Have you ever had a horrifically graphic, emotionlly disturbing dream? If so, how did you deal with its affects?

Yes, I had one last night. Usually I wake up with my heart racing and shaking. It takes me a while to calm myself back down and I will lie awake for a while getting over it. Most of the time, other than tiredness, the ill-effects of the dream have worn off by the time I am going about my day. I do find generally that the details of the dream will fade in the daylight lthough some remain vividly in my mind for a while.

I am not a dream expert but the fact that you are dealing with hard family issues obviates the helplessness you are feeling from the burden of those issues which may be manifesting them in your dreams. Must be some heavy duty issues but I would accept that element of your life for what it is and not let the dreams read anymore into this struggle you are facing.

Because your life is in turmoil at the moment, these issues are manifesting themselves when you are asleep.
Just accept they won’t last forever, and remember they are dreams – not reality.
I wish you well.

I know what you mean.

A couple weeks ago, I had a dream that John Locke from the show LOST was in my bedroom raping children. In the dream, I ran into my room, and beat him up, so that he would stop. I remember the scene that was happening in my room when I barged in, and it was disturbingly graphic.

I had forgotten the dream within a day or two, and didn’t think about it until now. It did make me think for a while, however, because I was the one whose brain concocted the dream. I’d say chalk it up to just being a dream, and don’t think too much about it.

I had a dream of my childhood house. My dad was abusing my dog. Much less disturbing than a lot of people’s dreams, but it messed with my head. I usually go for a walk or just move around my house to get rid of the nightmare-fog. A nighttime walk outdoors will clear your senses better than most things.

In my case, I actually like those kind of dreams, the more terrifying/heart racing/vivid the better! But that’s not helping you much.

I find it best to do two things. One, every time it pops unbidden into your head, remind yourself it’s just a dream, no more no less, and refocus on whatever task is at hand. Not being task oriented, maybe try sitting outside (provided it’s decent out) and relaxing a bit, just let your thoughts go, contemplate a tree, listen to the birds, read a book, whatever lets you unwind. Two exactly what you’re doing, just let it go. Don’t dwell on it, don’t try to figure it out, don’t waste time with it, just take care of your plan for the day as you normally would secure in the knowledge that your subconscious will work through what it needs to in short order.

Either way, here’s hoping for your uneventful-nights sleep!

yes, went back to sleep!

I don’t think this question could be answered any better than the way Cruiser did it.

By disturbing, do you mean weird sexual dreams? I have not had any of those in a very long time.

Unfortunately.

I saw that I was at the top of a scyscraper, which was basically still under construction. I was locked inside a huge metal cage, or rather pit, and wild dogs, which had chased me all the way up there, jumped in and tried to take me apart. My daughter (still a 1-year-old baby at the time) jumped into the pit and fought the dogs, saving me.

I did not consider the symbolic and prophetic elements of this dream, the whole thing was simply scary at the time.

I get disgusting and freaky nightmares constantly. I’m not sure what’s up with that, maybe I don’t eat right, I’m known for that, even my ex boyfriend who was a college student was appalled at my eating habits, or maybe I don’t sleep enough or maybe I’m not very healthy I denno, but it’s almost routine for me to dream about hacking people up with axes or having an old lady gnaw my head open with her teeth saying she’s eating my soul.

I don’t ’‘deal’’ with it per se, to me it’s like watching horror movies, at least, when I think about them in my waking.

A bit different when they occur, but nothing that really bothers me.

It might depend on the apporach itself…some peeps believe dreams mean something, others don’t. :/

When someone died or my heart was broken. They faded.

There is no disturbing dream that would make me waste my time thinking about. Dreams mean nothing to me.

Yes, all of the time. they usually wake me up in the middle of the night. I have trouble going back to sleep, being as I’m a very paranoid person and I am still afraid of the dark. Eventually I do sleep, thought, and the next day it is not as bad. Time heals all wounds, eh?

I like to look them up in a ‘what do your dreams mean’ dictionary. They have them online for free. Sometimes the answers are very cheesy, but other times it lists something that might be troubling you that you had not thought of. In this, it helps because you might be able to change that thing :). And I think its fun to see why I might have been dreaming of an inch width roller coaster over a canyon and why it was so scary to me, etc. (yes, that was just last night. there was more to it than that, but, nevertheless…the mind is a funny thing)