My sister shared this article with me on Facebook, thanks Judy.  http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/advice/kevlar-for-the-mind/2016/07/11/hopeful-sign-combat-veterans-nightmares-insomnia/86937384/

Shares a method called ERRT – Exposure, Relaxation, and Rescription Therapy

This method is not new.  What is new they are starting to test it.  The frustrating part is no one can make money off of this because it is not a new idea and cannot get a patent on it.  Running tests is expensive with no hope for return nobody wants to pay for the testing.  It won’t be accepted as a standard unless it is tested.  So why am I sharing something that isn’t tested?  It works.  I’ve used it.  I taught my children to use it.  They all have children of their own now.

My idea of what it is – remember and talk about a nightmare, be in a place where you feel safe and relaxed, work out a new script of how that dream will go, practice the script until the next time the nightmare comes the mind will play the new script.  You can train your brain to rewrite what it dreams.  Sadly, my brain is adept at altering the nightmare and giving me a new one to work on.  I work on this process over and over.  I am experiencing fewer nightmares.  The emotional trauma from my nightmares is reducing.  It works.

Insomnia is still a challenge for me.  I know what I need to do.  I am also aware that keeping myself really tired can take the edge of sharp anxiety….too tired to get worked up about anything.  I am caught between a rock and a hard spot…..anxiety and sleep deprivation.  Work in progress.