I have had nightmares for as long as I remember, I was sexually abuse when I was younger and my nightmares have always been about that abuse in some form or another. I have many reasons for not being able to sleep but my nightmares take the cake when it comes to actually falling asleep for fear of having a nightmare. I have tried many things to just fall asleep, I have taken OTC sleeps aids, I have probably tried every sleep aid out there at least once, my mother will occasionally give me a few of her Ambien in order to sleep which results in 5-6 hours of actual restful sleep.

When I do sleep I never stay asleep, I wake constantly during the night and I am always irritable during my waking hours. I do have a lot of stress in my life that I have mentioned in my other posts on PC. I have told my psychiatrist about my sleep problems but he insists that once I deal with my abuse it will get better.....that all good and fine but what about now? I don't know how long it will take for me to deal with things. I'm at a loss here, does anyone have any advice for me?