Problems falling (and staying) asleep & nightmares/weird, confusing dreams

In the last 3, maybe 4 months I've been having serious sleep issues. At first, it was only a night or two, followed by an increased sensitivity to a full bladder, and now I'm having problems every night. What happens is, I ALWAYS wake up earlier than I should because of the bladder; some nights I feel very sleepy but can't fall asleep, and it goes on until I don't feel sleepy anymore - the only way I can get at least a couple of hours of sleep is either reading/thinking very much or trying to solve cross-words, and I usually fall asleep near 6A.M.; sometimes I fall asleep, wake up three hours later because of the bladder and struggle to get back to sleep...and I dream. Damn dreaming, I'm starting to dislike sleeping because of them. I dream horrible things, like myself torturing/killing relatively small animals (like cats - especially cats!, and dogs), weird things, like being a character in the MASH series fighting for my life, fighting in a war, escaping from someone/something, etc., and confusing things, like me having, well, sex with someone whose face I can't see until she turns into my aunt (who is my mother's twin sister)...
I've taken melatonin, the first times it worked, but now it doesn't anymore.
I realise my sleep problems might be related to bipolar, but what can I do about the dreams? It doesn't matter what I read or watch during the day, I'm always dreaming rubbish. Even if at the beginning of the dream I see something I like, by the end of it everything turns into a tragedy/weird dream. Always.
Oh, and by the way, I frequently dream myself torturing cats.

yeah im the same exact way usually it takes me two days of staying up in order to take a nap for like 3 hours. when i do finally sleep i get really really crazy dreams that are hard to escape even when i wake up. it takes me like a hour of being awake to realise im in reality

It's like my mind's too busy to sleep, or the air's too hot, stuff like that. I too have some difficulties to get back to reality, though it takes me about 5 minutes to snap out of it. It's devastating when I -very rarely- dream something nice, because it's very hard to me to accept it was only a dream...

You are torturing yourself (the cats). The dreams mirror how you are treating yourself inside your self. Over thinking and worry can increase urine production. See your doctor about this issue.

Whoa, I've always thought I feel the need to urinate often because I get ill very easy.
Are the cats symbolic animals?

What kind of beverages do you drink? Many can irritate the bladder - soda, coffee, caffeinated tea, juices. Try not the drink caffeine after 2 or 3 in the afternoon, especially those kinds. It can help to wean yourself onto water, at least after early afternoon. It can always help to have it checked out by your Dr, too, in case you have any kind of infection.

Try to not do anything too stimulating before you fall asleep - it helps to set the mood (dim lighting, quiet noises, etc.) - crossword puzzles keep your brain awake and books, depending on what they are, can engage your brain in too much excitement.

Melatonin is a bust in my opinion - there's no regulation on how much is in those capsules, and if your body will respond to it in pill form - try to make your body do that on it's own. Valerian is a natural root that can help, but with all sleep remedies the effects can wear off after a time.

It helps if you have a ritual to go to sleep at night - your brain will get used to it and after a time (weeks, months, depends on your body) it will associate this with "I am going to sleep now". For example, I take a nice hot shower, cozy up, listen to some relaxing music, then snuggle up for sleep. I'm a chronic insomniac and it does not always work, BUT - it helps a lot. I insist on sticking to my 'ritual' to keep my body on track, even when it's being stubborn. Medication can be a cause for insomnia, so if you're taking something you may also want to check that with your Dr.

Dreams can by cryptic. The best one to translate them would be you - you know your life best. I imagine torturing cats isn't something you would do. A difficult issue you are trying to get away from or vanquish, that's been persistent and wily in your life. You don't want to do it but you still have the need to even though it horrifies you - or you're ashamed of something in your life that you're struggling with and feel the need to do away with or hide it. Your brain isn't telling you to kill cats, it's interpreting your subconscious in an odd way (brains do that).

It can be hard to cope with nightmares - but your brain is trying to cope with something occurring in your life. As disturbing as they are, they will work themselves out eventually.

It's true that I drink a lot of acid drinks (Pepsi, Schweppes, Sprite if I'm at a restaurant, an energy drink once every few days). I drink water too. I haven't had problems with falling asleep after eating/drinking a product with caffeine my whole life...

Yeah, I know that would be best, but there are situations in which I can't work it out otherwise. Quiet noises are somehow helping my brain to process unwanted thoughts, which are one of the reasons I can't sleep.

That sounds apealling, I can try that!

At the moment I'm off-meds. Weren't the meds supposed to 'sedate' you?

Yeah, but I've tried to figure what's the relation between my 'secrets' and them and couldn't find anything I really do hope things will work out, I've had enough of this!
Thank you!

The Cats represent a part of yourself.

Thank you!

Dreams are funny. Animals and all kinds of weird things can represent a myriad of things. What does a cat represent? They're crafty, cunning, sweet, independent. Maybe you love cats, maybe you don't; it also depends on what your relation to the animal or object is.

For instance, last night I dreamt about pulling objects out of my eyes (I won't say what exactly, it was kind of gross). My eyes are what I see life through. I was taking an annoying thing that was agitating my out of my view - well, I'm going through some big changes in my life right now that relates to that very much.

Things like that. Do I have things in my eyes that need to come out? Nah (ok, my contacts at the end of the day). Ah, the brain, never ceases to amaze me :P

My brain never ceases to horrify me