I am awake. The reason I am awake so early on a Tuesday morning is that I had a dream.
Well, not so much a dream as a nightmare. Have you ever had a nightmare that was so real and vivid that you were positive it was genuine? That no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t speak? You try to scream to get someone’s attention, yet it only sounds like a quiet moaning gasp? Your feet are rooted into place and terror, sheer waves of terror pulsate up your spine and freezes your blood in your veins? And then, when you wake, it is so set in your mind that you remember every sordid detail with astonishing accuracy? You find yourself lying there, trying to convince yourself that what you experienced was not real at all, but instead some twisted mixture of firing neurons and REM sleep. As you look about your darkened room, you find yourself on the threshold of terror, each heartbeat in your chest is evident, and you find yourself distinctly aware of it…
Welcome to my morning…
At one time, nightmares were thought to be the work of demons, hags, or even the spirits of the dead which sat upon the chests of sleepers during the night.
Hogwash.
I did a little bit of research this morning from the 21st century, and found out some common reasons for nightmares:
1. Taking medicine before bed when you’re sick. (Yes)
2. Watching or reading scary things before bed. (No)
3. Eating or exercising before bed. (No)
4. Not having a healthy sleep routine. (Yes)
5. Stressful things during the day before. (Yes)
6. Death of sickness of a loved one. (Yes)
During my early-morning research, I was amazed to discover that Mary Shelley, the author of “Frankenstein,” got the idea for her story from a lucid nightmare she once had.
Some common ways I found to combat a nightmare are:
- Avoid the items in the list above.
- Draw a picture of the thing which scared you and tear it up.
- Go to bed and get up at the same time each day.
- “Rewrite” your dream on paper and give it a happier ending.
- Blog about nightmares and then get ready for school…
5 comments:
Aw.... I know how you feel. It isn't for me a nightmare as much as it is a fear. But the feelings are the same. Lost loved ones, break up of marriage, accidents..etc, etc. And I can never run fast enough in my nightmares. So did it say anything about when you fall in your dream and land you are dead when you wake up? HA HA. Just heard that once!
Nightmares stink! I hate the ones where more than one of my loved ones are in dangerous circumstances and I can only save one. I hate that! That's a creepy picture.
I hate those things! I'll have to tell you sometime about my recurring "Zebula" nightmare and how I finally ended it. That was about 20 years ago and it still creeps me out to think about it...
Kris - No it didn't. I was always told that since they are OUR dreams, we have the power to take control...so far, I haven't figured out how to do that!
Cari - I'm glad that nightmares like yours don't happen to me very often.
Gerb - I'd love to hear your story sometime. Maybe we could have a "freak out" session...
I've had some really scary ones where I had to literally pray to get released, and none of the common reasons fit. Okay, #4&5 fit, but that's normal for me, and I don't have nightmares very often.
Post a Comment