Unnerved/scared by this dream - any advice?

Munstermad

Last night did a self tarot card reading in bed, was very relaxed and was pleasent reading, prob not the best thing to do last thing at night i admit. About an hour or so later I woke, I think, to scratching sounds (like a cat at a wooden door), then I felt a push that made we wake completely and sit up, as if a cat had jumped on me or someone shook me to wake me, I was pretty scared at this point as there was not animal in the room, we only have hamsters and my children were fast asleep. Prob a silly combination of things but don't think I will ever forget it as was so vivid and unnerving....Any help at all would be really appreciated...:eek:

lil_lisa

Some dreams can be so intense and feel so real that we believe its actually going on and can feel it. Even when we begin to wake up, if we're still half n the dream your brain can pick up false signals even though nothing's going on. Can you remember any more about the cat? Have you been around cats over the last few days or anything cat-like that may have stood out?

Munstermad

Hi Lil_lisa,
thanks for your reply, no am not a cat person so don't really have anything to do with them. Am not even sure the dream had anything to do with cats??? Was just so spooky!! Had a disturbing half sleeping half waking drem the following night too, very different from the one the previous night, I woke with a fright again with my heart racing and a pain in my chest. Am under a fair amount of stress at the moment so is prob that, but God the 1st one was unreal, and still gives me the shivers...:(

Peanut

Are you drinking a lot of coffee by any chance?

It can play havoc with sleep and increase likelihood of hallucinations if taken in large enough amounts. It can also be easy enough to take large quantities if drinking espresso based etc. compared to instant.

Munstermad

No I don't drink coffee at all, just 1 or 2 cups of tea during the day. I did eat something small that eve, and I don't normally eat at night so maybe that was it...:rolleyes: Thanks for the input though.

Kanoe

I think the fact that you acknowledged that you were reading cards prior to sleeping is significant. Expressing an interest in tarot demonstrates that you have a particular belief system and naturally your dreams are going to reflect that (and it filters down to how you feel about your dreams) At a guess you've allowed yourself to open your mind up to the possibility of alternative realities so any experience, sleeping or waking, might fall into this category and maybe why this experience has been unsettling for you.

For years I would wake to find the bed shaking and it was genuinely unsettling, I still have the experience as I'm dropping off to sleep but I know now its just me (have no idea why it does it but my body tremors when Im falling asleep) its just your beliefs impacting on how you perceive the experience.

Munstermad

Thanks a million for your reply, I think you are bang on the money, now that a little time has passed and I've had time to digest it, I think the culmination of external stresses and influences coupled with my own thoughts/actions are what caused the dream. I remember a similar waking/sleeping dream as a child after watching a certain movie with a shark thats also stayed with me for life.. I obviously haven't learned anything from my past experiences:D. Thanks again for your advice, hopefully thats the end of it and I'll get a more restful sleep now.
Take care