Uninvited dreams
Lately I've been having dreams where my attacker is present in them. During the dream the actual traumatic event doesn't occur, but he is there. I repeatedly tell "don't touch me" at him in the dream. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this? I'm worried it may escalate in a more nightmare sort of dream. Anyone has knowledge of how to deal with dreams and the unconscious mind? Thank you.
Molamoon, I experience dreams like that all the time. I could even be having a good dream but the person who hurt me is just there in the background. Their presence gives me anxiety and I worry that they are going to hurt me again but they don’t. It’s like their purpose is to just make me feel uneasy. I didn’t know whether to consider that a nightmare because he doesn’t really do anything but even in real life his presence is enough to upset me deeply. I just wanted you to know that you are not alone and that other people experience that as well. I heard that writing down your nightmares help but I have only done that a few times. Anyways, I know how hard it is to deal with all of this and I hope you feel better soon.
I have experienced a similar dream. Except this time I was fighting back but no matter what i did, i just couldn't get him off of me. It was a literal nightmare because it felt so real. But subconsciously i knew it wasn't real, i woke myself up. I believe it happens because we haven't entirely healed from the trauma.