[Ahkrill]

I often have lots of intensely active and disturbing dreams, but I also have some strange 'episodes', for lack of a better word. I've had them a few times per year since I was about eight. Essentially what I experience is a belief that there is no tomorrow or that I am entirely alone, as in nobody else exists. I often also believe that there is no moment outside of the present, if that makes sense. I have developed some good self-talk for these moments, so I don't panic as much as when I was a child. And these methods keep me calm, but I have trouble making myself actually believe my self-talk. During the most recent one I experienced, there were two streams of thought occuring at the same time, one talking over the top of the other. One of them was my own self-talk, which was the quieter one. The other one was a mixture of fear and noise and other negative things. And although these mainly occur in the night, upon waking, I have experienced them during the day a couple of times.

Does anyone have any idea what this is?

[Thunder Bow]

In reality there is No Moment Outside of the Present. So your thinking is sound. Common anxiety is what bothers you. Feel free to post some specific dreams here so we can help.

Hello AprilR: I would guess everyone has some disturbing dreams of one sort or another from time-to-time. I don't know if you're on any kinds of medications for anything. But various medications can cause particularly vivid dreams, especially if you're going on, coming off, or changing dosages.

Anxiety can, I believe, also be a factor. The fact that you are having some of the experiences you have in your dreams during your waking hours, may be of concern. Some type of sleep disturbance is also a possibility, I would guess. But these are things that would best be addressed by a physician.

It sounds, from what you wrote, as though you're handling these dreams pretty well at this time. If that's the case, then there may not be a need for professional intervention now. If so, you can perhaps just keep track of how things are going for you for now. But then, if your dreams should become more difficult to handle, at that point you may want to speak with your physician about them. I wish you all the best...

[Ahkrill]

I am on a ADD medication as of 6 months ago, but I have had this problem since I was 8. Same with the dreams. But yeh, I can generally manage my dream responses. Although some of my dreams of late have made me unsure of what is real upon waking. It takes me a little while to figure out which my real memories are, which is a little disturbing when the dreams are really weird.