Ptsd, is based on "I can't believe that happened, was it real, why,". The brain is trying very hard to figure out how to process whatever a person is working through while that person is healing. It is hard because with Ptsd, different memories and emotions are coming forward, and the brain kind of works over time because of "how do I understand all this" that is taking place. So, it's harder to sleep with this ongoing challenge for a while which is why many use medications to help them get "some" sleep.

While we sleep the brain tries to put things together in little stories in an effort to process whatever took place during the day. So, not everything we dream is going to be true to life, it's just trying to match things up so we can "process" which is what sleep is all about. Trauma is hard for the brain to process, takes more time and what helps with that is "talking things out in therapy" and "as many times as needed" until one is hearing enough to finally process different pieces of a trauma or traumas.

Are you working with a therapist monkeybrains21?