I don't dream anymore...

...should I be worried...or relieved?

This isn't normal for me.

Do you still dream? Dream-dreams...
actual dreams....while sleeping?

Anyone?

:shrug:

....my alarm is about to go off and I have to get up to go skating.

Ice skating (not to be intrusive, or anything)?

They tend to have any one of the following themes:

1. Being stuck in elevators that are about to fall. :scared:

2. Being back in school again and loaded down with homework and tests. :cry:

3. Being lost in a strange city or country. :scared:

...when I was younger. Especially the one, where I was in school, and I'd attend the wrong class the entire quarter... and not realize it until the final exam!!

I could do without those kinds of dreams the rest of my life! :hug:

at all. Except sometimes I dream about zombies. But usually, I just don't dream.

...nightmares?

:shrug:

killing those undead fucks.

:rofl:

Mostly when I'm not sleeping well (waking up often). If I'm in a deep sound sleep, then I remember nothing. I haven't been sleeping much so I've been having a lot of weird dreams.

..maybe if I sleep in more they'll come back. I don't know why I miss them, really...because I don't remember too many of them either. Thanks. :hi:

Cause I know that I never dream when I'm smoking.

But boy when you stop smoking they come back with a vengeance!

That's not it. But, I did drink an awful lot the last 2 weeks. Perhaps I've killed off all those brain cells. :-(

and believe me, its not like I don't smoke alot....

:smoke:

I still dream practically every night, and am a natural lucid dreamer (which just means they happen spontaneously more often for me than for others; it's not a 'talent' or anything).

Pot doesn't affect everyone the same way, of course!

I used to smoke like a chimney. Then I got a job where for a time the company was putting me up in a house they owned during the week, because I lived too far away at the time. So I was smoking like I always did on weekends, and then stopping totally during the week. Man did I have some wierd ass vivid dreams on the nights I went to bed straight!

Every once in a while I do, but it is not often. Part of me is glad that I don't because I used to have some hellish nightmares. But I had pleasant dreams as well and I miss them. I heard somewhere that if you want to better recall dreams then you should take some kind of B vitamin supplement.

..thanks for the info! :hi:

And even if I did, that would mean that I actually sleep -- which I don't do much of any more (although I did sleep past noon today -- normally I'm up before the sun after about three hours "rest").

...hugs for you.. :hug: :hug: :hug:

Truly, thanks. :-)

The best thing about hugs is that when you get you can give, too. So, back at you. :-)

:hug: :hug: :hug:

I find that all I think about during the day, winds up in my dreams and for the past six years, that isn't a good thing. :-( Thanks george, you shit head!

...one good thing, at least for me, is that I was lucky george had nothing to do with any of *my* dreams!! Ick! I would have to be sedated to avoid that!! Hold on!! :hug:

It will better in '09, when a Democratic President takes office! At any rate, according to GW, dreams are where wings take......whatever! He is an idiot! And I hate him for over taking my dreams! I only wish the worse for him!

I'll just bet you are dreaming!

Maybe you're not remembering them, though..... :shrug:

It is normal to dream...

But remembering takes practice....Something about writing them down as soon as you wake up!

I could never do that!

:hug:

...no...I have always remembered my dreams. Something changed in me.
But, thank you for the hug... hugs for you .. :hug: :hug: :hug:

my life...

..working through problems.

I wonder how the mind works out problems when there are no dreams...
and, that thought has me a bit concerned.

Are your dreams pleasant? I hope so! :hug:

Mostly mundane and yet occasionally, dangerous...

In the dream I get a letter telling me I have to go back to high school.

The whole 3 years.

I don't know why, the letter never says why.

Sometimes I am taking a class and find out I am in the wrong room, and I try to find the right class and never do.

I think my mind is dealing me something.

...is it the first day of class, in that one? And, you run around, like a loon, frantically and panic-stricken, for what seems like eternity, trying to find the correct class? Funny...how many of us have had that same dream....isn't it?

Sometimes in the dream I have to take final and I have never taken the class, but I still have to take the test.

I really did not like high school, this is maybe why I have this dream.

terrible dreams since the storm and i'm not the only one

...I would take them, if I could, even though they sound awful
(well, maybe for just one night). :scared:

:hug: :hug: :hug:

:hug:

...and they are usually, dark, disturbing, or just plain weird...
sometimes...they're horrible...

Sorry, but now you've got me curious.

:shrug:

...watching policemen bury the body of someone they'd just murdered...dreaming that my beloved dog came back from the dead to kill my family...dreaming that ninja midgets were trying to kill me...and so on and so forth

What bothered me the most, the first time, was that it
was possibly a year before I -NOTICED- that I hadn't
been dreaming. Made me worry a bit.

But, I always start again, so now I don't worry
about it. Much.

...even though it's the first time, in my entire life, I remember waking up with no thoughts, relating to what I might have been thinking about while sleeping.....ever. Maybe it will come back....maybe it was about time the dreams went away.

Thanks for answering my question. :hi:

...we don't actually stop dreaming, we just stop REMEMBERING
our dreams, for a wide variety of reasons. Sometimes GOOD reasons.
(People with sleep disorders who finally get a normal "good night's sleep"
will very commonly describe it as "dreamless".)

And, rather than actually investigate and understand those
educated medical claims, I choose to take them at face value and revel in
the simplistic, childlike reassurance that such blind acceptance brings.

Life is too short to actually understand everything, y'know?
In this case, I just "understand" that so long as I'm not
experiencing frequent multi-sensory hallucinations during my waking hours,
"not dreaming" is probably nothing to worry about.

Thanks! That cheered me up!! :D

what makes a difference is whether we remember a dream

some meds can interfere with sleep cycles and make dreams either more or less vivid

there has to be a brief time period of wakefulness to remember a dream so that it is set in memory.

But we all dream, we have REM cycles.

...what would make a person, suddenly, unable to remember even a single one...for weeks? Could a whole lot of stress and alcohol account for something like that?

Thanks! :hi:

especially alcohol

it interferes with sleep cycle and any sedative/hypnotic (which alcohol would be classified as if it were a controlled substance) can reduce REM sleep and certainly interfere with memory substrates (neurochemicals that are used to form memory) so one would be less likely to remember dreams. Stress, yes, it could also interfere, although often stress stimulates dreams. Stress activates cortisol (you know the unwanted belly fat ads LOL) to be produced and it can have effects on the quality of sleep.

so the short answer is yes, it could easily. Not remembering is related to not making a memory of the dream which is usually caused by something interfering with the making of that memory either through direct chemical reaction, or just sedation that keeps one from waking enough to form a memory.

Note: I used to know more about sleep and dreaming, I've forgotten a lot of things related to that so I won't swear to the absolute accuracy of my information, but it is damned close!

:hug:

I appreciate you sharing that with me. And, if I ever live a less stressful life, I'm sure my belly fat will just melt away! (well, one can hope...right?).lol

:hug:

I seriously doubt that there is any over the counter way to deal with cortisol.

Meditation and exercise are the best remedies for reducing stress, along with dealing with the cause of stress.

:hug:

...I know. Knowing and doing---two different things, you know? Thanks again. :hug:

I want to practice meditation, but I end up doing lots of other things instead. I used to.

Exercise, been doing pretty well with that

avoiding stress, dealing with the causes, well, I guess I'm doing that but I seem to be turning up the heat on the boiling pot at the same time.

:hide: :hug:

...a true friend reminds you when it's time to do those things.

I, actually, am very good at meditation...believe it or not. I learned when I was in H.S., from the Shakespearean Players. I've gotten so good at it, through the years, that I've been able to get rid of a migraine (thank God I only had that once) and lower my blood pressure while sitting in the doctor's office.

Sometime, when I have more time and energy, I'll share some of the techniques...if anybody would like to learn how. :hug:

I have training in biofeedback and teaching people relaxation and meditation techniques, but I haven't done much of that in over a year

:hug:

That's when you know you've found something good, isn't it?
My sister, the nurse, gets angry at me for doing it at the Dr's...she accuses me of "cheating."
I think she's just jealous! :hug:

I presume blood pressure, but I've not had blood pressure hooked up and I have a white coat anxiety that when someone slaps a blood pressure cuff my pressure rises.

I can take my pressure by automatic cuff and it's fine.

It's always higher at the doctor's office.

I'd like to learn your technique sometime

:hug:

...and, I know (since you know) what I mean by that! ;-) :hug:

I don't worry about it but I do regret it. My instincts tell me that I do dream and just don't take the time to remember, but I sure wish I did take the time.

...now, how to remember them....that seems to be the million dollar question. Yes, I've heard the notebook & pen by the bed tick...but, if there isn't even a fleeting moment of a memory, then what?

I wish us both luck! :hug:

you wake up in the middle of it. And I think it's true; put yout snooze alarm on six or seven times in a row, and I bet you'll remember a dream every time it goes off.

Redstone

...every single morning....

But, it might be a good suggestion for others...

Thanks. :hi:

If you had dreams before, but don't now, and there's not been a trauma of some sort in between, it may indicate, hell, I don't know what, but maybe something.

Redstone

Thanks. :hug:

to be able to sleep. I don't do it any more and the dreams are coming back. Maybe you are sleeping so deeply that you don't remember them?

It's possible, I guess. I have been extremely exhausted.

Tomorrow, I'll try to sleep in...for the first time in nearly 3 weeks. Maybe that will help.

Are you feeling better, sis? I saw your thread from last night, but it was too late to respond to it.
I am very sorry you are going through such hell. :hug:

compared to the lives of many people I know. :D I bounce back quickly! Thanks. :hug: Definitely, sleep in.

glad you bounced back!

:hug:

So far!

Anyone would benefit from being your friend!

I had a long conversation with a friend about dreams. He's really into dreams and calls a dream therapist on the phone and pays him only who knows how much. (he's got money to burn so I presume he's keeping someone fed) But it is interesting, I do think that dreams are a key to the unconscious mind which I believe is connected with something larger than ourselves. What that is remains elusive because it is not something that probably can be known by us at this time and place.

:silly: :hug:

Hi Crimmie!

I know that my dreams reflect my state of mind much of the time. Hey, my meds were prescribed. After I was dumped (ten months to the day, today) I lost eighteen pounds and stopped sleeping. I'm already slim. So, I was put on a boatload of stuff. My medicine cabinet is still full of it and I don't need it any more.

What makes you think dreams might connect us to something greater than ourselves?

for instance aboriginal tribes using dreams to decide where and when to hunt and finding it increased their successes. Maybe a coincidence.

My own experiences with dreams seeming to give me some kind of encouragement, for instance I dreamed about my dead grandfather once after I first sobered up and he was telling me I was doing the right thing.

I realize these don't prove a damned thing other than I believe some things that may only be products of my imagination and the aboriginal thing might be coincidence.

Like I said I don't know what we are connected to but I do have the belief that we are all in this space in time connected in ways that we are likely unaware of. I do know that people tend to be drawn to people like themselves with similar beliefs, backgrounds, etc. at an unconscious level. We are attending to so many things at an unconscious level at the same time that if we were to suddenly become aware of it all we would probably be insane (one of my theories about what schizophrenia is partly as well) I think that the fact that we are unaware of so many things that our mind is aware of at some level is fuel for the idea that in fact we may be connected to others at levels that we are unaware of as well.

Of course, i could just be overly optimistic. I do admit that I want there to be more than just what we see in front of us.

that's it.

:shrug:

I like to think there is more to life than meets the eye and that makes me just like most people on the planet, and like you. :hug:

that I'm like most people on the planet

The thing is I've always felt like I was on the outside looking in, and I, at this late age, am really starting to feel as if I'm not on the outside. I want to keep this going! I don't want to go back on the outside.

:hug: thanks

You ought to know that what most of us have in common is that feeling... that we are somehow different. And if you acknowledge your neighbor's differences, and embrace them, you will have a friend for life. Voila: not so "outside" any more. This is my way of dealing with people and it is very rewarding.

in my head

but have great difficulty practicing them in RL

I'm better at it.

I feel rewarded when I'm able to do what you describe.

It ain't been an easy thang though Crimmie. Too many ways to fear the world and too many ways to avoid dealing with it.

That's one thing that has been so cool about this "journey" I've plunged myself into the last 6 months, is I have lost a lot of fear of people. It's also something that is unfair of me to ascribe my "fear" to my relationship and feel that if I "go back" I'm admitting defeat. I'm working to untangle those two things. I don't believe that is the only reason I have no real desire to "go back".

if that makes any sense, it does to me, but it is an emotional thing that never seems to come out in words exactly the way it feels.

I've had the same thoughts over and over. It's why I will and must have the separation. I need to be by myself to know what I want.

We're going to get there, Pawpicker.

I had this long conversation over 45 miles of driving with my sister today about this very thing

it made sense to her too.

Thanks

:hug:

...you really do deserve love in your life. I hope you know that. :hug:

Thank you, KC2. It means a lot. :hug: :hug:

I know it!

:hug:

I dream vividly, have good recall (dreamed about a dead friend this morning, for example - I could list the details, but they're not terribly exciting), and am a natural lucid dreamer.

These dreams happen even after I smoke indica right before bed to help the insomnia.

Just letting you know, the effects are various. The way you (and I, too) feel about dreams being key is how I feel about the medicine that keeps me from going blind.

Else, how you gonna make your dream com true?

:hi:

remembering my dreams, I start a dream journal. I write down everything I can remember about the nights dreams first thing in the morning. I usually only have to do it for about a week and my dreams are back.

:hi:

I hardly ever have bad dreams but this one was a doozy.

I'm literally trying to wake myself up. Pinching myself, jumping up and down, screaming. Then I begin to wonder if it's really a dream. There's nothing really supernatural happening, just bad stuff.

Finally I ran into one of my deceased cats, which was actually a huge relief because I new it was just a dream. After that, I just relaxed and went with it like it was a movie and let it runs its course.

People who have recurring nightmares have my sincere sympathy.

Very scary! Glad they don't happen often for you! :hug:

Pros: No more nightmares/dreams where you're fighting someone and stuff that should put them down doesn't do jack.

Cons: No good dreams/dreams involving making out with hot chicks.

I've been tossing around the pros and cons on this one.

then I start remembering them again. It might have something to do with the quality of sleep but I am not sure.

I dreamt I went to work naked once. I also dreamt (separately) that my boss was going to hit me with his belt (punishing me for something I guess).

I also have a LOT of dreams about being in a city that looks vaguely familiar but really isn't. I also dream a lot about house or apartment hunting. Once I had a fully furnished treehouse. It was awesome.

...were you hit with a belt when you were young...as punishment? I was...and almost all my friends, growing up as military brats, were spanked (as punishment) too.

I don't think a belt was involved. It sure was a weird dream. But not nearly as weird as the sex dreams about my co-workers (EWWWW!)

That's interesting.

I did have co-worker fantasies (and dreams) when I was much younger...but, I'll save those stories for another thread. I'll just say this--they weren't icky. ;-)

it was a great dream.I dream every night and the dreams are more and more vivid the older I get.
When you sleep tonight I hope you have a sweet dream.I also hear music in my dreams....Peace Rk:boring:

I've been wondering what happened to you REDKING. I'm glad to know you are OKAY. Don't be a stranger around here, alright? :hug:

:spray:

I am glad you still dream. :hi:

I dreamed last night!! I did!!! You Loungers must have some kind of magic, or something....
or, maybe it's because I slept in. It wasn't much of a dream...that I can remember....all I remember is breaking my favorite coffee pot because I slammed it against the sink while cleaning. And, I've already analyzed it....I know exactly where that dream came from.

Thank you...everyone...for your help w/this!! You're the best!

:grouphug:

;)

Visit www.dreamviews.com for tips on improving your recall.

..and, luckily, I did remember one little part of a dream this morning.

Thank you very much for the link! :-)

Anyone can use the tips and tricks that site details. Love it!

Everyone dreams. You just don't remember them. Dreams serve important biological functions-- not dreaming would be like, I dunno, not thinking or not peeing. Have someone watch you sleep and waken you when you enter REM sleep. Sometimes this is hard to do because the episodes might be quite brief, and come and go frequently, but if you're awaked in REM sleep then you'll likely remember the dream you were having.

Dreams serve a mechanistic function by helping to entrain neural networks, but beyond that they are quickly edited from most folks' memories. Even if you remember your "dream" each night, the reality is that most folks have MANY dreams nightly and usually remember only the last one, if at all, or one from which they were woken.

Here's another question-- do you ever jerk in your sleep just before falling asleep or while dozing just before waking? That's a component of dreaming-- normally, during dreams, motor signals are diverted to the eye muscles, hence REM sleep, but sometimes a dream begins before that process is completed and a signal "leaks" through to the body muscles, causing us to jerk, and usually, waken immediately.

..as posted above, I realize that now.
I sort of wish I'd re-phrased the title of the thread to ask why I suddenly didn't remember any dreams. I think, now, it's mostly because I went for almost 3 weeks without ever sleeping a long stretch.

Thank you for the info! :hi:

You only remember them if you wake up in the middle of one. I guess for some reason you never wake up in the middle of one at the moment?

Yes, I've realized that was the case. I think it might have been sleep deprivation...as well as whaaay too much alcohol. At any rate, this morning I remembered the tiniest sliver of a dream...and that made me feel a little like my old self, for a while, anyway, today.

Thanks. :hi: