Anxiety + nightmares, are they related?

[Jay95]

Hi everybody.

im pretty new here, my name is Jay I'm 19. Im currently pending diagnosis for PTSD and have had generalized anxiety for a few years.

I had a pretty crappy upbringing - parents were drug addicts who beat me up every night as well as my siblings, didn't look after me right and we often went without necessities. My siblings and I got placed into foster care when I was 15.

i don't know if I can say my nightmares I have been having are anxiety induced or what... Although I try to cut off contact, I still see my mum, she is on drugs, very manipulative and abusive. My dad died last year due to drug overdose.

i have having these reoccurring nightmares nearly every night for over a week, it's of me running away from home then getting found and locked up alone with my Dad - who would no doubt hurt me until i couldn't feel it anymore. Same dream I had when I was 8. 

anyone else have issues with nightmares?

im not sure if it's worth seeing my GP, I mean, really, what can they do?? I'm already on anxiety treatment.

[geoff]

dear Jay, it's nice to meet you as I don't think I have replied back to you, but your upbringing has been what someone would call being terrible, and never knowing what was going to happen next.

Well I had dreams of my earlier life and what was the basis of part my PTSD, but they are in extraordinary ways, bringing back people from years well before, or when I was at school, so they involve people I haven't seen for 40 odd years, yes I'm old as I'm 60, but we can't control our subconscious even if we think of something pleasant to think about, it doesn't matter, as our mind takes over.

You certainly have had an awful upbringing, one which no one would ever wish to have, and I can wish that this never had ever would have been thrown upon a child, and for you to suffer the consequences, bcause with you your parents didn't give a damn except for what they needed.

To answer your question it's always worth seeing your doctor because they may pass you over to a psychologist, and in saying this, my fairly new psychologist has said that he can cure my PTSD, but after ( I've lost count of how long I've been seeing him, maybe a year, but please don't quote me) nothing has changed, but they do believe that they can overcome PTSD, and in your case it would be worth seeing one.

Now I've said that if you click on 'Get Support' at the top of this page there are professional doctors etc who deal with mental issues, and they are aligned to Beyond Blue and specifically deal with people like us.

I probably haven't been much help, but I hope that you can get something out of it, and please keep in contact. Geoff.

[Pixie15]

Hi Jay95,

This is an interesting question.

I have some anxious features but I do not actually meet any of the diagnostic criteria so can not really say what I have. 

When I am more anxious I do have more vivid dreams and some of them are recurring. I am wondering if writing down the details of the dream as you have done in this post helped. 

When I was younger, about your age, I had a few waking dreams. That was really quite frightening.

thanks,

Christine.

[Jay95]

Thank you Geoff. I have been seeing a counsellor at Headspace for a little while now, only a couple of months, not sure how comfortable I am explaining the nightmares yet to them. I'll get there. 

[Jay95]

Hi Christine

Thanks for your response. Sorry - I am unsure what you mean when you said  "I am wondering if writing down the details of the dream as you have done in this post helped", are you asking if what I wrote was unhelpful to write/inappropriate or unnecessary or are you asking if it helped to get it out and share? 

Those waking dreams are frightening for sure, the moment you wake up, you wake up thinking its really happening before your mind realises its ok. But it's not really ok because I lay there for the rest of the night worrying about going back to sleep because I'm scared of the nightmare coming back. 

[Pixie15]

Hi Jay95,

Sorry. I should of expanded more in the first post. I wondered if writing it down helped because I know some people keep a dream diary. Also I know from my own experience that if I am avoiding facing something because it might cause emotional pain then it will tend to surface in other ways. If you have difficulty talking about some things to another person it can help to write in down. It makes the thoughts and feelings concrete rather than just having them rattling around.

Thanks,

Christine. 

[Jay95]

Thank you Christine. I've been writing down parts of my dreams that worry me the most and are the most concerning, the parts that make me wake up in a sweat. I'm thinking I'll take it to my Headspace appointment next time I'm there.