so much it's made me appear as if i'm autistic and feral yet timid. But I never have nightmares, or ruminate on trauma memories. I only avoid and react to present triggers. If I can avoid and isolate, then I'm fine (sad and wanting human connection, but feeling stable at the same time). I don't sit and think about my trauma. I mean ,I can. I write about my trauma, but I don't feel bad when I think of the memories. I only feel bad about what is going on in the present. hence, the avoidance of triggers.
Cannabis suppresses REM sleep, and I rarely remember my dreams when I go to sleep high. I've cut back on consumption and my vivid nightmares have returned. Last night's was about my teeth falling out every time I tried to talk.
Edit: don't take this as advice to use cannabis, especially not daily. Talk to a doctor about your sleep problems if they're so bad that you're considering drugs/medications.
Prazosin helped my nightmares dramatically.
Recommend to try it for nightmares ❤
Hey Kay, thanks for everything you do. This is my question.
I’ve always remembered my dreams. I remember dreams from 30 years ago, vividly. Recently I have experienced a lot of trauma and I have been having rapid flashbacks of dreams as well as deja vu. I walked out of a restaurant and had no clue where I was. I wonder what it means. Doesn’t even seem real.
When I was six, I was flipping off the couch and I hit my head on the floor. My head was bleeding and stuff like that then I had to go to the emergency room and since I can’t focus in school or sometimes I have headaches every day plus suicidal plus angry every time and plus I think I have PTSD
🖐️
Having a terrible day. My #3 abuser as a 13-year-old who became a u.s. senator Dick Lugar is in the local news again with a new award or statue. Many know his story, yet he continues as a local legion. Is there more than one layer of reality? I hope I can get through the day without doing something stupid.
No matter what you end up doing rmemeber that it’s not your fault
I am right in the middle of a highly traumatizing situation fighting back against a judge who previously abused his authority against me (psychological abuse by torturing me with illegal court practices) and am emotionally soooo dysregulated even in those critical hearings that it hurts both myself and the case...
I'm so thankful that you talked about resilience. I run into a lack of resilience when it comes to pressure applied to me. Usually, this comes when I'm driving so I try to travel at a time when there's little traffic on the road or if I can, I take detours. I just have no resilience to pressure applied to me to do things. Either I lash out in anger or I give in and do something, despite everything in me knowing I won't be able to handle it well. Resilience might not be the right word. Tolerance makes more sense, but your poker chip reference is what got me.
Prazosin did wonders for me (sweating, waking up screaming due to C-PTSD), unfortunately I live in Sweden where it requires a special license from the prescribing physician and have to be shipped from abroad. And all of a sudden it could not be delivered anymore, so I had to switch to Propranolol which in a relatively high dose is... not as good, but okay.
Wow! I wonder why it's hard to get, it's just generic Minipress? It's a very common blood pressure medication that's been shown safe for decades.
And we're only taking a fraction of the standard dose.
Insurance makes no sense to me! I'm sorry you're having trouble getting the medicine that works for you
Im so glad you talked about hypo vs. hyperarousal. I talk about the window of tolerance with my clients in every session.
Hi Kati. Thank you for answering question number 3. I am very aware of my feelings and behaviors. I hate it when therapists tell me that I'm too hard on myself. I like to think there are always reasons why we react or respond the way we do, whether we are aware of it or not. I can tell when something I'm doing or experiencing has affected from me from my childhood or upbringing when there is a great dissonance between how I feel and how I think I should feel or what I want to do versus what I feel like I should do. I also feel like my family has been abusive towards me in different ways, and I'm trying to create more space between them and I, especially in times I have been around them or have lived with them. Sometimes they try to puppet me around with conditions.
YES this has been so bad for me lately. They’re in almost all of my dreams. Not necessarily in an abusive way, but just their presence stresses me out and keeps me from getting restful sleep.
just the same.The nightmares keep comming every night, even when i don't think about the past. And then the next day I feel so anxious and exhousted.T.
This video was incredibly helpful! Dealing with trauma-related dreams can feel so overwhelming, and the strategies you shared really offer some hope. I appreciate how you broke down practical steps for managing PTSD dreams in a way that feels doable. Thank you for addressing such an important topic with care-it’s comforting to know there are ways to take control and start healing.
I have a lot of PTSD dreams. They started coming when I started an SSRI. Although destabilizing when I wake up and through the day, they are so helpful in processing these events that were not able to be processed from years of abuse. My brain got the medicine it needed to finally start healing in big ways. I can’t wait for the dreams to you know… calm down. But I am grateful.
idk if this I'm weird or this is just me but if I feel that my body is uptight and I can sense that Im gonna have a bad night, I listen to heavy metal music. I tap my foot, headband, air guitar / drums, etc. to the point where I'm literally tired and worked out. Then I fall right to sleep and I don't remember anything of dreams. Next thing I know, I'm awake.
It took me about 4 years to fully get over nightmares. Malnutrition contributed to the decline of mental health in addition to the trauma.
Early learning as a military kid helped me overcome ptsd. Visualization before bed, yoga, gaining control of something- gardening- home decor- creative processes.
I don’t trigger to much anymore.
My childhood wasn’t trauma but young adult was- out of the home.
I been having nightmares! My whole life! Ptsd, in dealing with other people periods?????
“Just because we’re older doesn’t mean we don’t need a ritual” really resonates with me as an autistic person and someone who struggles with nightmares too!
Hi Kati enjoyed this show- usually I have a hard time paying attention. I just wanted to let you know that I don’t think any kid likes the skin on potatoes or the crust on their bread. Grandma was right.
PTSD with major night terrors here. Prazosin is a lifesaver for me. I still dream, I just don't remember what I dreamed about and that's just fine with me.
I have cptsd and I don't feel anything but how is it I feel guilty if I can't do what I'm expected to do and feel sorry for things other's are going through or if its what they want me to do it's like I'm trying to navigate my way around other's feelings and my own I am so drained and tired I just want to be left alone which is what I went through as a child I didn't want to be around anyone but when it comes to doing work I just get on and do what needs to be done thanks for your pod cast have been watching your videos for some time and they have helped
I have PTSD, and I don’t know if it’s related, but if I try to nap during the day I’ll fall asleep for literally just minutes but jerk back awake hyperventilating. Sometimes as soon as I fall asleep for that daytime nap it’s like I immediately have a nightmare flash up and I gasp awake. It doesn’t happen at night time (maybe because of sleep medication sedating me), but I didn’t even know it’s possible to go into a dream state that quickly🤔
I'm glad you brought this up , The political climate right now is devastating , the thought of taking woman's rights away is not helping.
Nobody is trying to take away your rights!
@@truman3004 no choice no rights
@@truman3004 Where have you been?
I've found that taking hydroxyzine (which I'm prescribed for anxiety) before bed really helps for ptsd dreams, personally.
Thanks for talking about this!
@@achyleftistwitch so hydroxyzine has helped you with nightmares and difficulty with sleeping? I was on it for another reason, but maybe that is what has been missing in my life lately. I sleep about 4 hours a night. Usually any more than that makes me feel icky. I think I’m gonna ask my doctor doctor to re- prescribe.
I also have Learning disabilities!!!!!
I dream I'm leaving England every single night, with variations. Brexit got me PTSD ! Lol
And plus I think I have pretested everything you say about PTSD match my personal life
I've had suicidal thoughts since age 11, I'm now 40. How can I make them stop?
Kati, thanks for explaining the TBI. My neurologist was terrible and that was privately paid for. I will take your knowledge to my therapist. My last one terminated with me (partly due to TBI) and I found a new one who is ok to help me further my life.
Does lithium best for BPAD
This might be a dumb question, but how does one even know if he has PSTD or not? What causes it?
trauma
@@sharonwhitehouse6949 Could having been kidnapped in my early 20’s cause it?
@@sharonwhitehouse6949 I swear I am not making this up about having been kidnapped, but my early 20’s was such a different time then now in my life. Back then I had grown up with psychic abilities & had gotten my own psychic reality t.v., series, unfortunately some people saw this & decided to stop my she w by kidnapping me & some how they blocked my psychic abilities. They have not worked since then.
@@MMStrademark Yes. Absolutely.
@@m4g0rtz Can it cause a change in your routine such as sleeping & eating? I am sleeping a little better by now, but at one time I’d swear I’d just stay up all night! I notice how early I eat like I’ll make breakfast around 4 am, but back in my hometown before the move, it was usually at 5 am. Plus, I just constantly think about things, if not that, then usually music from t.v., or movies play in my head. Are these signs of PSTD? If so, what can I do to go back to normal? Whatever normal was for me.
I think I have trauma dreams, because without medication, I jerk awake every two hours, fully awake, heart going, but I can't remember my dreams. I know I have CPTSD, but I don't know what I'm dreaming.
I’ve had similar. I used to wake up while hyperventilating or literally ripping the hair out of my head, but I wouldn’t remember if I was even dreaming or not. It made me wonder if it was possible to have panic attacks while asleep (without nightmares), or if I just couldn’t remember the nightmares🤔
Hi Kati love your show and listen often. In a recent episode you talked about an alternate to spoon theory. Could you provide more information either in a video or additional web /book sources of more information?
Could you please talk about grief? Please
Good advice
wow, this tips about nightmares were disappointing: have routines or take pills and wait, until the therapy is over in the far future. Routines don't help at all if you have severe traumas and psychatrists made everything worse in my life, they just want to sell their pills and never were interested how I felt and when I said "I feel worse with the pills" they didn't ask why, didn't listen to my wishes for a different treatment but just said "this ... can't be, continue taking these pills". If I would have followed, I would be dead now.
And "your nightmare will get better when you get through the therapy", so for those, where the therapy needs 3 or more years you just say "in some years you will not have so much nightmares anymore". Poor tip
Just the same. And never try Quitiapine against nightmares. It was a trial, but now I have insomnia if I don't take (the low dosis) it and the nightmares are just the same. T.
Praise the Lord that I don't have nightmares anymore. I hope this video helps my former friend who has nightmares about his past
sawa pesa yamana 🎉
I already said no. Do not place man on my Firebase.
smoking weed stops dreams
Mostly because it reduces time ur in REM sleep which is the most prevalent time for dreams. Love weed but i cant use it for sleep because i never feel rested sadly
It always increases the intensity of my dreams until I become tolerant to it again. If I stop using it my dreams become more intense also.
That is precisely what I was thinking.
Must be nice
Unfortunately, some psychiatrists do regular drug screenings and will stop treating you if you use illicit substances (weeds not legalized where I live). It’s a shame because I used to sleep like a log if I had a bit of a smoke, but I can’t afford to not have the psychiatrist that I currently have in case I need a hospital admission in the future.
Such is life, hey🤷🏻♀️
I just embrace the dreams. "Let's see what the dreams have in store for me this time" and the nightmares became a lot more tame. Part of it was also wanting to dream and wanting to control my dreams or have some semblance of control over them while dreaming. It feels amazing to have amazing dreams that are far better than anything going on in real life. The interesting places, the beautiful women, that red head I ended up in bed with, doing brave things in the face of danger in some of the strangest environments. And the deep feeling. People who can't feel their feelings anymore should dream more because the ability to feel in dreams is immense. Bonus: The body is healing and the brain rewiring. Try to make the most of it.
Thank you so much for sharing this information with us!!🩷🌸🙏🏼