Have you ever had a bad dream where you actually wake up screaming?

Yes. When I was a teenager In junior high. I was under stress. A couple of times I woke up in a bed full of bugs. I was traumatized and could only sleep in the day. I missed 88 days of school because of my bug phobia. I was also being teased and bullied at home and school.

It only went away because I had a second growth spurt and towered over the bullies @ 6’5” , in grade 9.

No.
I had dreams where I got shot in the head, and I had dreams where I died in a nuclear explosion. I did not wake up screaming. I woke up thinking “well, that was weird”.

Only once years ago. Not screaming but freaking out. Thought I was dead. Had this weird dream that I was an old west cavalry man with a troop of others. We were ambushed by Native Americans and wiped out I suppose. The dream finally ended when one of them rode past me on a horse and lunged a spear at me. Woke up and what a relief. My wife said I’d been watching too many John Wayne oaters. Maybe so. His “Cavalry Trilogy” used to be my favorite films. Fort Apache, Rio Grande, and The Horse Soldiers. Not no mo’.

@RayaHope Funny but nightmares do seem real at times. That one I described above, was so vivid it seems more like a real event than a dream. Once I calmed down and before I woke up my wife, I thought I was really dead lol. My first thought was, Huh, I was scared of death all my life but there really isn’t much to it. And I’m not REALLY dead. Then I noticed my wife and I thought who the hell is she, and where did she come from? That’s when I came to and realized it had only been a dream. Freaky shit though.

I used to think that waking up screaming was only on TV or the movies but not now. I am so glad my mom ran in cause I was freaking out and I don’t need that.

@RayaHope Ditto that. Thing is that nightmare I had started out pretty pleasant. It was a nice day and we were riding thru some nice country. And I had me a horse, a sword strapped to my saddle, and a cool old time cavalry uniform like you see in the movies and TV shows. What more could a guy ask for? But once we heard those war hoops every thing turned to shit real fast, and I suddenly wasn’t feeling so macho anymore. Hope I never have a nightmare like that again, ever. I’d rather get chased around by Frankenstein or the Wolf Man that go thru that shit again.

What I hated was it was soooo real and that was horrible. Most times I kind of know I’m dreaming but this and even screaming awake was too much!

I had dreams where I got shot in the head, and I had dreams where I died in a nuclear explosion.
It bothers me a bit that I have had the same dreams as @ragingloli.
I have had one dream where I woke up screaming. I only remember that I was being tortured.

@filmfann A dream really has to be bad and real feeling to wake up screaming. We both know that feeling :(

Yes. The dreams I remember waking up screaming, were some of the ones where I was fighting something. Some of them were a bit like the OP dream, where I was dreaming I was in bed like I was, but that there was some fiend in the room next to me. Once I not only screamed but lunged at it both in the dream and in reality.

No, that has not actually happened to me.

However, when I was only 8 or 9 I had the same nightmare over and over again.

I was lying in bed, in total darkness and a voice quietly said to me “If you don’t turn the light on by the time the clock counts 12 midnight you will die”.

Then a clock started chiming the hour and continued to chime 11 times. Then as the clock chimed 12 I awoke and found myself out of my bed, standing by the light switch and I had turned the light on.

I had this dream very regularly for many months and of course at my tender age it was extremely frightening.

When I was a young kid I’d get night terrors. I never experienced it as vivid or intense as that as a teen or adult. The good news is that dreams don’t mean anything, so you don’t have to worry that this means something bad could happen in real life or anything. Also from the article this may be related to seizures. It’s probably worth looking into a bit more and possibly having a conversation with your mom and doctor.

Calling out, but not screaming very loud.

@gorillapaws I was afraid that it might have something to do with that. Oh God if this becomes a regular thing I don’t know what to do. I will ask my mom to talk to my doctor about this.

@Poseidon That has to be horrible. I am glad I never sleep walked, you could get in so much more trouble that way. At least as far as I know I never have.

@RayaHope It was just the one time. I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions based on that. From briefly googling, it does sound like it’s possible they could be related, but we’d just be guessing. I think mentioning this to your mom to talk to your doctor about is a good idea.

My mom often reminds me that “today’s worries are sufficient for today.” So try not to get worried about things you don’t even know are problems yet. Maybe it was a one time event caused by stress? It’s impossible for us to know.

@gorillapaws I have been stressed a bit more than normal with school starting and my upcoming trip and some from some people that I have let get to me. I know better than to let things overload my mind and I do try to keep that from happening. I get emotional and every once in a while it takes control and I can’t stop it. I am trying though.

@RayaHope When you get overwhelmed do you ever just close your eyes and spend a minute deep breathing? That always helped me recalibrate mentally.

I do that when I’m practicing my yoga. I have tried that during the day but I always get distracted unless I’m doing something like yoga. If it’s just a normal day-to-day situation I have a hard time keeping focus. I always want to do things or I get kinda (not sure how to say things) get like I got to be doing something else. Like ADHD but I don’t have that.

Yes, last night. I was being chased by wolves so I screamed to scare the wolves away. Woke me up. I was amused.

@RayaHope Mindfulness exercises take work and can be difficult. I have mild ADD and I have to sit down and really practice it.

@Caravanfan I know, right?! It’s hard to sit and just try to think of NOT thinking. It is exhausting and I start to think about ALL the other things I could be doing.

@RayaHope The trick is don’t beat yourself up about thinking. Just accept the thought, watch it unravel and then go back to your meditating.

I use the Waking Up app. It costs, but they don’t turn anybody away so if you write to them and say you can’t afford it they will give it to you for free no questions asked. If you do use the app start with the introductory course.

@Caravanfan I am definitely looking into this! Thank you :)

Only once, when I was a kid. After my family stopped going to synagogue services for a couple months, I had a dream that my Rabbi pushed me off a cliff.

Maybe the monster is a person in your life?

If you have recurrent scary dreams therapy can help. That’s when I usually go into therapy, when recurrent nightmares just are not letting up. One night no big deal, but many weeks of it becomes overwhelming for me.

Sporadic scary dreams are pretty common in young people.

@JLeslie This is the first dream I’ve had in a long time where I actually woke up screaming. I hope it is a one-time thing cause that was far too intense, my heart was pounding so hard.

Not screaming in fear. Angrily yelling at what I thought to be a demon who wanted to possess me. I hate that kind of thing. But wet dream succubus? Welcome.

@mazingerz88 “wet dream succubus” Oh gosh I had to look that up… I wish I hadn’t. :(

Some dudes get all the fun. All I got was a bad dream spearcubus in my chestcubus : (

@Nomore_Tantrums Wait…wut? :}

Yeah, lots of times! I had night terrors from about age 8 until my 40’s, and still wake up now and then with a scream. I also walked and talked in my sleep into my 40’s. And wet my bed until I was 12. I’ve had a very active nightlife. 8\

@smudges Oh I feel so bad about that, how could you stand it? That one dream about killed me I can’t possibly go through that for so many years. I can still wet myself when I have a bad seizure but doing that is rare.

It was a 3–4 times per week thing. I woke up one time in the closet, peeing in the cat’s litter box. LMAO

Sometimes it was funny, sometimes scary as hell. I got through it. :)

@smudges (((HUGS)))

I had a dream once where a guy jammed a rifle in my gut and pulled the trigger. I didn’t wake up screaming but I woke up mighty fast!

Reoccurring dream fifty years ago, roll over in bright yellow two door coupe, watched as right hand window made contact with asphalt on road. I will will not drive yellow cars

@Tropical_Willie I think you’re in luck because I never see a yellow car, around here anyway :)

I didn’t wake up screaming, but I did punch my ex in the head one night (before we were married). I had a bad dream where something was attacking me and I swung at it in my dream. Unfortunately that carried into reality and she was asleep on my other arm. No, I didn’t hit her hard, barely a tap, but it definitely woke her up and then she woke me up.

^^ I never thought about if someone was with me. That would be a terrible thing to accidentally do to someone else.

I just had a great dream.
I was part of a SWAT team infiltrating my old school to arrest some 8 year old kid.
We found him, dragged him out of his class room, and 2 of his teachers tried to protect him, and prevent us from taking him. The child then took some kind of pill, and proceeded to projectile vomit acid on his teachers, which dissolved their chests and caused their organs to flop out. That is when I popped some bullets into the boy’s chest and head to end him.
Truly a dream to remember.

@ragingloli Oh S#it you scare the heck out of me! I think you are trying to give me a heart attack or something. I think you need a ((HUG))

…and maybe some proper medications.

@RayaHope In hindsight, I guess the dream was prophetic. A monster in my dream was coming for me and I tried to fight it off. In reality I hit the monster.

@seawulf575 Are you saying your wife is the monster? I don’t understand?

@RayaHope I owned a yellow Datsun 210

@RayaHope No, my wife is a wonderful woman. My EX was the monster. I shed not one single tear when she left and I felt my kids (who stayed with me) were in a much safer place.