Not sure if I want to remember my dreams or not? ?Trigger maybe?

[Wife#2]

I've heard such mixed reactions to dreams - some wonderful, some scary, all emotional. I sleep well enough considering I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea years ago and still don't use the breather machine at night. But, I don't remember my dreams. None of them. It's more of a shock if one DOES make it to waking memory.

The last dream I remember was an odd one. I only remember being baffled by it. Not it's content anymore. I remember some dreams I had as a child, especially the recurring nightmares. I remember telling my husband or friends about some in recent years, but don't even remember what I said, or the dreams themselves.

I can somewhat pinpoint when I actively started to try to not remember them. In college, some friends were dabbling in the occult. One used to swear that he would have visions if he looked at a window at night - the mirror presented by lights inside made him see things about the people he was with. It freaked him out and he didn't like it. So, he stopped looking at windows after dark. He wouldn't tell us what he saw, but we could tell he'd been shaken and scared. Since I'd known what my dreams were filled with - I didn't want any part of remembering anymore.

During those high school and college years, I used to have premonition dreams. Lots of them. They'd be snippets, not long but detailed enough to verify later. For me, they were usually conversations I would have with someone. Several times, they were conversations with people I hadn't met. It was disconcerting to meet the person and realize I'd dreamt about them. Sometimes, I'd be in the middle of 'the' conversation. I'd know it wasn't deja vu, but I'd realize I had had this conversation before. This went on until about 15 years ago - about the time my thyroid condition was diagnosed. ? Humm? Since then, I've only had a few that I remember.

Still, it's either those premonition conversations or scary 'being-a-Mom' nightmares that I remember. And I don't have those very often that I know about. So, most nights, I'm aware that I must dream, but I remember absolutely nothing. Not even a residual sense of emotion. Just nothing. And I wonder if that is a problem.

[abcdefghijohnnyz]

Hi!

Remembering dreams less in adulthood than you did in childhood is actually normal. So, it's not really a problem, unless you are feeling a sense of loss from not remembering your dreams.

But, if you decide you don't like it, and do want to remember, there are a lot of methods you can use.

(The rest of this post is only relevant if you decide you want to remember your dreams.)

So, I actually relate to your post a lot, in that I've had premonition dreams. Not to sound too hippy-dippy new age (I am from California, I can't help it, sorry) but it sounds like you actually have a lot of power in your dreaming that you could tap into, given the premonitions.

When I was a kid I used to be super into dreaming, and used techniques for remembering dreams and also for going lucid.

I am going to talk a little bit about both!

First, to remember dreams, if you decide you want to-- as you are falling asleep, tell yourself, "Tonight, I will remember my dreams." This affirmation may not work on the first night, but if you keep doing it you will most likely get results.

Keep a notebook/smartphone/something you can use to record dreams as soon as you wake up, since memories of dreams normally fade during the day.

Now, here's where it gets really cool.

Lucid dreaming sounds like science fiction, but it has actually been scientifically proven. And, if you master it, you can actually use it to gain control of scary dreams!

I'm going to link to a podcast which has all the information you need to get started with this, and also a personal story. Be warned-- the description of the recurrent nightmare in the podcast is pretty scary and triggering, but when the guy learns to go lucid and literally defeats his own nightmare, it's one of the coolest, most empowering things ever.

http://www.radiolab.org/story/218954-haunted-dreams/

If the podcast is too intense to listen to, I can come back and summarize the useful information without the scary content.

Hope this is helpful!

[Wife#2]

Johnny - not too hippy-dippy for me at all! In fact, your post made me smile. Without realizing it, I was teaching my son to use lucid control to overcome HIS nightmares. I can't watch the video at work, but I'll try to catch it at home. I wonder if I taught him right. Son hasn't complained of nightmares in weeks. But, he could also be staying silent to make me feel better - he's very considerate that way.

Thanks for the answer!