Traumatic Experiences Community Daily Check-in Wednesday 13th December 2017

Hello hello hello!

Today I'd like to touch in on a word many people who have gone through trauma know all too well:

NIGHTMARES.

They're scary, wake us up, and remind us of the scars we have inside of us. So since it's something I feel is important, I'm going to give three things that have helped me supress nightmares and even overcome them at times!

1. Write it all down

For me, I find that the more stressful my day was, the more likely I am to have a nightmare. I would write down all of the negative things on my mind first onto paper then all of the positive things so the bad goes into the paper and I think of the good things that happened that day! Another way to approach this is to reach out to a listener on 7 Cups to talk before bed Other people also find tracking and documenting nightmares actually helps them go down and even make people aware of what is a nightmare and what is not.

2. Exercise or relax

I love doing yoga before bed! It gets my muscles stretched, relaxed, and my mind off current events and past events. It also helps me stop worrying so much about the future. Other people find a run or a swim can be really invigorating but if that doesn't sound like something you want or can do, a warm shower/bath, a hot drink, and/or a good book can really work wonders. Relaxing and destressing before sleeping can help immensely in swaying nightmares. Other good ideas are playing with a pet, grounding, listening to music, sitting outside, letting your muscles become less tense, writing a creative story, cleaning or finishing chores, and more!

3. Identifying the source and making a plan

Did something happen recently that reminded you of a stressful event? Have you been worrying about something a lot? Is your room even just too hot or too cold? Are you currently ill? Identifying what has changed recently may help you find out why you've been having bad dreams lately. After that, you can create a course of action! While the nightmares go on, create a plan on how to take care of yourself when you wake up if you have a nightmare then follow through with that plan if needed. It can also help to figure out how to make the situation or thing stressing you out seem less stressful.

So how has your day been everyone? And do you have any tactics for battling nightmares? I can't wait to hear what you all have to say today

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