Clusters of upsetting dreams

Hugo Stiglitz

Dinxminx wrote: »

I don't know if this could be it, but I know that when I'm stressed, even if I'm not conscious of it, I get clusters of horrific dreams. Could you be lowkey stressed about something? I'm actually so bad at recognising my stress levels that back-to-back nights of bad dreams and bad posture are usually my flashing red siren for stress awareness.

You could be onto something. Anxiety is actually a huge issue for me. Has been for many years.

Dinxminx

It really could be that then. Take a look at things and see if there's anything you can do to look after yourself and bring down your anxiety levels, see if that makes a difference.

Widdershins

Yes! I have them whenever I have too little control over my life, they seem to be telling me what I already know and I take them as a sign that things are getting serious.

Hugo Stiglitz

Dinxminx wrote: »

It really could be that then. Take a look at things and see if there's anything you can do to look after yourself and bring down your anxiety levels, see if that makes a difference.

Easier said than done alas!

Widdershins wrote: »

Yes! I have them whenever I have too little control over my life, they seem to be telling me what I already know and I take them as a sign that things are getting serious.

Good way of looking at things.

Black Swan

Interesting discussion you launched Hugo about clusters of upsetting dreams.

Hugo Stiglitz

Black Swan wrote: »

Interesting discussion you launched Hugo about clusters of upsetting dreams.

Too kind, Swannie.

Widdershins

Do you see any common themes in your recurring dreams, Hugo?
They seem to feature threatening/ domineering men?

Hugo Stiglitz

Widdershins wrote: »

Do you see any common themes in your recurring dreams, Hugo?
They seem to feature threatening/ domineering men?

Lately yeah. Before it was usually being humiliated.

A recurring dream I've had since childhood is only what I can describe as being crammed through a dark tiny pipe, with a huge sense of impending doom.

Widdershins

Mine always have deluges of water, muddy flooding, lashing rain, long precarious bridges over vast expanses of water, once i was driving too fast and the bridge was suddenly broken off and I ended up dangling in mid air upside down with only my foot in the car window. never rivers though.
I used to have dreams of being pursued relentlessly down winding flights of concrete stairs.
I had three snake dreams in a row one month. All really common symbols that Jung had ideas about.

Hugo Stiglitz

Widdershins wrote: »

Mine always have deluges of water, muddy flooding, lashing rain, long precarious bridges over vast expanses of water, once i was driving too fast and the bridge was suddenly broken off and I ended up dangling in mid air upside down with only my foot in the car window. never rivers though.
I used to have dreams of being pursued relentlessly down winding flights of concrete stairs.
I had three snake dreams in a row one month. All really common symbols that Jung had ideas about.

Oh my! My palms got sweaty reading that! The sea is terrifying.

I've had several tsunami dreams. They were always like those huge tidal waves in the movies though.

Widdershins

Hugo Stiglitz wrote: »

Oh my! My palms got sweaty reading that! The sea is terrifying.

I've had several tsunami dreams. They were always like those huge tidal waves in the movies though.

Once when I had been out and drinking the previous evening, I had an extremely realistic dream where water rose up to the windowsill behind my head while I was in bed, on the second storey. The water was brown, full of debris and flotsam and filth. I was absolutely sure it was real and was rarely so relieved to wake up, but very shaken afterward. I rarely drink since that dream, as it just seems to encourage horrible dreams. I've never had a tsunami dream, though.

Dinxminx

That sounds really unsettling. My bad dreams are always extremely violent or gruesome and unnecessarily graphic. I'm not an aggressive person and my dreams are EXTREMELY realistic so when I have a batch of them I find it absolutely draining. Hugo I hope your mind quietens down some! Did you sleep well last night?

Widdershins

My recurrent dreams are more spaced out and less scary since I started medication for anxiety. It plays a big part in dreaming.

Black Swan

I just had a recurrent dream last night after eating too much food that was odd and somewhat amusing. During the first occurrence I prepped a class that I teach by covering all the desks in classroom with a deep layer of sod. Not sure why I did this nonsensical thing, but the students didn't complain and the lecture went ahead as usual. Woke up. Returned to sleep and the dream continued, with staff members complaining about whomever covered desks in a classroom with sod.

Widdershins

Black Swan wrote: »

I just had a recurrent dream last night after eating too much food that was odd and somewhat amusing. During the first occurrence I prepped a class that I teach by covering all the desks in classroom with a deep layer of sod. Not sure why I did this nonsensical thing, but the students didn't complain and the lecture went ahead as usual. Woke up. Returned to sleep and the dream continued, with staff members complaining about whomever covered desks in a classroom with sod.

Fertile ground for learning

Black Swan

Widdershins wrote: »

Fertile ground for learning

Although I'd been a TA for a couple years as a grad student, this Fall was the first time that I'm faculty and responsible for classes. They seem to be going well, but meeting or exceeding expectations of my students, department chair, and dean certainly comes to mind, and perhaps this amusing sod recurrent dream was stimulated by that?

Endocrinologist Hans Selye suggested that there were 2 kinds of stress, distress that wasn't good, and eustress that helped us perform better, both of which may influence the content of dreams. Methinks that my amusing sod recurrent dream could have been attributed to eustress, whereas if I had been distressed by teaching I may have had nightmares. Who knows?

Fathom

Eustress = entertainment? Distress = nightmares?

Black Swan

Perhaps a couple years or more ago I used to have a recurrent dream of a pleasant little cottage where very artistic folks used to gather. Not sure where it was, perhaps Galway? Each time the dream happened there was a central theme, where someone would read their fiction, play a new musical piece, or show their painting. I dreamed of the cottage again last night, and an artist was very passionate about their work, although I never discovered what it was before waking up. Their passion included me, and I wished upon waking that I could go back to the dream and pick up were we left off, but alas it was time to go to work.

Black Swan

Just had that old recurrent dream of someone stealing my netbook while at my favourite javahouse. :eek:

Hugo Stiglitz

Black Swan wrote: »

Just had that old recurrent dream of someone stealing my netbook while at my favourite javahouse. :eek:

Bastards! :mad:

Widdershins

I've had a spate of dreams where I'm ''playing gooseberry''. One dream started with me walking into my attic conversion (I would like to do a conversion but actually haven't yet) but once inside I realised Holly Willoughby and her husband were living in it. Holly was lovely but her husband clearly resented me for getting in their way. The same sense of embarassment and loneliness permeated most of my dreams recently. I don't have a clue why.

Black Swan

Widdershins wrote: »

I don't have a clue why.

We are all clueless when it comes to some of our recurrent dreams, or at least I am indeed.

Fathom

Black Swan wrote: »

We are all clueless when it comes to some of our recurrent dreams, or at least I am indeed.

That goes double.

Black Swan

Had a variation of my netbook theft nightmare. Rather than someone sneaking off with my netty from our locale javahouse, they broke into my flat and stole it. The dream was so real, that when I suddenly woke up while napping in our living room easy chair, I expected to see the thief going out the window. Yikes! :eek:

Fathom

Laptop loss phobia?

Black Swan

Fathom wrote: »

Laptop loss phobia?

I'll bet this would be a new twist for those into sleep studies indeed!

Gremlinertia

Mass violence and murder from me last night. Also being angry at being lost in the area i grew up in.. Season's greetings eh?. :pac:

Black Swan

Gremlinertia wrote: »

Mass violence and murder from me last night. Also being angry at being lost in the area i grew up in.. Season's greetings eh?. :pac:

Quick, quick, write this up for Grem Tales!

Hugo Stiglitz

I think a new cluster has begun.

Black Swan

Hugo Stiglitz wrote: »

I think a new cluster has begun.

What dreams did you have Hugo?