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Dealing with troubled sleep and nightmares
SAID ALOUD
Dealing with troubled sleep and nightmares
Aim. To learn what can be done to help survivors deal with bad dreams and nightmares.
PART II: THE TRAINING
Trainer. Let’ s look at techniques for dealing with troubled sleep and nightmares. [ She posts the Butterfly Woman’ s list on the wall.] Here is the Butterfly Woman’ s list:
Practice during the day good things you can do when you have nightmares at night
Get to know your bedroom well during the day, so you can orient yourself easily and know that you are in your bedroom.
• Be aware of local differences. In some places no electrical light will be available. Where that is the case, orient yourself by touching objects and listening for familiar sounds.
Choose things that make you feel safe and in the present
Remember that we can obtain good new experiences, and anchor ourselves in the present, by using our senses. The Butterfly Woman chose to:
• Touch her pillow and feel her mosquito net.
• Turn on the light( if possible) and look round the room.
• Sit up and feel her feet on the ground.
She found all three things helpful. When she did not have a light to turn on, it was very dark in the room and she used touch and hearing to orient herself.
Make your plans carefully during the day
Make yourself familiar with what you choose during the day. This can greatly help when waking from nightmares.
Establish routines when you awake from nightmares
• Try to move your body. Start with the head, fingers and arms.
• Touch something that reminds you of safety( pillow, mosquito net, etc.).
Every survivor needs to find something that helps her. The helper and survivor can investigate options together and try them out during the day.
Discussion. Dealing with nightmares: good reminders.( 10 minutes.)
DISCUSSION
Discuss the impact of nightmares and attitudes to dreams and nightmares in your community.
• How severe or dangerous are they thought to be?
• In your experience, how do nightmares affect survivors?
• What do you think about after you have a nightmare?
• How do they make a survivor feel?