[Alyhart]

Hi, sorry if this posts ends up a little longer than my others, it might take me a while to bring myself to explain parts of this. So I have been having frequent nightmares for as long as I can remember, though in reality it may have been only a few years or so, as well as having trouble getting to sleep. Anyways, in the last few months to a year, they have become more frequent, occurring nearly every night, and more intense. Sometimes they are about things I've been worrying about, such as grades, my friend (yes not plural) or my family, and sometimes they seem to come out of nowhere. These dreams have begun to cause me a great deal of distress, and sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night crying, shaking, and/or choking and feeling like I was suffocating. Recently I woke up finding that I couldn't move at all or think clearly, almost like I was stuck between dreaming and reality, and I had a major panic attack. I usually ended up being killed in my dreams, though I always woke up right before I did. Now I've been waking up after I died, and something else has been happening lately that I've been worrying about. I have had suicidal thoughts often, though I have never really acted on them. That is, I've held a gun to my head before with the finger in the trigger, but I've always stopped short of actually doing it, and along that line. Lately in my dreams, I have often stopped running and given up, letting myself be killed, or begging the people in my dreams to kill me (they do). I should also maybe mention that I'm nearly always in pain in my dreams (I don't know if it's real pain or not, but it sure feels it), and I'm in pain a lot when I wake up (chest and heart hurting, sore ribs, joints, etc). However, I've also started having dreams where I went through with it and killed my self, and I'm worried about what that means. Do you think it means that I'm getting worse or am I just overreacting? Sorry for the long unorganized post, but thanks for reading! It means a lot to me.

[Nikki O.]

To me I think most dreams mean something or are trying to show you something.

I think maybe part of it is showing you about death and if you really want to die. Since it's on your mind alot, it will show up in your dreams since you dream alot.

When I have nightmares I'm in the same place as you where I die and I feel it so realistically too. But I haven't experienced the suicidal parts so I'm not so sure about that (since I usually have mission saving my sister).

It could mean that in real life you are stopping short or giving up and breaking down, which might be a reflection of certain events that you have gone through also. Like when you had held the gun up to your head must have been a pretty hard emotional moment so your dreams can reflect that ordeal in an echo/representation. In that way I've have dreams that we're almost to the mark of certain life events that were some of the worst. Other times it could be fears or a mixture of life events.

But I could be completely off too! So sorry if this isn't helpful...

[Thunder Bow]

Are you in Therapy?

[Eyes of Blue]

Nightmares reflect the idea of the most horrible, terrible thing that you might think could possibly happen to you. If your nightmares are all different in content it can suggest that there are a number of issues in your life that are really scaring you. These nightmares are indicating that there are situations or ideas that you are not thinking about correctly and the dreams are trying to point this out to you. It would be helpful to have your dreams interpreted. Post a few complete nightmares .

What scares you the most in life? Is it getting low grades? If you are already putting in as much effort as you can perhaps you could enlist the help of a tutor. Is a friend giving you a lot of stress? Such a "friend" is no friend at all and you'd be better off without them in your life. Is your family a problem.? Perhaps you could find a trusted older person who could help you speak to the family. It is only by finding a solution to what is now giving you a lot of anxiety that you will free yourself from nightmares. Medication is not the best solution. Seeking the cause of your fears and eliminating them is.

As you can see these nightmares are beginning to have a physical effect upon your waking reality. You wake up crying, shaking, choking, etc. Finding that you cannot move at all is an indication of feeling powerless to make a move - to do anything. Have you tried asking for help in those subject areas that are causing the greatest anxiety?

Being killed in your dreams is merely the dreams way of saying that something or someone is emotionally devastating you. A situation is emotionally very hard on you. By waking up right after being killed, you are seeing the solution to what is terrifying you. The solution is to come to a greater sate of awareness. (wake up) What was terrifying you belongs to your own "dream world" where your thinking is too emotional and imaginative. More realistic thinking may be required on your part. A bear, for example, in a dream might represent a demanding parent but in real life they are human and can be reasoned with.

Holding a gun to your head implies that you might think of subjecting yourself to some very severe and hurtful criticism that your emotional nature cannot stand up to. The pain everywhere reflects the emotional pain you are being subjected to via too many scary thoughts, anxiety and worry. You need to seek help for all your concerns before the inner emotional pain starts to affect your physical health also. If you are religious, don't overlook your faith as an aid to coping with life. I truly sympathize with your situation and hope things get better soon.