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Bad Dreams.

Former MemberFormer Member Smol BeanPosts: 666 Incredible Poster
in General Chat
Any tips for dealing with bad dreams? 
I've been having them every other night or so, sometimes I'll wake up feeling as if I barely slept. 
They say on my mind all day and its hard to get my work done.
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 3,590 Community Veteran
    I suffer with nightmares too so interested to see what works for other people.

     Some things that help me are meditating before bed, or listening to music through headphones while I fall asleep. 

    Hope things start to ease for you soon.  <3
  • SienaSiena Posts: 15,681 Skive's The Limit
    Also get bad dreams but havent found a way to help. But i do know antidepressants or some meds can make them worse or cause more dreams
    “And when they look at you, they won't see everything you've been through. They won't see the **** that turned to scars that began to fade with time. They won't see the heartbreaking things that shook up and changed your entire world. They won't know how many tears you cried or even what it was you were crying about. They won't see how strong you had to be because you had no other choice. What they will see though is how compassionate you are because you experienced pain. What they will see is how kind you are because you experienced how cruel the world is. What they will see is how good you are because you've seen how bad things or people can be. The difference between you and your experiences are who you choose to be, despite everything that could have turned you cold and unkind.You are the good the world needs and the best of us.” ~ Kirsten Corley
  • Former MemberFormer Member Smol Bean Posts: 666 Incredible Poster
    Thanks :) 
    I will try music and meditation, sometimes I read before bed but that usually keeps me up because im enjoying the book too much :P  

    I do think my medication might be causing it as I hardly ever remembered my bad dreams before, and when I did I wasn't bothered by them. Recently the dreams have become more personal, I can dream about falling and not be scared, but when my family or friends are in the dream then it can get really frightening :/ I have tried some sleep aids in the past but I don't want to use them now as I don't like the idea of mixing medications.
  • SienaSiena Posts: 15,681 Skive's The Limit
    Also i dunno if this is true but from experience ;

     im sure lack of sleep causes me to sleep more deeply then i get more vivided intense dreams. So do you think you get enough sleep?
    Cause I know is hard to get enough sleep espically if getting horrible dreams but if dont think getting enough sleep maybe could try fixing that and finding ways to get to sleep faster?
    “And when they look at you, they won't see everything you've been through. They won't see the **** that turned to scars that began to fade with time. They won't see the heartbreaking things that shook up and changed your entire world. They won't know how many tears you cried or even what it was you were crying about. They won't see how strong you had to be because you had no other choice. What they will see though is how compassionate you are because you experienced pain. What they will see is how kind you are because you experienced how cruel the world is. What they will see is how good you are because you've seen how bad things or people can be. The difference between you and your experiences are who you choose to be, despite everything that could have turned you cold and unkind.You are the good the world needs and the best of us.” ~ Kirsten Corley
  • Former MemberFormer Member Fruit loop Deactivated Posts: 2,762 Boards Guru
    Hey gang! :)

    I suffer from nightmares, and lucid dreams I feel "stuck" in that I can't awake from. It feels real and i don't believe I'm doing anything but apparently I move around a lot and say things. 

    I haven't had one for about a few months i reckon, the last I had was when I was visiting my partner in about March.

    Building on what Shaunie said a lack of sleeo can absolutely worsen symptoms, and so can being overtired.

    If you go to bed when your eyes really hurt and you're drowsy you're more likely to get them. 

    Aside from getting good amounts of sleep you need to figure out what the nightmares are about and what their trigger could be.

    Mine is anxiety and a bad past experience.

    If I'm particularly anxious that night I will go to bed and have a dream about that fear,  if I'm thinking about that experience or talking to that person I will dream about it. 

    So once you've figured out what causes the dreams(remember dreams are our brains way of telling us something so think about the theme)  then you can work on lowering that or helping it. 

    You can also,  relax before bed,  no TV that will get you awake, no discussions that will anger you,  no stimulating video games ect. 

    When it's time for bed I switch to the big bang theory that I've watched a million times as it mildly makes me laugh(seen the jokes a million times haha) but in a way bores me to sleep.

    Calming music can help before bed,  so can meditating(be wary of this though,  meditating can bring on lucid dreams)
    reading a good book,  not eating before bed(you're more likely to dream when your stomachs digesting food anything that makes your body work does, if you do eat before sleep(sometimes you gotta! ) make sure it hasn't carby heavy or full of fiber that will take work to digest. Having it with a warm of glass of milk is great if you're not lactose intolerant.

    It's finding what things work best for you it's creating a routine that works with your soul and body. 

    I've found some articles that may be helpful :)

    - https://www.bustle.com/articles/81273-how-to-stop-bad-dreams-in-7-steps-because-nightmares-are-no-fun .

    - https://www.dreams.co.uk/sleep-matters-club/how-to-avoid-nightmares/
    (this sleep science one helped me greatly)  

    Also remember that overtiredness or lack of sleep mixed with a nightmare might cause sleep paralysis, this is a thing that occurs quite regularly and doesn't affect your health but can be rather scary. 

    As always if none of the methods work see your GP as they may be able to offer some help. 

    I hope I didn't sound too much like a crazy old lady and I hope you find some methods so you can have a great nights sleep :) x
  • Former MemberFormer Member Smol Bean Posts: 666 Incredible Poster
    edited September 18
    @Past User Thank you, Those links are  great!

    A lot of my bad dreams are linked to past experiences or future worries. I've started writing stories again and I like to do so before I got to bed, it helps as sometimes I will dream the next part of the story and then I can write it down when I wake up :) 

    I asked the sleep professor at my uni and he says antidepressants can cause more REM sleep, which means we dream a little more often, but its also the stage where our minds sort out our memories. People with depression often end up remembering more bad memories that good ones, so getting more REM sleep with the help of antidepressants helps your brain sort out your memories and makes you remember more good ones. He said it can also mean our dreams contain memories mixed with fiction, and therefore feel more personal and real, which can be scary. Of course it differs from person to to person but it was a very interesting discussion. 

    Thank you for all the tips, I wouldn't have found out this much information without you all :) 

    Post edited by TheMix on
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 30 Boards Initiate
    Eyepatch said:
    Any tips for dealing with bad dreams? 
    I've been having them every other night or so, sometimes I'll wake up feeling as if I barely slept. 
    They say on my mind all day and its hard to get my work done.
    I get a lot of them and normally wake up shaking insanneeeelllyyyy. But they've stopped now because i watch something funny and drink coco before i go sleep. I end up dreaming about something so dumb and hilarious. You should try doing that. 

    I hope i helped u  :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Smol Bean Posts: 666 Incredible Poster
    edited September 18
    @Past User Thanks, I'll try that too and let you know how it goes. I had a bad one last night and tried to focus on something else but it just kept coming back to me. :/ 
    Post edited by TheMix on
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 30 Boards Initiate
    @Eyepatch  is it something in particular bugging u

  • Former MemberFormer Member Smol Bean Posts: 666 Incredible Poster
    edited September 18
    @Past User
    I usually dream about my family being angry with me, Im not very open with them because they have some old fashioned views that I can't really agree with. I think it also comes from being nervous as I don't really know what to do after uni and I only have a month left to figure it out. :/ 
    Post edited by TheMix on
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 30 Boards Initiate
    @Eyepatch
    OMMMMGGGG I CAN REALLLATE. I literally had to have a therapist because i was having trouble mentally dealing with them. Its insane My parents are asian and im a girl so i ammmmm insanely worried about my future. 

    But enough on me u should really worry about impressing urself instead of ur family. Think about u and what dreams you could accomplish. I have alot of older friends who have no idea what they are doing after uni. Maybe take a gap year, but with ur whole parent situation.........

    Keep me up to date with everything, i honestly hope it all works out. Make sure u try my whole sleeping coco remidy thiiing. :)

    p.s. step out of ur comfort zone to see what u like. I hate artists and thought they all just splashed paint everywhere but now i cant stop drawing 


  • Former MemberFormer Member Smol Bean Posts: 666 Incredible Poster
    edited September 18
    @Past User

    Thank you, I hope you find a way through to your family as well.

    Yeah! Im trying to focus on what I want to do and not how they feel about it, like getting a good job and everything, I do wish I could explain to them all my gender issues and such too. :/ 

    Going to make a cup of hot chocolate now, I'll make an update about if I have a bad dream or not soon. ☕️

    I love drawing too! I want to work as an illustrator but (at least at the start) its not a very stable job as I don't know when my next commission will be or if my books will sell. But that won't stop me from making them. You should check out the Art thread here, there are some great drawings, you could even add your own :)
    Post edited by TheMix on
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 30 Boards Initiate
    @Eyepatch
    You should keep writing and drawing as well as having a side job. Hopefully things will go well and i hope u enjoyed ur coco :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Smol Bean Posts: 666 Incredible Poster
    edited September 18
    @Past User Thanks :) 
    I did have a bit of a weird dream but I don't remember what it was about, which is good as usually they stay in my mind for ages. 
    I might start writing them down but I not sure if that will make me remember them more or help get them out of my head :/ 
    Post edited by TheMix on
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 2 Newbie
    edited August 2018
     <3 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 203 Trailblazer
    edited September 18
    Eyepatch said:
    @Past User Thanks :) 
    I did have a bit of a weird dream but I don't remember what it was about, which is good as usually they stay in my mind for ages. 
    I might start writing them down but I not sure if that will make me remember them more or help get them out of my head :/ 
    Bit late here but I thought I'd give my input anyway as it still might help. 

    Writing your dreams down is a really good idea for most people. If you can't get something out of your head, writing it down is a way to really think through it, and your mind stops focusing on it once you've spent a while writing. Struggling to sleep can also be remedied by writing everything that's going on in your head down.

    I have nightmares almost every day, and each one is related to the direct memory of a past experience, or a mixture of fiction and bad memories from other experiences as well as that one. It's been around 5 years since it happened, and as many years since the nightmares started, and on a personal sense I just got used to them. There's only so many times you can think about the same dream before it gets boring. I never tried/needed to try remedies to prevent nightmares, so I can't really help there.

    If I do get a bad dream stuck in my head though, to the point that it's distracting me, I'll start listening to music. I'll either continue listening until my work is done, or listen to a select few songs and let those be stuck in my head instead of the dream. 9x/10 it works.
    Post edited by TheMix on
  • Former MemberFormer Member Smol Bean Posts: 666 Incredible Poster
    I used to write them down, I think I might start doing it again :) 

    Last night I dreamt I was turned down at a job interview because my umbrella was too intimidating. Not a scary one but slightly amusing. 

    Music is great, I used to fall asleep with it and im not sure why I stopped but I think I will start again soon :) 
    Thanks 
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