to ask if you have ever had a dream so vivid you couldn't distinguish it with reality?

[vividdream]

I had a very vivid dream over the weekend which seemed unusually clear and real. When I woke up I wasn't sure if I was still in the dream as everything in the dream seemed so real and solid and since then it has made me think about reality and whether I am still dreaming as it was so vivid and elements of it were indistinguishable from real life. I have never had a dream that real and lucid before.

Has anyone had an experience like this?

I used to get these a lot when I was a student (mainly that I'd missed an exam, or failed an exam) but I haven't had one in years.

As someone who has been through addiction I often have intense frightening and very real dreams when I pick up again and wake frightened with something like a hangover.
I also have epilepsy (controlled with medication) and every now and then I have an intense very real siezure dream that terrifies me to the point where I check my tongue and face for bites and bruising. Just thinking about it frightens me now 😔

I have lucid dreams and sleep paralysis, and what I would call sleep hallucinations.

At uni I'd "wake up" but after a few seconds would realise there was something "off" about the room - furniture I didn't own etc. Then they became scarier, I'd wake up to people sitting by my bed, sometimes masked figures sitting at my desk.

The best lucid dream I had when shortly after my Nan died. I was dream-walking down our road and realised I was dreaming, then saw my Nan up ahead. I caught up with her and she told me that she was fine, heaven was wonderful and she hadn't found other family members up there yet but she sensed they were close by and that she would soon. I'm an atheist, but I woke up feeling comforted by the thought that she was ok.

Now I tend to only have lucid dreams when I'm anxious or stressed. I also sleep talk and can wake up screaming, which is pleasant for my partner! I've also learnt to sort of control my sleep paralysis, I know when I'm most likely to get it and I know how to drag myself out of it. It can be scary, though, especially if the covers are over my face.

You've all inspired me to do more research into controlling your lucid dreams. I managed a few times but have lost it recently, but that feeling when you can fly or do whatever without consequence is quite incredible. The mind is a strange place!

I have a dream at least once a week where there is some kind of serious emergency and I needs to call 999 but I can't put the numbers in the phone either I keep putting the wrong numbers in or the phone keeps going off. I always wake up really panicked and upset. Not nice need to try and snap out of the loop of the dream every week but not sure how.

Anyone had any astral travel experiences?

I had a wonderful dream a couple of years ago. One of my grandmothers died when I was 21 and I dreamed I walked into her house and there she was, sitting at her table with a cup of tea. I sat down with her and told her all about my adult life, my job, my husband, my children. She was so pleased to hear about it all and she hugged me and kissed me and told me she was proud of me and she was relieved that I was happy and loved. I know it was only a dream but I felt like the universe had found a loophole somewhere in the contract with Death and had given me a few stolen moments with my Granny.

I have had this happen a lot. I am on lots of medication though and it has a reputation for causing this

I have a number of recurring dreams/dream locations that are so vivid and have appeared so frequently that I do sometimes wonder if they might be real. They're so intense and can be really draining

Yes I get this sometimes. A few times I've woken up and had to check my phone as I've been texting people random shit it my dream. The sense of relief when I see I haven't declared my undying love to my old boss is immense!

The most recent scary one I had was when I was on holiday over the summer. I had to share a bed with DS and every single night I woke up with him in my arms whilst I was slapping his face as I was convinced he was dead . It was horrendous, luckily he never fully woke up but I don't remember actually picking him up but I just woke with him in my arms. I have no idea if I shouted out as I had tears streaming down my face each time. DS is 4 so not a baby. Poor DS . My heart was pounding for hours after and I don't think I went back to sleep.

If I take2x propanolol before bed I have really vivid dreams. Sometimes they're lovely and I feel low all day that it's not real! The other day I dreamt dh convinced me to murder someone that had attacked me and I woke and felt awful and panicky worrying about the dc if we went got caught and went to prison! Took a while to realise it hadn't happened - I was so relieved!
I also had a very vivid (non drug induced) dream where I dreamt of the rapture and woke up sobbing that my dd had gone up to heaven and I was left behind. I was proper heaving with sobs and went into her room to fetch her blanket that smelt of her and was very surprised to find her in her cot asleep! That was the first time she ever slept through the night! The wierd thing was once I woke up I could still hear the trumpets sounding for the rapture!

My dad died 10 months after a stroke and we looked after him at home, which was incredibly hard work and stressful.

A few days after his death I had the most vivid dream that me, my sister and my mum were trying to catch up with him as he walked ahead on a winding country lane where were were brought up. My mum and sister where trying to hurry me saying... 'quick, quick, we can catch up with him and get him back'. I was hanging back saying 'no, no, let him go... we cannot go through all that again'.

Its 15 years ago, but that dream is still like reality to me.

Yes. When I was about 14 I dreamt the entire life of a woman from birth to death at 80. Within 20 mins I couldn't remember much but the beginning, a few small moments, and the end.
It was incredible, and terrifying, and I couldn't remember the whole thing but i knew I had experienced many years.

Most of the other ones have instilled deep deep fears in me - waking up thinking I've woken up and someone murders me etc ....

But that first one taught me a lot

And I've also had lucid dreams which felt different - I couldn't control my dream to a point and then 'lost control ' and suddenly it got scary

Only just seen most of these! Some of your experiences are amazing.

TheRattleBag could what you are experiencing be maladaptive daydreaming?

Astral travel - 20 years ago i was asleep in bed lying on my back.
I started rising up diagonally going backwards but then i came crashing back down on the bed with a thump that woke me up.
More recently in a dream i was having sex with michael jackson. I had a huge orgasm which woke me up. I have never fancied mj.

My problem isn't so much vivid dreams,but dreams that give me an indication of things that are going to happen in the near future. I've had this happen about 10 times over the last 15 years or so. So far it has always been about other people that are not related to me or that I'm close to,e.g. back in 2002 I I had a dream that I saw a newspaper headline saying that Princess Margaret had died. A few days later,she died. I just dread having a 'predictive' dream about someone close to me.