kthopkt

I find that when I do not know what my brother is doing or where he is, I am better of. As soon as someone calls me to tell yet more bad news, I begin to stress all over again. The night before last I woke my husband up out of his sleep because I screamed. I don't remember screaming but remember thinking about my brother before I fell asleep. Then yesterday, I watched this documentary a/b heroin use & in the video the users continually injected through their open wounds. I found it very disturbing but thought watching it might help me gain a better understanding about addiction. Anyhow, the movie kept me from sleeping soundly last night. This cycle has got to stop!

For the rest of today, as soon as I log off of here, I promise to focus on myself & trying to heal.

I love my addict; I love him enough to let him sort this mess out on his own. He deserves the self-respect to do it himself!

God be with all of us!

Ann

I had nightmares for years, about my son.

What worked most of all for me was, when I went to bed, to take my mind on a pleasant mental visual. For me it was to visually walk through my grandmother's house, room by room, looking at pictures and wallpaper and "feeling" the memory. I rarely made it thought the whole house and I slept much better.

Hope you find a solution that works for you.

Hugs

Kindeyes

Oh yes.....the nightmares. They kept me from sleeping for years. Often I couldn't remember them....I would just wake up with such a sense of extreme anxiety. It seldom happens now. I think finding a way to comfort yourself when this happens is important. Ann's imagery is great. For me, it's prayer and remembering to be grateful for all of the many things I have to be grateful for.....I'll pray and go through a gratitude list. It helps.

Yes.....may God be with us all.....particularly the addicts in our lives.

gentle hugs
ke

LoveMeNow

Oh how I hated the nightmares and I occasionally still have them! I remember one so vividly that I still can not shake it.

Doing my gratitude list at night has seemed to help me since it has been a while since I had one.

interrupted

When I have nightmares - and they come up somewhat frequently right now because I'm working so hard on unraveling all of my old baggage - I visualize my inner child as if she were a real child that the adult me is talking to and hugging. I tell her about the good things she has done, how much she is loved, and that everything is going to be okay. It sounds crazy but it really seems to be helping.

My therapist suggested the "inner child as real child" approach, and I use that all the time throughout the day, but I extrapolated from it a bit to fit the context of a nightmare I had recently. About a month ago I had some really extreme flashback nightmares to a particularly bad experience I had as a young adult, so I imagined the teen me standing in the front yard after the experience and I approached her as if I were talking to her and I went through the same routine. It was probably the healthiest response I have ever had to a violent trauma reenactment (the nightmare), and it gave me great comfort.

zoso77

Nightmares are awful. Fortunately, I have not had one involving my AXGF, but I've had nightmares featuring people in my life during stressful times. And they do rattle you.

That being said...for lack of a better phrase, there are times you've got to put the addict away for the night. You have a life to live, and there should times where you do things that give you joy, or comfort, or pleasure. Don't let him live rent free in your head all the time.

Best,
ZoSo