stop dreaming

[brandonerr]

I think almost every single dream i've had lately is causing me tons of stress, if anything i wanna know how i can train myself to stop, any advice would be appreciated

 

[mariacallas]

Hello there brandonerr. Can you be a bit more specific and tell us exactly what you are dreaming about? And do you dream every night ? Is this just a recent occurence , and have you dreamt good dreams before?

 

[euphoria]

From what I understand, dreams are a reflection of things that are subconsciously bothering us (or that we're just thinking about). So if you want your dreams to stop, you are going to have to deal with any negative issues in your life that may be causing them.

 

[Theblarneystone]

you oughta get those pills from the freddy vs jason movie. they made pill to stop people from dreaming so freddy would cut them to peices in their sleep.

 

[brandonerr]

I do dream every night, and yes, most of the time it's something in the past that has bothered me. When i'm awake i can deal with things like that no problem but i always seem to wake up feeling like shit knowing that somewhere in my mind i'm still thinking about things that happened so long ago. It's usually about a fucking ex girlfriend or a time where i blew all my money and had nothing left, ran outa gas or my car broke down, mostly anything stressfull. Idk about freddy vs. jason pills lol but u think ther would be something like that for real these days that doctors could give

 

[Roger&Me]

^Have you made any serious attempts at meditation?

Meditation is a very efficient method for resolving cognitive conflicts, so perhaps in absence of such an outlet, your brain is working overtime to tie up loose ends. Perhaps give meditating a try and see if it helps?

 

[djzmo]

I do dream every night, and yes, most of the time it's something in the past that has bothered me. When i'm awake i can deal with things like that no problem but i always seem to wake up feeling like shit knowing that somewhere in my mind i'm still thinking about things that happened so long ago. It's usually about a fucking ex girlfriend or a time where i blew all my money and had nothing left, ran outa gas or my car broke down, mostly anything stressfull. Idk about freddy vs. jason pills lol but u think ther would be something like that for real these days that doctors could give

I'm gonna take a wild shot here. Are you afraid that you could go broke again? Do you have a girlfriend and are afraid of her leaving you? I mainly perceive fear of loss in here, being economical or emotional. Take a deep look at those aspects of your life, maybe you need to fix a couple of things over there.

Hope this gives you a little insight.

 

[Care]

when I used to smoke weed constantly I would never dream.

May not be an option for you, but IMO that would be a win/win .

 

[n3ophy7e]

^^ I know you're trying to be helpful but that's a really bad idea man. Weed helps a lot of people for a multitude of reasons but it can also exacerbate depression and anxiety, which in this particular situation could make the OP's subconcious even more troubled.

Meditation is a really good idea.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

1) Dreams cannot be stopped "naturally". They are a byproduct of REM sleep (which, ironically, is more like being awake than it is the first 4 stages of sleep).

2) I know what it's like to not like what you're dreaming about. However, there's a reason for them. Please talk to a therapist/counselor/psychiatrist.

3) If you are *extremely* distressed about the content of your dreams and "need" the to stop for your own personal mental/physical health, I feel it's important that I post how you can "temporarily" stop dreaming, only because I don't want people hurting themselves.

The idea is some drugs interrupt REM sleep. Not *all* benzos do, but a lot of them do. My *favorite* benzo doesn't which is why I love it for sleeping purposes.

Please don't start abusing benzos every night to get to sleep without dreaming. Eventually you will need benzos to sleep or you won't sleep at all, and psychosis from staying up for 3+ days in a row is probably worse than what you're dreaming about. However, who knows? I don't know what it's like in your head.

Overall, please seek professional help. Benzos are not the answer here.

Hello there brandonerr. Can you be a bit more specific and tell us exactly what you are dreaming about? And do you dream every night ? Is this just a recent occurence , and have you dreamt good dreams before?

I have had disturbing dreams of all varieties. Repeating, non-repeating, (even repeating dreams in the same night)...sleep paralysis, and I have dreamed up some disturbing shit I don't think anyone here would care to read about.

For the most part I am 100% healthy, I eat well, exercise regularly, and therapy didn't help me (individual and group).

I didn't think posting about "some benzos interrupt REM sleep" was going to help the OP significantly...but I also don't want anyone to think "there is no way out" and end up harming themselves to avoid dreaming/scary dreams. I thought recommending a mild benzo for the OP was safer than leaving them in a mentally disturbed place.

I do dream every night, and yes, most of the time it's something in the past that has bothered me. When i'm awake i can deal with things like that no problem but i always seem to wake up feeling like shit knowing that somewhere in my mind i'm still thinking about things that happened so long ago. It's usually about a fucking ex girlfriend or a time where i blew all my money and had nothing left, ran outa gas or my car broke down, mostly anything stressfull.

Oh, I'm sure your dreams sound stressful and all, but they don't sound that bad (no offense). If I shared what I just spent a long time dreaming about I think it might give other people similar (or worse) nightmares, hence why I won't post about it.

This is why therapy/talking it out/meditation is a better tool than benzo use is for you.

^^ I know you're trying to be helpful but that's a really bad idea man.

I wouldn't say it's a "bad idea" but it's no perfect solution. I still smoke plenty of weed... I still have god awful nightmares/dreams.

 

[Dtergent]

You may be able to deal with problems properly in waking life, but actually, you could still harbor fear (even tucked in the back of your mind) that come out in your dreams. Actually, there is a correlation between having fear /being fearful and having bad dreams. I suppose you can work on your fears/resentments in real life-- meditation, forgiveness, that stuff. If it really disturbs you, there are some dream therapists that you may be able to look up.

Another factor is that the limbic system (to which fear is associated) is more active in your sleep than in your waking life. This causes lots of people to have anxious dreams-- a lot of dreams recorded in scientific studies are actually veering to the negative side of situations.

 

[jblz]

As the above have mentioned, stopping the dreams entirely isn't really possible - REM is an important part of sleep.

As Care suggested, Weed seems to stop people remembering dreams (or just me and him..)

Although not the exact solution you were looking for, maybe try looking into 'Lucid dreaming'. Lucid dreams allow you to be in a 'conscious' (I use that term loosely..) state when in the dream - allowing you to interract with the surroundings and possibly allowing you to resolve your sleeping issues.

Sleep is important - don't fuck with it.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

As the above have mentioned, stopping the dreams entirely isn't really possible - REM is an important part of sleep.

As Care suggested, Weed seems to stop people remembering dreams (or just me and him..)

Although not the exact solution you were looking for, maybe try looking into 'Lucid dreaming'. Lucid dreams allow you to be in a 'conscious' (I use that term loosely..) state when in the dream - allowing you to interract with the surroundings and possibly allowing you to resolve your sleeping issues.

Sleep is important - don't fuck with it.

Lucid dreaming is awesome.

 

[mecaib]

I also agree that lucid dreaming techniques can help. You can, over time, change the content of your dreams to something more pleasant. Your dreams are intense. They can become totally awesome over time, with some work. Having intense dreams is a gift.

I wouldn't recommend running from your dreams, as doing so just leaves issues unresolved. They sit there in your subconscious, growing ugly.

A good starting exercise is to tell yourself that you will have good, beneficial dreams. Do this while you are laying in bed, before you fall asleep. You should get some results within the first week, and the quality of your dreams *will* change eventually. Make sure you are as comfortable as you can get. Try to eat well and stamp out anxiety before you go under.

And if something is worrying you during your waking life, then work hard to stop worrying. You don't have to worry!

You will probably never eliminate all your bad dreams; you have them for a reason. But you can control the content to such an extent that more often you will wake up happy about your experiences.

 

[spaceyourbass]

There is an antidepressant used to stop people from dreaming. Psychiatrists often prescribe it for people who have horrible recurring nightmares, or for people who sleepwalk and have nightmares at the same time, etc.

It's called Doxepin or Sinequan (same thing). You'd probably have to ask for it by name unless you're dealing with a psychiatrist/psychologist type. A therapeutic dose for depressed people is around 200mg, but a therapeutic dose to stop dreams is around 40 mg.