Flashbacks and nightmares

ellie2000 · April 2019

do memories of getting raped stay with you forever, I'm having therapy, how do you stop having negative thoughts

Kathleen07 · April 2019

Hey Ellie

I'm so sorry to hear about this. It's positive that you're having therapy - is that helping you at all?

I'm not a rape, or extreme trauma, victim. Though I did go through something nearly three years ago that left me with a lot of things. In my experience, the memories have finally quietened down and have become a lot less disturbing. I guess it varies from person to person, but eventually, I think you can learn to live with the trauma. You may still be pained, you may still sometimes get flashbacks and nightmares - but they'll get less frequent and intense, you'll find ways to cope... In general, life goes on, things can and do get easier, and you survive.

One tip I may suggest when it comes to stopping negative thoughts, even if it sounds stupid, is to not force them away. When I've had thoughts about my situation, they were upsetting, so I'd desperately try to. But in fact, the only way I could "heal" at all, is to let myself think about it and process what happened. Not sure if this sort of thing applies to you at all. When it comes to flashbacks, I think people try certain grounding techniques - for example, listing all the things you can see around you.

I can only imagine that this is horrid for you

We're always here if you ever need to vent about things. And I hope you get some relief from the memories soon.

ellie2000 · April 2019

I'm awake now coz I'm with family, but wen I go home I go to bed or play games n ignore friends,

ellie2000 · April 2019

Losing interest in stuff

Flashbacks and nightmares

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