I used to get smell memories in my dreams/nightmares. When we landed in Vietnam, and stepped off the plane, the first thing I noticed was the humidity that seemed to hang on you. The second thing was the smell. I can't describe it, I haven't noticed a different smell to any other country I've visited except for Vietnam. When I had nightmares of being back there, the smell was there too, just as real as the visual parts. At some point, while in the Veterans inpatient PTSD program, my nightmares stopped and were replaced by dreams that didn't wake me, startled, but instead left me feeling like going back to sleep so that I could try to start the dream again. The dream, when I have it is basicly always the same. This time I'm going back to finish it, only I have full knowledge of what to expect and how to deal with it, and I'm in charge of a small group of green soldiers, and in the dream, at least, I have the ability to calm their fears of the unexpected, because of my experience. But, the smell is still there, that's how I know for sure it's about Vietnam. Sounds like a pretty whacked out dream, I know, but somewhere in there I think I sense closure of at least one of my triggers. I haven't had a nightmare in at least ten years now, and for that I'm grateful.
WarHippy