Fractured dreams

[Vonnies_girl]

Does anyone else have this happen to them? Do you share your dreams with your partners/spouses?

[Hidden]

Hi

Not really as they are too disturbing.

Only if I think it's relevant to something we maybe going to do and feel my subconscious is warning me.

Interesting question, thanks.

Have a good day.

[Hidden]

TRIGGER WARNING> Sometimes I share my dreams with my partner, but unfortunately a lot of them involve him as I have a terror of being abandoned and also often dream he is conspiring with family against me. He has taken to saying "What did dream-me do this time?" so we can kind of laugh it off, even when I have two hour dream hangovers and I still think I am living in the dream reality.

Mostly I dream on repeat of my family and my childhood home, like there is a whole subconscious world that just has its own story line. I am often screaming at my parents while they look on smiling.

I used to have it far worse as a teenager, and even had one of those "dreams within a dream" where I thought I was awake and there was a demon on top of me with its fingers around my neck choking me. Those don't happen anymore, thank goodness.... but yeah, nightmares are a problem in my life because they are so vivid sometimes I can't tell the difference between my waking life and my dream life, and it makes me scared to sleep.

What do you dream about? Is it a particular event or just a bunch of random images, or do your dreams have a storyline? I would love to know a bit more about the significance of dreams, and their relationship with PTSD.

[Vonnies_girl in reply to Hidden]

A lot of my dreams involve people being tortured or killed if I fail to do something. Recently I am the only one in danger, which I see as a step forward!

[Hidden]

Whoops I just saw the previous post which had a bunch of info on dreams... I apologize if I missed that.

[GeminiDancer Major Contributor]

Depends on the dream. Many times I don't but sometimes I do.

If it's something particularly disturbing that I'm comfortable enough sharing, I will. It can help to talk about it out loud.

So many times as I'm writing out/recording my dream and/or talk about it to someone, I'll see symbolism and meaning I didn't see just thinking about it or only remembering it in my own head. In this way, sharing can be helpful.

If I find myself in a nightmare/dream hangover (love that description littletraveller!) and I know it's directly impacting my mood/behavior, I feel more inclined to share...even if only to say, "I had a very disturbing dream and it still has me wigged out."

I feel it's more fair to share at least that much so my partner knows it's not him or anything he did or said that has me acting a little "off".

[Vonnies_girl in reply to GeminiDancer]

I will tell him that something has bothered me. Do you find a dream journal useful?

[GeminiDancer Major Contributor]

I definitely do. I find writing them out and recording my dreams very helpful.

Even if nothing jumps out at me as I'm writing it out...after I set it aside and then go back to read it later...things then jump off the page at me and I'm fascinated as to how they didn't occur to me back when I first awoke and/or wrote about the dream.

[Vonnies_girl in reply to GeminiDancer]

I might give that a go - at least it will be out of my head. Will find a separate journal; this is something to be destroyed. I keep a scrapbook type diary - that can be read after death. But this definitely not!! Thanks for the idea.

[GeminiDancer Major Contributor]

Yes; that's a great idea. I kept a separate one for my dream journal as well. You're absolutely right...just writing it out to get it on paper and somewhere other than your head is tremendously helpful in and of itself. It was really your idea and it's def a good one!:).

[Hidden]

Thanks GeminiDancer and Vonnies_girl for the suggestions. I guess it's only fair to share that dreams/PTSD symptoms are bothering with you with your significant other, just so they know it's not them personally. But some things can be too disturbing to express to anyone. I used to think it made me more susceptible to nightmares when I saw violence on TV, or if I had something unpleasant happen during the day. But then sometimes they just come on completely out of the blue. So yes, no hard and fast answers with this one but will take any and all of your suggestions I am going to try the dream journal, good idea to give me an outlet to purge my dream-self and differentiate it from my day-self. I hope one day that my storylines in my dream will reach some conclusion.

I read in a book somewhere you can learn to "take control" of your dreams and react in different ways to the situations presented in your dream. (Lucid dreaming). I have not delved into this... but it is an interesting thought.

[Vonnies_girl]

Littletraveller I try and limit my exposure to scary stuff. I watch far less news - I read it on my phone. The Belgium bombing set off days of trouble for me!

I have told my hubby some things, but like you, some are too disturbing. I am glad we are all here to support each other!

[Equis-Canine Volunteer]

Most dreams are fractured. I don't usually tell my husband about them unless there is something he might find interesting. I do discuss significant dreams with my therapist.