Nightmare

Former Member

I''ve been having a very stressful time lately, I wont go into detail but my ex girlfriend thought that she may have been pregnant and then she thought she had lost it.

Anyway, I found it very difficult to sleep last night and had a really strange ''dream''. I think I dreamt that I was trying to go to sleep but as I was really trying to go to sleep it may not have been a dream. In the ''dream'' strange things were happening, such as falling out of bed .. which I still dont actually know if I really was falling out of bed or if I was just dreaming that I was falling out of bed.

As I couldnt sleep I put my headphones on and was listening to music, the music was making me do strange things like it was picking me up and throwing me around.
Then I woke up, which was strange, as I wasnt aware that I''d fallen asleep. When I did wake up I didnt have my earphones on so that was clearly a dream aswell.

I thought I had woken up so I went downstairs to try and tell someone what was happening, I told my Mom about it and she gave me a hug and then she got a knife out and stabbed me. This again was just a dream, but it really hurt, and when I woke up it was still hurting in the same place.

As soon as I woke up properly I knew that I was actually awake and so I turned the light on and went downstairs.

Has anyone had any similar experiences? Could it be stress related?

(I wasnt taking drugs at the time either!)

Former Member

i think it could be stressed related as it makes the mind play tricks. my doc says wneh you suffer from depression you can have strange dreams or nightmares so im sure the same can be said for stress!

Former Member

I got this extract from a docutment written by the Association for the Study of Dreams:

What causes nightmares?

"There are a number of possibilities. Some nightmares can be caused by certain drugs or medications, or by rapid withdrawal from them, or by physical conditions such as illness and fever. The nightmares of early childhood likely reflect the struggle to learn to deal with normal childhood fears and problems. Many people experience nightmares after they have suffered a traumatic event, such as surgery, the loss of a loved one, an assault or a severe accident. The nightmares of combat veterans fall into this category. The content of these nightmares is typically directly related to the traumatic event and the nightmares often occur over and over. Other people experience nightmares when they are undergoing stress in their waking lives, such as difficulty or change on the job or with a loved one, moving, pregnancy, financial concerns, etc. Finally, some people experience frequent nightmares that seem unrelated to their waking lives. These people tend to be more creative, sensitive, trusting and emotional than average."

So yes, nightmares can be stress related. If you'd like to read the whole thing,
here's the link.