Thursday, May 6, 2010

Why I dream



I have no idea why I dream like I do. Every night, without fail I dream. I almost always remember most of my dreams when I first wake up. A lot of them I can remember that same morning but they seem to fade as the day goes on. But some are just downright memorable.

Last night I had a series of dreams all of them with the same theme. I could not get anything accomplished at all. We were on vacation and packing to come back home and it was like we had taken everything we owned with us....including the horse. I swear that is true. She got tired of waiting for us to finish our never ending packing and bit me HARD. I had on the most uncomfortable clothes, especially my bra. I felt like I was being squeezed to death at times. Plus I had to pee and the only toilet where we were staying had already been removed, whatever that means. It made sense in the dream.

I guess we eventually got home, I don't know. You know how dreams are. The next dream was about myself and a co-worker going to visit a warehouse that our company might be renting for a while. It was close to our current facility and was owned by an old woman who kept telling us that the warehouse came with 3 bedrooms and wondered if we could afford it. Then we couldn't find our vehicle to get back to work.

There was more but I have already forgotten them. The dreams all indicate, at least to me, the feeling of being out of control. Of not being able to control what normally would be fairly easy. Considering what is going on in my family now I am not surprised to have dreams like this. My brother in law is in the hospital and we are having some problems with him. We don't know what to do, thus these type of dreams.

I have always been this way. From a very small child I had a recurring dream about the abominable snowman from the movie "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" pictured above. My friends and I would be in our woods playing and the abominable snowman would start chasing all of us but really he only wanted me. I had the same dream over and over again for several years. Or that is what I remember. I remember starting to have bizarre dreams again when I was in my early 20's and have had them ever since. When I tell someone who doesn't know me very well about my dreams they usually ask me what I ate before going to bed. The answer is always nothing. I rarely eat before I go to bed. I guess it is just something I will have to learn to get used to. Well, I am already used to them but I get so tired of it.

When I woke up this morning I felt like I had not slept all night although I know that I did get plenty of sleep. I just didn't get much rest. Big big difference. I hear some people say that never remember their dreams and how they wish they could. I am just the opposite. I would like just a week's worth of not remembering my dreams.

I have often thought of writing the dreams down every morning into a journal but have never done so. When I was a teenager I kept a journal with me at all times. I wrote some very bizarre things in it at that time. I was going through a lot of "firsts" and eventually ended up burning the journal when I was 19.

When Pam was still blogging she would occasionally mention her dreams and it made me feel that I was not the only one having to deal with this on a nightly basis. I still know I am not alone but it was nice to hear about someone else's weird or bizarre dreams.

Oh I'll live of course. I just wish I could be a little less complicated in my brain when I am sleeping. I don't think that's too much to ask for do you?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember reading Freud's "The Interpretation of Dreams," and being struck by how he talks about that dream we've all had about forgetting about a final or not being able to find a classroom or something. Turns out, he says, that no one ever has that dream who has actually had an experience like that. The dream is supposed to be positive reinforcement for us about how we have succeeded before and can do the thing that we're getting ready to take on. I've never thought about dreams the same way since!

Dan and Betty said...

I'm one of those people who hardly ever remembers a dream. When I rarely do, I only remember a snippet.

Dan

Karen said...

I used to have such vivid dreams and it seemed I was dreaming all night long. I would wake up exhausted from my dreams! Then, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and since I'm on treatment for it, I don't seem to dream as much, or at least I'm not remembering them. I'm told that's because I'm sleeping better. I do feel a lot more rested now!

Scott W said...

Maybe you might talk to the Dr and get an opinion?

Syd said...

I sometimes have nightmarish dreams. I wake up disoriented. I would like to not have those at all and fortunately they are infrequent. I'm not a good interpreter of dreams so eventually I just let them go.

The Wades said...

Hi there. I'm Michelle from Albuquerque. I've visited before. I just stopped over from Dan and Betty's blog. I was going to write a comment and let you know on of their commenters left you a comment, and then I saw this post of yours.

Trailboss, how is your energy level during the day? I have become a bit sleep obsessed over the last few months. I have learned a lot about sleep issues. My son started coming down with symptoms of narcolepsy in November. After a series of doctor visits and a sleep study, we figured out he not only has narcolepsy, but also apnea. We got his tonsils out in February. Hopefully that will help with his apnea, but not, of course, the narcolepsy--he'll most likely be stuck with that life long.

Hanging out with the sleep clinic people, I've learned a few things and now feel like I should share with others. One huge thing is that snoring is NOT normal and shouldn't happen. With this knowledge I signed my 35 year old husband up for a sleep study where they diagnosed him with SEVERE apnea. I would never even have thought to have him checked before all this. I've seen recent reports where strokes are highly linked to apnea. Max now uses a breathing device at night.

I then took my seven year old in because she wets the bed. Turns out she also has apnea and restless legs. Crazy!

I bring all this up because my sleep buddy told me it is not normal to get up to pee or drink during the night. I'm wondering if you are sleeping too lightly--that's what's wrong with my son during the night with his sleep cycles being messed up. He dreams a lot being in REM sleep so much. He remembers all his dreams.

I am in no way suggesting you have narclepsy. But I wonder if you could have apnea? Max never felt rested when he woke up and could take a nap whenver. Maybe a sleep study would be a good thing to do.

OK. Hope this long and silly comment didn't annoy. Just trying to help if I can.

Michelle :)

Jen said...

Sometimes when I wake up having slept a good 8-9 hours and find myself sleepy....I figure I dreamed all night...that is why I'm still tired...frustrating.