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Comment on Daily Discussion Thread: 😴 Tuesday, 7 January, 2025

Baku@aussie.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

I had a terrible time trying to get to sleep last night (for the people who have already slept: Sunday night). I couldn’t shut my mind down, and I kept having flashbacks to a few years ago, not long after I’d been moved to Melbourne. They weren’t traumatic per se, but I felt EXACTLY the same as I was in the moment. The helplessness, terror, anxiety, dread, loneliness, panic

I don’t know what brought it up but it was really shitty. I put on a YouTube video which is my usual approach to dealing with those thoughts (even though this was a lot more extreme than usual), and I stopped thinking about it, but I got really bad vertigo and dizziness and I think I was hallucinating. I could just about see blue lights swinging around even though I had my eyes closed and light off. Phone screen was off and upside down so it wasn’t that, and there was no light in my room

Now I’m kind of feeling a little scared to sleep again. Well, not scared exactly, more so dreading it. The emotional response it all brought up was awful, and I don’t want to have to deal with it again

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imoldgreeeg@aussie.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Hey - hugs. That’s shithouse. I have had similar nights and it’s exhausting and makes it very hard to rest. Especially when you are finally safe and your brain decides “hey are we safe now? Cool, I can start to process some of this old junk!!” Like, no man, give me a break for just a moment.

Sharing only so you don’t think you are alone or that this is something forever - it will settle (noting everyone has different traumas and timescales). And so I can share a couple of triage things that have helped me.

Warm shower. Concentrate gently on breathing, your feet on the floor and the sensation of the water. Think of it literally washing away all that shit, those feelings and just stand there until you start to feel regulated.

Breathing exercise - specifically humming breath. You can sit but my favourite is to lie down on the floor with my feet on the bed so my back is flat and have a heavy blanket on my chest. Breathe in and out normally (but try to slow it down and keep it regular). On your out breathe just hum quietly. Just to yourself. You can play with the pitch and try to feel where it’s vibrating in your body. Or just hum. This is amazing for calming your nervous system.

I know you did not ask for advice or help, so hope it’s ok to share. Hopefully it settles down soon and you can rest.
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Seagoon_@aussie.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
So many hugs.

This is exactly what having a night terror is. It’s an involuntary reliving through dreams of the emotional memory of a traumatic event and we live it as if it is real.

It’s just a dream, it isn’t real. It’s your brain trying to cope with bad events from the past.

Try not to get too tired as over tiredness makes night terrors more likely.

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LowExperience2368@aussie.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I hope tonight is a better night for you Baku <3

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melbaboutown@aussie.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Emotional flashbacks are a real thing and trauma symptoms absolutely ramp up when your brain thinks you’re safe/things become less extreme.

I’m sorry dude, if you think seeing someone might help you could probably use the extra support. (But keep in mind not everyone clicks or has a useful approach for trauma so shop around). Maybe try the Blue Knot or see if you can get some sessions funded through victims of crime.

Ps. Seeing the blue is due to phosphenes. There’s all this scary stuff on the internet but it doesn’t necessarily mean that anything scary or abnormal is happening. It’s also possible to hear things as you’re falling asleep or waking, ie. hypnagogic hallucinations. Just in case those pieces of info are reassuring.

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