PTSD and Nightmares

Someone I care about frequently experiences nightmares (and occasional waking flashbacks) related to several extremely traumatic events in their past.

Given we have combat veterans and people from all walks of life here at the Temple, I was wondering if anyone knows of techniques or tips to help someone through this?

Because of the nature of the incidents in the past, the person is resistant to getting therapy. They are however journalling about their bad experiences as a way of understanding/making sense of them. Whilst I believe therapy might be most helpful for them, this thread is asking for suggestions other than that.

Thank you for anything which you have to contribute

That's tricky... I was diagnosed with severe PTSD several years ago (fun fact: not all types of PTSD are persistent, which means I was fortunate enough that my symptoms died down over time).

The journal aspect is a really good idea which I would have recommended myself. Having someone to talk through stuff, even if it isn't a therapist, can be really important. One thing I do know is that it's essential that anyone with PTSD to feel they have a sense of support. Studies have shown that veterans diagnosed with PTSD made quicker, more significant recoveries if they had a solid support system (which is in part why Vietnam era veterans came back with such severe PTSD and it stuck with them for decades). This in mind, I would recommend helping them build a support network (believe me, you don't not one to be their sole support or you will likely burn out). Not everyone in that support network has to know all the details to be supportive. As much as you told us would probably be enough for compassionate people to lend a hand.

I suffer from PTSD, and most of the time it doesn't manifest itself as nightmares - rather, it manifests itself as waking fears that spiral into anxiety attacks and so on. No two cases of PTSD are alike, though, so what works for me might not work for them.

I've actually found that therapy hasn't been that helpful for me, and I think journaling is a really good step on their part, since that's helped me a lot as well. I guess the important thing for me has always been awareness, staying grounded: reminding myself that I'm not actually back in the circumstances that caused me so much trauma. It doesn't help when it gets out of control, but it does help make those cases less frequent. I don't have a strong support network so I mostly have to work to do what I can for myself.

Meditation has helped me find that sort of grounding, but it has never been a consistently useful solution - in particularly difficult times, my meditation (and other spiritual) practices tend to go out the window. But it has helped. I guess the most important thing for me has been changing and adapting my lifestyle and mindset, so that the incidences of post-traumatic stress flareup are less frequent, and that I'm more resilient when those cases do happen. But that's been a years-long process. I'm sorry I can't offer better suggestions than that.

There is quite a bit of good literature out there on PTSD. Signs of Post-traumatic Stress are different than a diagnosed disorder - that is one important thing to realize. The other is that the body has natural responses to severe stress that are largely out of our control. During times of severe stress the body creates neural pathways to the parts of our brains it thinks will give us the highest chance of survival. Daily encounters that trigger those responses are natural events - one should not be embarrassed of them or troubled by them, nor should they feel 'broken'. It's a natural body response. And for me, that was the difference between laughing about a triggered response and thinking I was in some way 'sick'. Now, post-traumatic stress DISORDER IS very bad - it's a wound you can't really see. None of us are really qualified to help with a suspected disorder...my advice would be to encourage your friend to commit to addressing the issue with a professional.

For a long time I had nightmares, but they passed with time. A good chamomile tea should help, together with meditation to sleep. Have the person lie down in bed and meditate in order to purposely fall asleep, meditation will help you unwind and thereby nightmares should decrease. Nightmares are nothing but manifestations of the subconscious when we are stressed. Another thing that can help you relax is a good bath before bed, maybe put a calming incense to burn while sleeping. Some tools can also help for those who believe, for example, a filter of dreams, put crystals beneath the pillow, a stone like onyx or black tourmaline or even the rune Thorn; but I reserve these for those who believe in such things. If the situation persists and it is doing very badly the person, the way is to insist that she see a doctor, because sometimes some things are beyond our ability.

I do not suffer from PTSD, or nightmares and am therefore unqualified to really comment. However, I have a psychologist friend who is has just opened a practice specialising in the treatment of PTSD using several techniques including lucid dreaming, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing). Its early days for the use of lucid dreaming techniques for the treatment of PTSD but early research suggests the results are promising. Some techniques for developing skill in lucid dreaming involve the journaling of dreams - so such a technique might fit in well with the journaling your friend is already doing.
His details are here: http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/justin-havens
EMDR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_movement_desensitization_and_reprocessing
Lucid Dreaming and PTSD: https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/IJoDR/article/viewFile/591/pdf

I hope that helps in some way.