[kaiouti]

hey, ever since I was young Ive had problems sleeping\

I would get terrible nightmares that would fortell misfortune and death

they were like full on unconcious bad lsd trips, they are aweful when I get them
usually after I wake from one I would be in between conciousness
trying to figure them out but that just made it worse,
its very hard to forget them its like they are scarred into my brain

I would panic going to sleep, even though I would actively prolong the dream
while lucid to get more info to translate/find meaning to

ever since I first went to hospital it got worse, usually alot of
False awakenings, Sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming all rolled into one
etc; including Incubus and succubus experiences

It got me paranoid and almost angry, I thought I might of been raped or something while on heavy medication or something unconcious and
it annoys and frustrates me

usually I normally have a hard time getting to sleep because I would
go back mentally assessing my day and if I didn't do anything positive
or enough I would stew and ruminate on it, or stuff I could of done differently

anyways Ive had this for soo long, prolonging going to sleep because
I hate being in a semi schizophrenic dream state that makes me doubt alot of things and reality even

I haven't got it soo badly lately, but I was looking for and advice or help with sleeping mainly getting to sleep,

meditation has helped in the past before and reiki is good too

my mind isn't so packed with an overload of thoughts but it just feels like
constantly through the day I would overwork my mind trying to get **** done
and Id beat myself up because I don't think Ive done enough

anyways I was wondering what causes this too and will it get better over time
and me concentrating on discipline and strength exercises like being active, outgoing and using my energy in a good way.

thoughts?

[medkev13]

It sounds like what's happening is your self evaluation is causing you to fall asleep going into an anxiety attack. Anxiety while dreaming often translates straight into nightmares, and the more "trippy" the dream the more raw emotion is being communicated (symbolism is for the analytical brain, experiential dream features are emotional and instinctual).

When lingering between sleep and waking (this would be phase 1, if I'm not mistaken) actually typically includes sleep paralysis, semi-lucidity (which is more powerful if you're naturally a lucid dreamer to begin with...as seems to be the case), and false awakenings. Those are actually perfectly natural. What's making them so negative is the anxiety.

Try self-empowerment exercises before bed, focusing on the positive things you can find from the day. Or even just focusing on relaxing and not reflecting on the day at all. If you're still having problems, you may want to talk to a doctor about taking an anti-anxiety medication and possibly having a sleep study done.

[kaiouti]

Originally Posted by medkev13

It sounds like what's happening is your self evaluation is causing you to fall asleep going into an anxiety attack. Anxiety while dreaming often translates straight into nightmares, and the more "trippy" the dream the more raw emotion is being communicated (symbolism is for the analytical brain, experiential dream features are emotional and instinctual).

When lingering between sleep and waking (this would be phase 1, if I'm not mistaken) actually typically includes sleep paralysis, semi-lucidity (which is more powerful if you're naturally a lucid dreamer to begin with...as seems to be the case), and false awakenings. Those are actually perfectly natural. What's making them so negative is the anxiety.

Try self-empowerment exercises before bed, focusing on the positive things you can find from the day. Or even just focusing on relaxing and not reflecting on the day at all. If you're still having problems, you may want to talk to a doctor about taking an anti-anxiety medication and possibly having a sleep study done.

I have yet to see a sleep specialist but when I find a new gp I will ask for a referral, thanks for your info.