Nightmares can have many different causes. These causes would include:
1. Spinal injury – I got this from Edgar Cayce.
2. Certain medications/drugs may have a similar effect.
3. Sometimes there are internal conflicts within the psyche of the dreamer. I see this primarily in the dreams of people who suppress parts of their personalities. In these dreams, there might be one dream person or many who fight with others in the dream including the dreamer. In these types of dreams, fighting with these dream people rarely works.
4. However, sometimes the dreamer will have nightmares that relive a violent event in the dreamer’s past. In these dreams, I believe that the best approach is to fight the attacker. This seems to be what we have here.

Your survival speaks volumes. You are an inspiration to those of us who believe that life has been too difficult. I believe that, for most people, fighting back in our dreams takes an enormous amount of personal power. So, how is this personal power developed? Here again – I can only give my opinion.
1. Strengthen your ego. To get this far in this life shows that you are a remarkable person.
2. Eventually, your dreams should begin to change. You should hopefully meet other parts of yourself who want to help. You may even meet helpful spirits.
3. Continue fighting these nightmares.
4. And here is something that any of us could try. When you are in bed ready for sleep, give yourself positive reinforcements. You might tell yourself that you are powerful and can defeat this evil. Try to do this every night.
5. As you are ready to drift off, you may want to request spiritual help. I believe that there are spirits who want to help us but we need to ask them. This is also something that should be done every night.

And, for what’s worth, Cayce said that suffering, stress and depression help raise the kundalini. And from my limited experience, I believe that kindness can also help with a spiritual awakening.

Hope this helps.