[Trace14]

Do you think there's a reason behind nightmares? That they relate to real life events?

[Trace14]

I had forgotten about this dream, but once it appeared I remembered it very well. It's not a real life experience, but it is triggering....now. It may have been before and I didn't know what triggering was or that it had anything to do with anything.
The dream:
The nightmare happens just before dark, a man comes out of the woods and puts his face up against the glass on my french doors, looking inside the house. We see each other and I scream at him to go away. He leaves that location and I think he's gone, but I’m still watching for him and waiting. Hoping he’s gone but knowing he’s not. Then I hear him trying to get the front door open. I see the handle on the dead bolt start to move, he's getting inside. He's always between me and a gun for some reason. He finally gets in and we struggle, fighting with everything I can. That's when I usually wake up.
But this time he got inside and held me down on the bed and he was on top of me. He was laughing because I couldn’t get away and I was getting weak from the struggle. He had the look of a man that was not about leave without doing what he came there to do and pure evil in his eyes. We were both clothed, he was trying to get his pants down and hold me down also. I kept fighting him.
Then I woke up in a sweat, shaking, breathing fast and shallow, I jumped out of bed and walked around to calm down. Of course it's dark now and I wonder if he's outside watching me now.

[it'sgrowtime]

Terrifying dream. Have you dreamt it more than once?

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by it'sgrowtime

Terrifying dream. Have you dreamt it more than once?

Yes, many times but not recently. I had forgotten it until I woke up and realized this was a recurring dream from long ago. Yes, it is very terrifying.

[Open Eyes]

If this is a reoccurring dream then it's probably representing an ongoing challenge of yours where the man could be any person that hurts you or wants to hurt you despite your effort to stand up for your boundaries. It sounds like you never dream about him actually doing what he wanted and you wake up all upset. Maybe the most traumatic part is not that he gets what he wanted, but more that your boundaries were invaded and someone broke into your environment/personal space despite your effort to state your boundaries. Maybe it isn't important that someone takes from you as much as it's your wanting "control" of your environment and that is threatened and damaged maybe even destroyed. It's isn't so much what is destroyed but that you could not seem to stop it from happening.

It seems to me that one of the things you wanted to do was "stop" the pain others might have or experience. I can relate to that.

[NeedHaldol]

Dreams can be frightening, but they really do not have a relation to real life. It is possible that you have this dream because you have some fear, or have had an experience which matches up with this nightmare.

But really, dreams are just the brain's way of processing things while you sleep. I have 3 seriously recurring dreams which have no basis in real life and dream every night about crazy things.

1. I am in school and have either missed doing work and not graduating, or not being able to remember the combination to my locker, or can't find it.

2. I cannot find my car in the parking lot. Or know the person that stole it and spend my dream trying to get it back.

3. My teeth crunch in my mouth and fall out.

I am empathetic to your nightmares, though.

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by NeedHaldol

Dreams can be frightening, but they really do not have a relation to real life. It is possible that you have this dream because you have some fear, or have had an experience which matches up with this nightmare.

But really, dreams are just the brain's way of processing things while you sleep. I have 3 seriously recurring dreams which have no basis in real life and dream every night about crazy things.

1. I am in school and have either missed doing work and not graduating, or not being able to remember the combination to my locker, or can't find it.

2. I cannot find my car in the parking lot. Or know the person that stole it and spend my dream trying to get it back.

3. My teeth crunch in my mouth and fall out.

I am empathetic to your nightmares, though.

I guess it could be my overthinking kicking in

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by Open Eyes

If this is a reoccurring dream then it's probably representing an ongoing challenge of yours where the man could be any person that hurts you or wants to hurt you despite your effort to stand up for your boundaries. It sounds like you never dream about him actually doing what he wanted and you wake up all upset. Maybe the most traumatic part is not that he gets what he wanted, but more that your boundaries were invaded and someone broke into your environment/personal space despite your effort to state your boundaries. Maybe it isn't important that someone takes from you as much as it's your wanting "control" of your environment and that is threatened and damaged maybe even destroyed. It's isn't so much what is destroyed but that you could not seem to stop it from happening.

It seems to me that one of the things you wanted to do was "stop" the pain others might have or experience. I can relate to that.

Reading your post made me step back and not own the dream and look at it that way. The man could be the traumas I experienced and not being able to protect myself from them. That I know they are there and I can't doing anything about protecting myself from them. hmmmmmm

[Open Eyes]

Well, when we dream our brain is trying to process and tends to create a story that resembles the "problem" we struggle to resolve IRL.

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by Open Eyes

Well, when we dream our brain is trying to process and tends to create a story that resembles the "problem" we struggle to resolve IRL.

Well, there's no way for sure to know what they mean. But I think if a dream is recurring there is something to it...but will never know the real answer. We can only speculate , ya know?

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by NeedHaldol

Dreams can be frightening, but they really do not have a relation to real life. It is possible that you have this dream because you have some fear, or have had an experience which matches up with this nightmare.

But really, dreams are just the brain's way of processing things while you sleep. I have 3 seriously recurring dreams which have no basis in real life and dream every night about crazy things.

1. I am in school and have either missed doing work and not graduating, or not being able to remember the combination to my locker, or can't find it.

2. I cannot find my car in the parking lot. Or know the person that stole it and spend my dream trying to get it back.

3. My teeth crunch in my mouth and fall out.

I am empathetic to your nightmares, though.

Why do you use that avatar?

[MtnTime2896]

I don't know if there is a reason behind nightmares. I do know that I have them a lot along with stress dreams. I also deal with sleep paralysis and I go full dream within a dream, within another dream, and so on. When this is all mixed together for me, I'll have nightmares and paralysis at the same time, and when this happens I'll have flashbacks to go along with it. Eventually, I'll wake up but still can't move and then I'll have another nightmare and/or flashback.

When it comes to your specific nightmare, I agree with Open Eyes' interpretation. If you don't get it a lot anymore, maybe you were able to overcome a few of your traumas subconsciously.

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by Só leigheas

I don't know if there is a reason behind nightmares. I do know that I have them a lot along with stress dreams. I also deal with sleep paralysis and I go full dream within a dream, within another dream, and so on. When this is all mixed together for me, I'll have nightmares and paralysis at the same time, and when this happens I'll have flashbacks to go along with it. Eventually, I'll wake up but still can't move and then I'll have another nightmare and/or flashback.

When it comes to your specific nightmare, I agree with Open Eyes' interpretation. If you don't get it a lot anymore, maybe you were able to overcome a few of your traumas subconsciously.

Those sound horrible. I rarely remember dreams but I know I'm having them because of the triggered feeling I have when I wake up. I look around like I'm looking for something to happen and I don't know what I'm looking for or should be concerned with. I wonder if there's something pre-sleep we could do to lessen the effect of the nightmare.

[MtnTime2896]

Originally Posted by Trace14

Those sound horrible. I rarely remember dreams but I know I'm having them because of the triggered feeling I have when I wake up. I look around like I'm looking for something to happen and I don't know what I'm looking for or should be concerned with. I wonder if there's something pre-sleep we could do to lessen the effect of the nightmare.

There could be. I was told meditation but it never worked for me, mostly because I can't meditate without dissociating.

[Trace14]

Originally Posted by Só leigheas

There could be. I was told meditation but it never worked for me, mostly because I can't meditate without dissociating.

I'm the same way, if I get that still and deep in thought I go other places. Maybe at some point we can get the meditation done. Something to look forward to