[cmrball41]

I have been abused (menatlly, physically and emotionally) before and I was raped once. Now I have really bad nightmares. They are so real. The nightmares are usually the same every time. Sometimes they are so bad where I wake my boyfriend up by kicking and screaming. When I wake up I'm so freaked out because its like it happened all over again. Any suggestions on what to do not to have them?

[GlindaofOz]

Have you sought counseling to deal with your past traumas? Those sorts of things are usually not easily dealt with on one's own and typically require the help of a professional to deal with and process the things that have happened to you.

[lacuran8626]

You need counseling to work through this. You may feel that you are "ok" with the past and really understand it all and accept it and have it in a healthy context and all that may well be entirely true. However, we are very much emotional beings and a lot of times, our emotions lag way, way behind our intellects. It's like people who loose 100 pounds, get to the perfect weight but still feel about themselves like a "fat" person. The emotional adjustment to the new body takes longer than the physical change.

You may have post traumatic stress or even clinical depression, and may need medication. Sometimes the chemical balance in your brain can be off, especially when you've had such trauma in your life as you have described here. See someone soon and you will find that this can be fixed and you will have some peace.