Recurring dreams

[Harley]

I keep having very vivid dreams that I'm being raped. Around half of the time it is my father who is doing it (who was a horrible person - my mum split up with him when I was around 8. He beat her and had horrid drug and alcohol habits). The other times, it is somebody I do not know.

I am currently in a loving relationship with my boyfriend - we have sex and I enjoy it, it's mutual and we understand each other's limits. If I don't want to have sex, then we don't have it. Simple as that. But I can't stop having these dreams. I've been having them ever since my mum (who I've always cared for as a young carer, she's disabled) nearly died in hospital with multiple organ failure. My psychologist thinks I have PTSD because of this - I had depression before the incident.

Is it possible that because of the trauma I've been through with my mum's illness, other memories that I had previously tried to forget about are coming back? I have always felt a sense of discomfort and violation around my father. I know he abused my mum, although I do not know if he did sexually (it is likely, however). I don't see my dad anymore, but he is constantly in my head, making everything more miserable. I feel as though my dreams have some connection to truth.

Even before I was diagnosed with PTSD, I was always very paranoid about being near men, I am scared to go outside alone and have been cornered in public several times - this is because I live in a very bad area, where there are barely any teenage girls. I am constantly scared of being assaulted and raped - and I'm starting to really believe that it has something to do with my dad.

I'm sorry if this went on for a long time, it's just a lot to explain. I'd really appreciate some thoughts on this.

[HunterBlue]

My father is a psychologist and repressed memories is a touchy topic for him. Repressed memories is mostly an jnventionnif TV. Huge damage has been done to the field of psychiatry and psychology due the idea of repressed memories which have more or less proven to be false. Many people were arrested and put in jail or had thier lives ruined under accusations of ore pressed memories only to have been proven innocent later. Here's an example

One experiment had people who had visited Disney land sit in a waiting room. In the waiting room were pictures of bugs bunny and kids hugging and shaking hands with bugs bunny in Disney land. When they were called into the room for an interview they were asked about their time at Disneyland, and if they remembered seeing bugs bunny there. Virtually all of them said they had even though it would have been impossible. Bugs bunny is a Warner Bros character so he could not possibly be there, but they insisted they had seen him and hugged him and even had detailed memories of him. Even when told the pictures had been photoshopped and bugs bunny was never there, they still insisted that he was because they remembered him so clearly.

Here's another. Experimenters stood on the street and asked people for directions. While the subject gave directions movers would walk in between them, blocking the view for a moment. In that instant they would switch the person asking directions with someone else. When the movers passed the people would go onto give instructions, not realising that they were no longer talking to the same person.

There are so many examples of this that if anyone were to tell you that yeah, it's very possible he did, you will instantly start to make up fake memories of rape that will become more and more elaborate. So I would be very careful. Your dad may be a bad person, but being charged or called a child rapist when one is innocent isn't a good idea.

Btw, I have reoccurring nightmares about zombies. It doesn't mean anything.

[Jakefortin]

I had dreams about being a father (got someone pregnant) 3 NIGHTS IN A ROW. It was terrible. Thank God I didn't get anyone pregnant.

[Fiction]

I used to have recurring rape nightmares sometimes about people I knew and sometimes not. As far as I know, and I'm fairly sure, I've never been through anything like that and I know for definite I wasn't by some of the perpertrators in the dreams because I didn't know them as a young child.

I get nightmares every night when I'm stressed, so it could just be that :)

[candabear17]

I keep having very vivid dreams that I'm being raped. Around half of the time it is my father who is doing it (who was a horrible person - my mum split up with him when I was around 8. He beat her and had horrid drug and alcohol habits). The other times, it is somebody I do not know.

I am currently in a loving relationship with my boyfriend - we have sex and I enjoy it, it's mutual and we understand each other's limits. If I don't want to have sex, then we don't have it. Simple as that. But I can't stop having these dreams. I've been having them ever since my mum (who I've always cared for as a young carer, she's disabled) nearly died in hospital with multiple organ failure. My psychologist thinks I have PTSD because of this - I had depression before the incident.

Is it possible that because of the trauma I've been through with my mum's illness, other memories that I had previously tried to forget about are coming back? I have always felt a sense of discomfort and violation around my father. I know he abused my mum, although I do not know if he did sexually (it is likely, however). I don't see my dad anymore, but he is constantly in my head, making everything more miserable. I feel as though my dreams have some connection to truth.

Even before I was diagnosed with PTSD, I was always very paranoid about being near men, I am scared to go outside alone and have been cornered in public several times - this is because I live in a very bad area, where there are barely any teenage girls. I am constantly scared of being assaulted and raped - and I'm starting to really believe that it has something to do with my dad.

I'm sorry if this went on for a long time, it's just a lot to explain. I'd really appreciate some thoughts on this.

I was diagnosed with PTSD in January. It tore me apart. I think you should look up more info on it and the symptoms. That's what really helped me through. There's a lot of comfort in understand the things that you never did before; it takes away a lot of the fear.
I'm sorry that happened to you. I've been through a lot of similar situations and then some. If you ever need someone to talk to, message me or I can send you my email. I'm always here if you need someone to talk to.
Btw, my (now ex) best friend's sister also has PTSD and talking to her about it was one of the things that helped me the most. Even if it's not me, find someone to talk to who understands what you're going through with this. There's strength in numbers.
Best of luck to you.