Nightmares...Please read and answer!?

I posted this once...but I really need answers.... Lately I have been having re-occuring nightmares that my uncle (who raped me when I was nine years old) was on the news for raping a bunch...

I posted this once...but I really need answers....

Lately I have been having re-occuring nightmares that my uncle (who raped me when I was nine years old) was on the news for raping a bunch of other girls, my picture was one of the pictures on there the news came on when my cousin, my mom, and my grandma was in the room...then I ran and locked myself in a room because I was terrified/mortified that they found out b/c no one knew...I wouldnt talk to anyone for a long time...anyways...now, whether I am asleep or not everytime I close my eyes...even for a minute..I see my uncles face very clearly. I have had lots of nightmares about the rape (reliving it), but this nightmare just starting occuring...how can I make it stop??? Please help! I don't know why they started or how to stop them..please please help me!
I am pretty sure that I have PTSD, but I just want to know how to stop this. Thanks in advance!
Additional Details
I am 19 years old...this happened 10 years ago

dtoys5	I undeerstand how you feel, the same thing happened to me when I was 21 yrs old and Im 37 now..I have a friend thats mom is a psyciatrist and she knew something was wrong and I talked to her about it for yrs.Although at times I still have nightmares but you can be put on meds to help but you really need to talk to someone about this, someone who you can trust..I really hope you find someone to help you...Good Luck.

Virginia	totally sounds like PTSD. Couseling is the best thing for that. Some cognitive therapy might be good - basically helps to retrain your brain when you start having this. Some medications could help with PTSD in general. The other kinds off-the-wall thing is trying for lucid dreaming. There are these headphones called Sleepphones that you can wear when asleep. Then you can buy some MP3 online for lucid dreaming. They play some sound waves that can help you to recognize when you're dreaming and then you can control the dream and change the outcome. Meditation is another option - focusing on something different so you don't think about that.

G-girl	you have to see a therapist. its the only wat to help you deal with what you are feeling.

Bill Clinton is a sexy beast	I can't image how I could possibly live after something as terrible as what happened to you. You are a strong woman. You should tell your mother and father, and you should go to the doctor to see what psychiatrist can do for you. For living through that alone, you are very strong.

culater	First off, you must believe that your Uncle will pay his due, but this will not be solved by you. The first thing I would do is contact a lawyer concerning the impact that the news has had on you and I am sure on your family, the right lawyer will take this on from a percentage of what you win in court, so no out of pocket charges, as even though someone I know did not have her face plastered on the news, we lived through the nightmares that you have had, so for these I will say we stayed up alot and normally fell asleep out of exhaustion. If nothing else, I am sure the lawyer will write one heck of a letter to the news people, but I really think you need to check this out. Good Luck

Emily L	I have the same problem, I dream of the guy that molested me when I was 6 all the time. Mostly its me exacting revenge, but sometimes I'm terrified of him in the dreams. It helps when I think of the possible meaning of the dream. Its the feeling of complete and total loss of control over your own body that is the root of these dreams. I tend to just put them off as an annoyance, but sometimes they do affect my day. If these dreams are really distressing for you I suggest talking to a professional, it may help. Good Luck.

Nurse Annie	It seems pretty clear to a lot of people that you need counseling. To me, you need to be able to talk about it, talk about it and talk about it in a safe place and that what therapy is. A skilled counselor, MA, LCSW, psychiatrist can help you get to the bottom of the recurring nightmares. It's most important that you realize, IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, that you were the victim here. It's only then that you'll be able to move on to a more normal life, though you'll never be able to put it COMPLETELY out of your mind. God Bless, Annie

Lynn	You didn't say if you revealed this horrible experience to your mom or someone who's important to you. It appears you are carrying around alot, and I do mean, ALOT of burdens related to that nightmare of reality. You need to talk about it to a psychiatrist, or your mother, family, etc. Make this known now. Don't carry the secret any longer torturing yourself. It will be hard to talk about, but it will be harder on your pschie than it is today without someone to relieve your burden upon. When I was raped as a teenager, I knew that the family who admired the boy would not concieve of his having the ability to do such a unGodly act. My boyfriend was aghast, since I'd been a virgin. I was more than troubled of course. But I had to tell everyone to expose this 'favored' person. So first I told my boyfriend, then my mom with my boyfriend there for support. Then my mom called the rapists' mom and she called them over for a meeting with me and my BF present, as well as the rapist. He admitted raping me, which really floored us all. I was surprised my BF handled it so well. But my mother decided that the best thing to do, was to wait and see if I was PG, and then we should marry to raise the child. And preserve the family privacy thing. His parents were also in agreement. He looked relieved and sanctimon- ious. That left my BF. And he decided to back out of the pic- ture, right then and there. So I felt so abandoned and hurt. No persecution was done against the boy. His life continued as before. I was made to endure a pelvic by a strange doctor who found it was too early to tell if I was PG. But he did confirm I wasn't a virgin. Everyone seemed to look at me with a 'knowing' look. Like I was a bad girl, and it was all my fault. Luckily I wasn't PG. And I tried to get back with my BF, but things were never the same after that. It took several months to finally disconnect that were very turbulent. I ended up leaving home and joined the military for a new life. Later I came back home, and got even with my rapist, and it was sweet revenge. The last I heard, this guy was in a standoff with police in the middle of a main street and he was arrested. Apparently, he'd really gone crazy in the end.

chocolate929	go to see a psychiatry, i mean u can find a lady one it is better u seek treatment for it, bcos it will not just go away, if u dun seek treatment it will be like a blood clot in the mind, and huant u for a long time, this might affect your daily life and the trust for a soul mate cheers u r not the only one, i have cases like that, you can get over it, so go seek treatment soon

Mellie	If I were you I would get professional help for this. Something is triggering this right now. You have unresolved issues that need to me addressed. Other stresses in your life may be adding to this too. I haven't been through what you have. I used to get nightmares all the time when I was growing up. In university I had a two week period where I had the same thing happen with a nightmare. As soon as I closed my eyes, even in the middle of the day the dream would start again. After two weeks it just stopped. I don't know why. Please look into talking with a professional soon. It will help.

Lostinhiseyes	I would recommend talking to a therapist about this, so they can help you. realizing that you will never forget what your uncle had done to you, at least the therapist can give you ways to cope and deal with how you are feeling. May god bless you and keep you safe.

BetsyF	you have to tell someone God Bless

cecielscott	You need to speak with a therapist. You aren't the only one who was victimized as a child, and you are NOT to blame for what an adult did TO you. PTSD sounds like a real possibility, and you can get through this. Get counseling for yourself. You are the only "YOU" you have.

sarahkeebs	It sounds like PTSD, from what I know. If that's the case, you should seek professional help. Don't hesitate because you don't believe you are or don't want to be labelled as "crazy"...trauma can re-wire the brain and the longer it goes without treatment, the harder it is to treat.

Nightstalkr	the nightmares come from the fact that u haven't come to terms with the rape. u obviously went through a traumatic time.. u'r nightmare also expresses the fear of someone finding out that u were raped (whether it be because u think that they will think lesser of u or that u r weak.. which ur not!).. talk to someone u trust about what happened to u. then seek some sort of therapy to help u deal with the rape.. may luck b with u and i hope that u will heal.. but keep in mind that healing from the rape (mental healing) won't come overnight

S.L.B.	I hope you reported the rape to your parents and the police. If not, you must now. This could be why your subconscious mind is dreaming about the subject. Also, get therapy. Ask your doctor to refer you for it. You must share what happened with your doctor too. The more you discuss this and expose your uncle, the better you'll feel. I hope your uncle is brought to justice.

StarBrite	ohh.....that is scary you uncle raped you i am sad for you

Annie Oakley	I am so sorry that this happened to you. The same thing happened to me, except that I was raped by several strangers for many years, and my mother was murdered. I saw a therapist for over 10 years. During therapy I turned my life over to God and began studying the Bible. My therapist was is a Christian and she helped me deal with the trauma. God helped me the most though.

StinaV123	I'm so sorry to hear about what your uncle did to you when you were nine years old; that must have been so awful. About your question, many people say that dreams are mostly your subconscious thoughts coming to the surface-- the thoughts that you don't want to think about during the day and force to keep in a part of your mind where you don't have to think about them. I think your dream is telling you that you still have some unresolved issues with what happened, rightfully so. If you are comfortable with it, I would suggest going to see a therapist to talk through what happened to you and how you are feeling today. I think once you deal with your feelings now, those dreams should go away as you have brought those subconscioius thoughts to the surface during the day and healthily dealt with them. I hope it goes well!

thatdrummerguy05	try theropy

Kristin D	It is apparent that you fear that you were not the only one who was raped. And the fact that your dream forces the realization upon your family, much to your dismay, your inner self may be longing for you to let it out. I hope you are speaking with a counselor, and if not it is time you do. I know it is hard to take a step and let yourself be helped, but the world does not come crashing down when the cat is out of the bag. You can stop the dreams by listening to the message your inner self is giving you.

l337godd3ss	The best way to stop this is to get some help. Have you tried visiting a psychologist? So many people are ashamed to go to one, but really, they can help so much. Just like you would visit a cardiologist if you had problems with your heart, you should seek a psychologist for troubles with the mind. They're trained to make things like this better - they know how PTSD works and how to make it stop. Good luck.

The mom	You are having the nightmare because you have not completely dealt with the trauma and problems stemming from the rape. What you are not dealing with while you are awake is not going away, and you are still trying to deal with it. As a rule we deal with problems in our sleep state because it's less threatening, but not always. For your sanity sake, remind yourself that they don't show the pictures of juvenile victims on television, nor even give names- so this scenario really can't happen. I assume you never told anyone that this happened to you, and that's the first thing you need to do. Start with telling your mother, and regardless of whether she chooses to believe you or not, you also need to contact a rape counselling group. You more than likely do have some problems that need to be dealt with before you will be able to heal and move on with the rest of your life- not to mention helping stop the nightmares. What happened was inexcusable, but it doesn't have to affect the rest of your life unless you decide to let it. He had power over you once, but he doesn't anymore. Please, for your own welfare, tell and get help. No matter what it takes to do it, no matter who gets their feelings hurt in the process, you need to do what you need to do to save yourself before this spirals anymore out of control. The nightmares will go away when you take charge and deal with this problem, so that's what you need to do.

MissKathleen	I just went to the psychiatrist today for nightmares and she prescribed Imipramine. It's an antidepressant but is also used in treatment for nightmares. I took it a few years ago and it really helped. It takes a couple weeks to really work. I don't know why my nightmares returned. Sorry for the loss of your childhood. You definitely need to get some counseling as soon as possible. Go to your family doctor and he can help you. Or even your school counselors. That's what they're there for. Good Luck!

Ofc J	It sounds like you are experiencing guilt. Not that you are or were guilty. But you feel ashamed and guilty. Perhaps, you feel guilt for not telling anyone. That is why you are seeing many other girls injured the same way. You have no idea if he has done this to anyone else. Therefore you feel it's you obligation to tell the authorities to make sure he doesn't do it again. You, however, don't want to tell your family? A previous poster said you need to tell someone. Yes, you need to tell someone to work through how you are feeling. Start with a counselor/ therapist. Then decide, during therapy, if you need and/or are ready to tell your family and or the authorities. Keep your identity concealed until you make your decisions. Rape has a statute of limitations. So it might be too late to press charges for someone who has always remember the crime. I have been informed though that if someone remembers this type of occurrence during therapy or later in life they can make charges with special circumstances. You should seek counseling / therapy to work through things and determine what to do. Please remember it wasn't your fault. You are not guilty. You couldn't control the circumstances. You couldn't prevent him form doing what he did. You are not guilty. It's not your fault. Blessed be..

~♥kaysee♥~	the best way is to go to a theripist to talk about your problems. if your mom now knows then she should happily let you go since it is something that is really hard to gett out of your mind since it is so terrible i'm really sorry about the raping and stuff, so best of luck since this may be very serious. did your uncle go to jail?? i personally hope he did b/c thats a terrible thing that he did to you and all those other girls!!

bigandbadforever69	Im pretty sure this is bothering you and its coming out in your dreams, its a sign to see someone and see what they can do to get rid of it.

Catherine	oh my god thats terrible. have you told anyone? because if you haven't, maybe you're afraid of your family finding out from another source (ie: the news). you should see a professional about this. i wish you the best of luck.

t.s	, go get counselling, l would think you have PTSD for sure

The one who knows	You need to see a psychologist/ counselor. I don't think there is a "cure" for this, but I know that speaking with someone will help. They might have medication. Best of luck!

purodulcinea	I am sorry to hear this. It sounds like your uncounscous is tyring to tell you something; maybe you haven't yet healed from the trauma and need an outlet to express your feelings around abuse. If your dream is re-occuring, it's trying to tell you something. Try writing every detail of nightmare on a journal right after you wake up or try talking to somebody you trust about nightmare. The more you talk about it, the better you will feel. If you haven't already, please seek a mental health therapist/psychotherapist who has a background on sexual assault, abuse, trauma, etc. If you haven't already, please report rape as your uncle is still out there probably raping other children!! Once you do something, you will feel much better. Look for community resources around you that can provide you with more support. Good Luck.