Why do we have really distressing dreams? What purpose does it serve?!

[dreamworlds]

Last night I was tossing and turning anyway due to it being so hot so my sleep was already disturbed because of that.

However my sleep wasn’t helped by the fact I had a really distressing dream. I won’t go into the details but it was horrible.

Even though it’s not real I’ve woken up feeling affected by the emotions. And even more tired than I would have been anyway!

What purpose do such vividly explicit and distressing dreams serve? Does anybody know?!

Well I can then nightmares not dreams.

Worst ones by far are when I can’t find my children and I’m screaming at the park and they disappear. The relief when I wake up.... heart racing it’s awful.

I suspect lots of nightmares are our minds way of waking us up. I have had such bizarre dreams since lockdown, my mind must be all over the place!

@BertieBotts

Also things like if I heard a banging door IRL it would "come through" to my dream and there would be a whole set up for example a person is carrying something and when I heard the bang it was "because" the person dropped what they were holding.

I had that the other morning. Something was happening in my dream and then my dog was climbing over me. Turns out my dh was bringing up my morning cup of tea and the dog came up with him (she's had a bad leg so not been coming upstairs). I went from fast asleep to ping! wide awake!

My dreams are so vivid and detailed I remember them like I’d remember a film plot. I remember one particular vivid one from when I was 14 as it really affected me.

Random fact: Did you know your brain can’t make up a face so all faces you see in dreams are ones you’ve seen, strangers out and about that you haven’t clicked but your subconscious has! Wonder if I’ve been in any dreams

This thread is so interesting

I had a dream last night about a lady I used to work with but the circumstances were utterly bizarre!

I woke up and mentioned it to my hubby and laughed about it and then forgot all about it.

In "real life" this lady has been on my mind for a while that I should visit her now lockdown is lifting as she needs emotional support and I think I've felt a little guilty that I haven't reached out to her - anyway I didn't think of any of that but this afternoon I did text her to ask if we could meet up for a socially distanced chat! Reading this thread has made me realise that my dream is what prompted me to contact her!

Morning all!

Last night’s dream - DH and I bought a house and in the garden was a sturdy (oak?) tree. One day we were lying under the tree, I think lying on a trampoline for some reason.

This large, magnificent fox with a beautiful coat saunters into the garden, sees us but doesn’t run away, instead climbs into the lower branches of the tree and settles in for a snooze, essentially watching over DH and I while we snooze.

A much better dream than the horror film the night before

I did think about the emotions I felt after that dream and I think it was to do with being concerned for my mum but being helpless to do anything. Which is very true - she’s been inside since early March and I think from video calls it’s affecting her health now. But I am a two hour drive away. I encouraged her to go for a short walk last night, which she did!

Now to read all the posts from last night

@aceofbase1 I love how this thread has prompted both of us to get in touch with other people and to support them as best as we can. That’s fab. Thank you @Heygirlheyboy 💚

Oh that's great dreamworlds

I mostly have anxiety dreams about being at work naked or finding myself back at school without my homework... but occasionally I have action adventure dreams which I love. It usually plays out like an episode of Vikings where I'm a Lagertha type character.

Occasionally I have dreams where I'm in a hotel or an old house and I have to make sure all the windows and doors are locked and secured before darkness because something will try and get in to get to my kids if I don't.

I’ve had extremely vivid dreams my entire life and I don’t remember a time when some of them weren’t deeply disturbing (talking corpses, dead children, butchered bodies, things sucking life out of people are all common themes). These dreams started very early on (the earliest I can remember I must have been three/four). I don’t think my brain is trying to process anything - I’ve never experienced violence in any form. They’re just random dreams, given that they’re not the strangest I have I’m don’t question it too much. Disclaimer: I’m a completely normal person that avoids watching horror films/feels a bit ill at the sight of blood.

I'm often travelling in my dreams, buses, trains but more likely being in an airport ( never actually on the plane ). Is that anxiety?

Driving, looking for a parking spot is another recurring dream.

I occasionally dream that DH has cheated on me and when I wake up it takes me a good few hours to stop being cross at the poor chap!

Are you maybe searching Lizzie or wanting to make a change /move or perhaps feeling unsettled?