Missy's Corner

At one time or another, everyone has experienced nightmares, anxiety dreams, or even night-terrors.  Some people experience them so often, they become physically afraid to fall asleep or learn to "block their recall entirely" (The DREAMS Foundation).  I, myself have had the pleasure of experiencing all three (please note, I say this with dripping sarcasm).  Many think that there is little or no difference between the three, except for how in-tune your unconscious is to your physical, mental, and emotional selves; while I agree with that vein of thinking, I can tell you from experience, there are definite differences.  With this post, I, in no way, mean to have anyone worry about my state of mental health or start to worry I am not getting any sleep.  I just had my own anxiety dream and didn't want to wake Mister, so I figure this is the next best thing to help me get back to sleep!

I'll start with the weakest of the three, nightmares.  A nightmare is defined as "a terrifying dream in which the dreamer experiences feelings of helplessness, extreme anxiety, sorrow, etc." These are the most common types of "bad" dreaming.  It's actually a huge misnomer that nightmares are "bad" dreams!  "They are often indirectly warning us about current behavior patterns or psychological imbalances that we need to remedy if we don’t want such unpleasant dreams to repeat, or worsen." (The DREAMS Foundation)  Take for instance, one of the most common nightmares, falling off a cliff/precipice/ledge into the dark unknown; what could possibly be the warning your unconscious is trying to tell you, when you suffer through that vision and feeling of an endless spiral into darkness?  For me, I know it represents a loss of control.  My "falling nightmare"  usually comes around the time of a big family get-together, where I have to remember that I am still someone's child, grandchild, little cousin, sister and it causes my brain to worry.  I worry that I may offend someone, not fight right into the already established family dynamic, cause a huge wide-spread fight that never resolves itself;  Once I jerk awake, I am able to look at the dream and remind myself, just because I am someone's child, grandchild, little cousin, sister, doesn't mean I have to lose sight of me, what I represent to myself, and what beliefs, morals, etc. are important to me.

Do you remember those wonderful dreams you had before the first day of school?  You know the one where you walk confidently through the school hallways, strutting your stuff like the cock-of-the-walk, everyone is looking at you... because you are NAKED!  Phew! I don't know about you, but just thinking about it make my chest tight.  That is one example of an anxiety dream; in my opinion, they are one step above nightmares, since that tight feeling and anxiety takes a little longer to leave your system then the falling feeling.  According to an article by meaningofdreams.org, "Anxiety dreams are not always nightmares but they are easily identified by the strong emotional energy that is always present. A typical scenario is trying to cope with umpteen tasks at the same time or a never-ending single task."  For me, I find anxiety dreams come at a time when I have something very important to do, or something for which I've done all the planning.  For instance, in my anxiety dream last night, the task was wedding planning.  In my dream, all the wedding guests had arrived to the venue early, so instead of waiting till late in the evening to celebrate I decided to move the reception first!  I thought I sent someone to tell all the vendors, so when we sat down to eat and all the food was wrong, I started to panic.  I had people yelling at me, going to yell at the caterer, and Mister trying to calm me down.  Even in my dream I was hyperventilating!  I have been doing all the meticulous grunt work since January, and the weeks are winding down, so to think that I've missed something major, is very anxiety-ridden.

If you think you've never had a night terror, you are probably right!  Only 2.2% of adults experience onset of night terrors.  These types of dreams are more common among children between the ages of 4 and 12, and are characterized by frequent recurrent episodes of intense crying and fear during sleep, with difficulty arousing the child  (eMedinceHealth).  In most adult cases, the symptoms can elevate to sitting upright in bed or bolting up out of bed and running around the house; letting out a "blood-curdling" scream, kicking and thrashing, heart racing, sweating, a look of intense fear, and the inability to respond to outside voices.  Once the dreamer does awaken, they may often experience confusion, not knowing where they are or what has happened (SleepEducation.com).  I know, first hand, night terrors are no picnic.  I've had dreams where I've screamed, and I've had dreams where I couldn't discern the dream from reality; ones where I've woken up on my own and remembered every little detail, and ones where Mister's had to wake me and I couldn't remember a thing.  While it's easy to figure out in nightmares and anxiety dreams, what your psyche is trying to tell you, comprehending night terrors may need the help of a professional.  In most cases of nightmares, the dreamer can turn and face the menacing problem and change the outcome; in night terrors, the problem is so frightening, there is no way to fight it. 

I hope I haven't given anyone reading this post scary thoughts or anxieties!  Don't worry!  You and I are fine!  Now, go back to sleep and enjoy whatever the Sandman brings you!