Quote:
Originally Posted by Leah123
Dreamwork is a way for me to integrate my subconscious with my conscious, I find it very valuable to unite these two sides of myself. Dreams are far from meaningless in my experience: they have given me great insight and hope. I would not, as you mention, take them literally, more symbolically and metaphorically, but they're like art in that regard: is it useless because it is abstract? Of course not. 
As far as dreams relating to trauma content, again, they can't be taken literally, but can certainly express the pain of trauma and include *elements* of trauma, without being the same as a record of it or memory.
I am concerned about "signs" of abuse and somatic experiences being taken literally, those things can occur due to so many variable causes, I think it's most important to just learn to accept what we have and work on improving/healing where we are at, as pushing for memory can lead to inadvertent tampering of it. Memory is just a sense, and is prone to shifting, blurring and such over time. |
Well I am taking them literally because I have had suspicions for quite some time, but recently found the courage to ask some family about it. My mother confessed her BF, whom I was left alone with most of the time, went to jail for accusations of sexual abuse to a 9 year old girl. My cousin's father was caught molesting her and her sister, both on separate occasions. He was another adult I had spent some time with. I had all of the signs and my grandmother just recently FINALLY confessed that she believes it happened because I said and did such strange things once I moved with them. My flashbacks and memories are vivid but they come to a halt and lack a definite ending. I would never force myself or try to believe something that awful happened if my intuition disagreed with me. I believe I dissociated and this nightmare, along with its symbols, were my brain's way of interpreting the scary situation.
I don't think my memories have blurred and it is all, very slowly, coming back. I have post traumatic stress due to many different situations and we have tried everything under the sun to manage my PTSD symptoms. It is so bad that it interferes majorly with my life. My T said in the beginning we will only ever go there if we really need to and after a year, she thinks it is necessary.
I appreciate your response and it is reassuring to know dream work has worked for you.