Crazy dreams and possible meanings

Ciaran · 04-01-2012, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by June

Ciaran -- I've been meaning to ask you about the sleep paralysis, you had mentioned it to me before.

I had something like that happen a couple of months ago, I was napping in the middle of the day, kind of laying on my side when I felt like someone was leaning over me, pressing down with their upper body so I couldn't move. I was trying to call out for help, but of course, no sound would come out, it felt very real to me, like I was awake and could feel the pressure acutely.

Is that similar to what you have experienced? Or does yours not manifest with a "being" pressing down on you?

June - yes, that very definitely sounds like sleep paralysis to me and is often very similar to what I would experience. I usually feel like I am being held down and, although I struggle, I just cannot move. I assume that this is where the term "paralysis" comes from. I do try to call out but, again, am unable to.

Of course, I never see the person holding me down, other than a dark shadow. Occasionally, I do not have the "held down" feeling but still feel a sinister presence in the room and am unable to move. All-in-all, it can be very frightening as it all seems so real and, in at least some senses, it is all too real.

I'm interested in sleep paralysis and trying to understand why I suffer from it, esp. as it seems much more prevalent in some cultures than in others and, also, that the person / force that people belive is holding them down differs, presumably depending upon their own belief system - probably why I always assume / perceive a demonic presence whereas it may be different to those with other beliefs.

deedarino · 04-01-2012, 04:13 PM

We did a little research on this in one of my psych classes...our bodies are immobilized during REM sleep. In cases of sleep paralysis, the person somehow is awakened before the end of the process...this doesn't give your body a chance to "come to" before you do. Often you are still not all the way out of it so you can experience visions or nightmares. Your eyes can see a chair in the corner but your brain isn't registering it as a chair...it can become a monster. If you are aware of the feeling of something on your chest, you can believe that someone is there holding you down. It is frightening.

Sleep paralysis can be caused by stress and can be a symptom of narcolepsy.

girl_dee · 04-01-2012, 07:33 PM

Wow lots of good stuff here, i have major issues around dreams/nightmares but it's nice to know i am not the only one.

morningstar55 · 04-01-2012, 07:42 PM

i have a lot of dreams which there's always horses.
sometimes i have dreams where my truck is a issue and driving wierd roads... i know that stems from my job.......
i remember some dreams i had like yrs ago...
and sometimes i have dreams where when i wake up ......... i know i had one about something but cant remember it ....

not to long ago..... i had a dream where i was above the earth and looking for this place in space where i sleep at .. and couldnt remember how to get there. ......... now that has stuck in my mind and was soo vivid.
I have no idea what that was about.

btw ... nice thread

Ginger · 04-01-2012, 08:06 PM

I dreamed I lived in a studio apartment with a lover and my parents.

I got up to make sure the doors were locked, and saw a man chasing another man in the street and yelling, "You have to love me!" I thought to myself, that gay couple is having a fight.

I continued locking the doors, and had a hard time with one of them. I moved on to the next door, and suddenly, the two guys from outside, plus a woman holding a burning pan of food, were standing in the apartment with me.

I sensed that they were extremely dangerous. "You have to get out," I said, and the woman said, "We just want to talk with you about something." I knew they planned to kill me and I yelled for my father.

I woke up yelling, "Dad!" I was so shaken, I couldn't remember where I lived. I thought the bedroom was the whole apartment. I couldn't remember who I lived with. My heart was pounding for a long time.

It's the worst dream I've had since college. I felt really anxious the next day.

My dad, in real life, is very sick and just had a stroke, but he's not in imminent danger of dying.

I think though, that as we lose our parents in middle age, the cushion we thought we were long over, is suddenly scary to lose.

princessbelle · 04-01-2012, 08:22 PM

Oh i'm so glad sleep paralysis got brought up!!!!

It's happened to me for many years. When it first started i was in nursing school and continued when i worked long hours in the hospital. I had a friend that was a neurologist and one day over lunch she educated me on it.

She said to think of it like this...your body is still asleep but your mind is awake. I know when it happens to me, i can open my eyes and see everything and sometimes i hear a roaring noise that is almost deafening and banging. What i do to get out of it is to focus and start moving one part of me, i usually concentrate on my toe for example. Once i can wiggle that a little i slowly will wake my body up. It is very hard to deal with and it is frightening. I also feel that i'm screaming to the top of my lungs and have been told i'm barely making a whisper. As soon as someone can touch me, my body wakes up and all is well. I have to always educate my partners to watch out for these little whimpers i make and to please just touch me.

Thankfully, i barely have them anymore and the neurologist did say that stress and being over tired brings these on more than anything.

Oh and deedarino is so right about the physiology of it all. It usually happens when you are first going to sleep or about to wake up. It has been studied for years and everything from epilepsy to demonology has been deemed the cause. But, i have been reassured it's just REM sleep patterns that are interrupted due to stress. Still scary stuff!!!!

So, basically if you are having them....chill out. You need rest and relaxation. Most likely near a beach.

Ciaran · 04-01-2012, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by princessbelle

Thankfully, i barely have them anymore and the neurologist did say that stress and being over tired brings these on more than anything.

Oh and deedarino is so right about the physiology of it all. It usually happens when you are first going to sleep or about to wake up. It has been studied for years and everything from epilepsy to demonology has been deemed the cause. But, i have been reassured it's just REM sleep patterns that are interrupted due to stress. Still scary stuff!!!!

So, basically if you are having them....chill out. You need rest and relaxation. Most likely near a beach.

I don't think anyone would argue against the view that sleep paralysis can be aggravated by stress and / or disrupted sleep patterns. I know from my own perspective that I have a reasonable amount of work-related stress and awake before 5am Monday to Friday for 14 hours+ of commuting and work. That takes its toll.

However, I think there's more to sleep paralysis than a simple scientific explanation - the fact that it is much more prevalent in certain cultures than others and how it manifests itself differently in some of these societies (Zanzibar being the perfect example). I think that how we experience sleep paralysis can probably inform much about our individual psyche.

All-in-all a fascinating topic ..... Although I will glady take your advice and spend some time by the beach !

RockOn · 04-02-2012, 09:19 PM

I have always dreamed I am one of these:

a cowboy or secret agent or detective ... Sometimes I am an Indian. Also have several werewolf dreams per year when I wake up yelling and struggling. That scared a new lover pretty badly the first time she was in bed with me. After that, she knew a werewolf was after me and would roll over, go back to sleep. LOL! That was a few years into the relationship.

These dreams seem to be easy translations. When I was very small and had no one to play with, I made myself into these ficticious characters. Even now, this imagination has a way of always helping me out - it goes into auto-entertain. Also, werewolf is my favorite monster and when I rode bareback, I was pretending I was an Indian.

Years ago, a femme was having a terrible dream. I wanted so much to help her out by waking her up ... but couldn't for fear whatever was after her, would get me too.

04-01-2012, 04:13 PM	#2
deedarino Member How Do You Identify?: Femme Preferred Pronoun?: Woman Relationship Status: In recovery. Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Oregon Posts: 632 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 3,518 Thanked 1,955 Times in 496 Posts Rep Power: 21474850	We did a little research on this in one of my psych classes...our bodies are immobilized during REM sleep. In cases of sleep paralysis, the person somehow is awakened before the end of the process...this doesn't give your body a chance to "come to" before you do. Often you are still not all the way out of it so you can experience visions or nightmares. Your eyes can see a chair in the corner but your brain isn't registering it as a chair...it can become a monster. If you are aware of the feeling of something on your chest, you can believe that someone is there holding you down. It is frightening. Sleep paralysis can be caused by stress and can be a symptom of narcolepsy. __________________ Squint your eyes and look closer. I'm not between you and your ambitions. I am a poster girl with no poster. I am thirty-two flavors and then some. And I'm beyond your peripheral vision, so you might want to turn your head~Ani I want to think again of dangerous and noble things; I want to be light and frolicsome; I want to be improbable, beautiful and afraid of nothing as if I had wings Mary Oliver

04-01-2012, 07:42 PM	#4
morningstar55 Senior Member How Do You Identify?: femme,she Preferred Pronoun?: she,her, Relationship Status: very single Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: western NY Posts: 3,809 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 5,280 Thanked 4,240 Times in 1,845 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	i have a lot of dreams which there's always horses. sometimes i have dreams where my truck is a issue and driving wierd roads... i know that stems from my job....... i remember some dreams i had like yrs ago... and sometimes i have dreams where when i wake up ......... i know i had one about something but cant remember it .... not to long ago..... i had a dream where i was above the earth and looking for this place in space where i sleep at .. and couldnt remember how to get there. ......... now that has stuck in my mind and was soo vivid. I have no idea what that was about. btw ... nice thread __________________ -------------------------------------------- life is to short to wake up in the morning with regrets so love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who dont, and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance take it... if it changes your life let it.

04-01-2012, 08:22 PM	#6
princessbelle Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: femme Preferred Pronoun?: femme ones Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Tennessee Posts: 6,100 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 29,380 Thanked 30,497 Times in 5,198 Posts Rep Power: 21474859	Oh i'm so glad sleep paralysis got brought up!!!! It's happened to me for many years. When it first started i was in nursing school and continued when i worked long hours in the hospital. I had a friend that was a neurologist and one day over lunch she educated me on it. She said to think of it like this...your body is still asleep but your mind is awake. I know when it happens to me, i can open my eyes and see everything and sometimes i hear a roaring noise that is almost deafening and banging. What i do to get out of it is to focus and start moving one part of me, i usually concentrate on my toe for example. Once i can wiggle that a little i slowly will wake my body up. It is very hard to deal with and it is frightening. I also feel that i'm screaming to the top of my lungs and have been told i'm barely making a whisper. As soon as someone can touch me, my body wakes up and all is well. I have to always educate my partners to watch out for these little whimpers i make and to please just touch me. Thankfully, i barely have them anymore and the neurologist did say that stress and being over tired brings these on more than anything. Oh and deedarino is so right about the physiology of it all. It usually happens when you are first going to sleep or about to wake up. It has been studied for years and everything from epilepsy to demonology has been deemed the cause. But, i have been reassured it's just REM sleep patterns that are interrupted due to stress. Still scary stuff!!!! So, basically if you are having them....chill out. You need rest and relaxation. Most likely near a beach. __________________ ~ I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ~ Maya Angelou

04-01-2012, 07:33 PM	#3
girl_dee Practically Lives Here How Do You Identify?: Femme Preferred Pronoun?: dee Relationship Status: Hitched up Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Livin’ the Dream Posts: 24,079 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 30,560 Thanked 54,828 Times in 13,908 Posts Rep Power: 21474874	Wow lots of good stuff here, i have major issues around dreams/nightmares but it's nice to know i am not the only one.

04-01-2012, 08:06 PM	#5
Ginger Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Femme lesbian Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: East coast Posts: 2,416 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 5,829 Thanked 12,295 Times in 2,057 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	I dreamed I lived in a studio apartment with a lover and my parents. I got up to make sure the doors were locked, and saw a man chasing another man in the street and yelling, "You have to love me!" I thought to myself, that gay couple is having a fight. I continued locking the doors, and had a hard time with one of them. I moved on to the next door, and suddenly, the two guys from outside, plus a woman holding a burning pan of food, were standing in the apartment with me. I sensed that they were extremely dangerous. "You have to get out," I said, and the woman said, "We just want to talk with you about something." I knew they planned to kill me and I yelled for my father. I woke up yelling, "Dad!" I was so shaken, I couldn't remember where I lived. I thought the bedroom was the whole apartment. I couldn't remember who I lived with. My heart was pounding for a long time. It's the worst dream I've had since college. I felt really anxious the next day. My dad, in real life, is very sick and just had a stroke, but he's not in imminent danger of dying. I think though, that as we lose our parents in middle age, the cushion we thought we were long over, is suddenly scary to lose.

04-02-2012, 09:19 PM	#8
RockOn Senior Member How Do You Identify?: sitting over there ----->>>>> :) Preferred Pronoun?: .... Relationship Status: .... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: .... Posts: 3,522 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,081 Thanked 10,304 Times in 2,610 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	I have always dreamed I am one of these: a cowboy or secret agent or detective ... Sometimes I am an Indian. Also have several werewolf dreams per year when I wake up yelling and struggling. That scared a new lover pretty badly the first time she was in bed with me. After that, she knew a werewolf was after me and would roll over, go back to sleep. LOL! That was a few years into the relationship. These dreams seem to be easy translations. When I was very small and had no one to play with, I made myself into these ficticious characters. Even now, this imagination has a way of always helping me out - it goes into auto-entertain. Also, werewolf is my favorite monster and when I rode bareback, I was pretending I was an Indian. Years ago, a femme was having a terrible dream. I wanted so much to help her out by waking her up ... but couldn't for fear whatever was after her, would get me too.