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Do you have nightmares?

Recently a therapist told me people normally do not have nightmares. Iā€™m curious if that is true. What is your experience?

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babsy 6 Apr 10
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37 comments

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Used to be 5-12 a week. Now I'm down to 1-2 a week. Never in my life have I had fewer. {Yes I have PTSD, and have since childhood}

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When I was about 4 (1948) my stepfather, an alcoholic, drove us on mountain roads, which I don't remember. But, till about 15 (1959) I had nightmares of riding in the back seat of a car going over the edge of a mountain road into the air and falling forever. Well, until I woke in a sweat. My stepfather died in a mountain crash. I have never liked heights.

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Frequently.

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My nightmares vary. Usually they contain a large amount of social anxiety and stress, but about once a month, I get one that shakes me a little. It peterbs me on some primal level of fear. Whether I canā€™t outrun it, I canā€™t fight it, nor can I define it. Itā€™s an inculpable fear that definitely peaks my adrenaline and makes it hard to sleep or want to sleep. Iā€™m glad they happen though. It humbles me and checks whatever ego I had thinking I could survive certain situations. Outside of nightmares my dreams are pretty provacative and I have no clue why lol

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I'm a prolific dreamer. And I love that I dream so much. My favorites are dreams where I can fly and when I dream about my dad. Sometimes I'll dream a dream so long it'll start repeating, like a record that's skipping. I think of it as my brain not being able to create anymore. Sometimes, when I have nightmares, I can wake myself up from them. The worst experience I've had is sleep paralysis. It's only happened twice and it was terrifying.

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I found my ex-husband in full VF. Managed to resus him. (Yeah I know...missed a chance!) Since then I still wake up shaking my current partner to make sure he is alive! Its a bit embarrassing to be honest.

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That pretty much just sums up my life...

But serious folks: I donā€™t have nightmares per se, but I do have dreams that tend to be pretty stressful, and sometimes they also scare me. But it wasnā€™t the entire dream, just certain aspects of it.

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Glad I don't. But I do have reacurring dreams that have sequels haha

Ljane Level 2 Apr 12, 2018

Iā€™ve only had one like that but those are awesome!

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I married one .

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I usually only have one type of nightmare and it's where I can't find my way home. It's more of a frustration dream.

ebdb Level 7 Apr 11, 2018
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I worked 25 plus years in the restaurant/hospitality industry and now experience "stress dreams". I am in uncontrolable situations, ie: serving dozens of tables at once spread out over vast areas, sometimes different rooms/floors, and suffer panic attacks while trying manage my customers in my dreams. Sometimes I awake in the midst of a RL panic attack. Does anyone else have these kinds of work related dreams/nightmares?

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When I was younger and afraid of things. After some living, I found im not really afraid of much.

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I used to have nightmares. Not exactly so anymore. First, try to remember your dreams the minute you wake up. Write them down then or you will forget later. Today if I have a nightmare it involves saving someone from something, or things that might have been. Often some of this is mixed with final thoughts at bedtime and things going on in your life right now. What you end up with is disquised versions of anxiety mixed with hope and doubts. Very often you can interpret your own dreams this way. Not much in these dreams is really real in a valid sense.

One of my dreams involved driving. I drive for a living and used to do that years before also. I like driving. In this dream I was driving but the situation was different. My ex wife was in the dream and all of us (even others) were trying to keep dry. The dream was weird but I woke up to rain outside that you could hear on my rooftop.
Remember also that some dreams might be started by that last minute ham sandwich!

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They are not nightmares anymore, more like Horror aventure stories that my mind makes up XD

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I DO have nightmares ocassionally. They usually revolve around my mother's stroke and subsequent death. Go figure.

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Used to be a licensed electrician, I would have nightmares about wiring a new home and the drywall would be in place before I could wire the house.

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Depends on how you describe a nightmare, never had a night terror but most of what I'd call nightmarish are more creepy than frightening or a feeling of falling out of control as I'm not comfortable with heights

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Haven't had the waking up screaming my lungs out because there were strangers in the bedroom one since my ex-husband left (yes for real) but normal garden variety ones still (usually some dark distortion of reality). Think there is a recurring them here, except when I'm running a fever my nightmares are always about the parts of my life I need to do something about (as if I need reminding.)

Kimba Level 7 Apr 10, 2018
1

If you call conflict dreams nightmares?

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I need to write them down or tell them into a tape recorder. Steven King has written a lot of his works based on his nightmares. If you want to induce nightmares sleep in a cold room.

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Now that I think about it... my nightmares ended when I gave up trying to be religious like my family and parents.

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I can't share the article from a paid CME site but nightmares are common across the lifespan and occur more commonly with stress. THey are only considered to be pathological if they interfere with a person's function

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Rarely.

Coldo Level 8 Apr 10, 2018
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I used to occasionally, but not had one since becoming an atheist about 17 years ago. I think dreams reflect our fears and aspirations, (as well as other emotions). Atheism released a lot of fears in my mind, I may get the odd 'bad' dream, like someone vandalising my motorbike. but that is the worst they get. The good dreams/fantasies have got better over time. šŸ™‚
PS I couldn't vote, since there wasn't an option for 'Used to'.

@babsy Wasn't complaining, it's difficult to come up with every option, without hind-sight. i just wanted to add extra data for your poll. šŸ™‚

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I still have dreams about, or related to when my father beat me as a child. Dreams of helplessness to defend myself are bad, but the ones where Iā€™m unable to help my friends a family are worse.

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