Hi everyone, I'm having a problem waking up screaming from various nightmares lately... Let me give you some background on my life first, as I'm not sure what's influencing my sleep. I'm a 27 year old male, who's about to get married. Less than 4 weeks. I haven't felt much stress regarding this, but I thought it was worth mentioning. I've lived with my girl for 6 years, so it's not like it's going to be anything new. Work is stressful, but I've been doing this same job for 6 years as well, and never had these nightmares before. What else... I'm a bit overweight, not much, about 15-20lbs and that stresses me as well. Considering I'll be seeing friends and family for the wedding next month, and we'll be vacationing on the beach right after, it's something that's been bothering me. Another thing, I've been a regular pot smoker for 10+ years and have recently stopped. I belive I read somewhere that marijuana suppresses the remembering of dreams, and it seems to fall in line with when I quit, and the nightmares began. Ok, onto the nightmares... I'll tell you the one I had last night, as it's most fresh in my head. I was in a house (not mine, but I knew my way around it like it was), in the dark. So dark I couldn't see my hand in front of me if I held it up, but I knew my way around like I'd lived there for years, so getting around wasn't too hard. I walk into a room, and I can feel the presence of someone on my left in twin bed, it's my fiance'. On the right, another twin bed with my parents (possibly, i don't remember this so well). So, I enter the room guiding myself on memory as it's too dark to see anything, i know there's a bed on the right and one on the left, so I walk down the middle and reach for a light switch on the wall. Nothing has been scary at this point, as it seems and feels like I'm just walking around my house at night. Anyway, I reach for the light switch on the wall and out of the dark a cold hand grabs my wrist and begins to pull me down the hall backwards at an incredible rate of speed. Once at the end of the hall, down a long flight of stairs into "the darkness". Darker than the house was in the first place. Well, as it grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the darkness, this is when I screamed. Loud. The scream itself, or my fiance' woke me up. It seems more and more I'm waking up this way. Screaming out loud, not just in my dream, in the middle of the night. It always seems like I'm helpless to whatever is after me. I've had dreams in the past where I've fought off zombies, buglers, etc, that are after my dog and family, and I always prevail in protecting them. Not these. I become helpless, and wake up under attack. Another dream where I woke up screaming last week I had fallen into a ditch of sort, on my back pinned into a tight corner, and a wolf/dog came through a dark shadow and jumped at me. Again, waking me up screaming. So, there you have it. For the past 10 years I really haven't even remembered any dreams. Now I'm waking up screaming. I'm almost tempted to start smoking pot again, but I don't see that as a healthy answer to my problem. I'd like to get to the bottom of what's going on here, and appreciate any input this forum may provide. Thanks in advance... Ben
Hello Nightmares, it's said that the biggest of all fears is one of the unknown. And still it is all yours ... and to regain the lost ground sometimes is a reason for drawing nightmares (and screams) into your experience ... as nightmares have the highest potential to lead you to the edge of it, and help you walk on the shaky grounds that you tried to avoid in the light of the day. They help you face what might feel like a spiritual vacuum inside, and find back your own depth where you tap into the sources of a deeper knowing. So your nightmares are a great training ground to wake and transform your own self, and change who you are. And even if you're not sure whether or not you be ready, the dreams and screams are - as you create them in first place, plus the life situation that now helps to rise and manifest them. So I thought the dreams help you to be more aware and move beyond your fears - move beyond the judgement of what is good and bad - move beyond the separation of the world. They ask you to be authentic in a spiritual way and aware of your own journey. Walking in your house, looking for light is about seeking to be more conscious of yourself and the current life situation, and also seeking for the obstacles that seem to keep you from being immidiately present and fully here. Try and use your imagination before you go to sleep. Imagine the dark unknown is unconditional love. Honor all who partake in your dreams, also the wolves, zombies and the cold hands. Imagine the dreams help you to re-connect to All that Is. Imagine they connect you to the simple, complex wonder of who you are. So just Be the Unknown yourself. Also you might wanna try and practise loud screaming somewhere out in a lonely place or in an isolated room, and find out where this gets you. Other than that, please know this is just a view from out there. But you are the dreamer creating all your dreams, and you know better ... you are your own best source ever of all true knowing. There is no limit for you. Wishing you well
The first nightmare with the beds with you fiance and p arents, sounds like you are struggling or resisting leaving the current state of being your parents' child and all the protection afforded you by still being single and also frightened of marriage and being responsible for someone as well as yourself. The darkness is the unknown and the reality is that all the fear is in the future, so it is truly unknown. The creaming is likely caused by the growing intensity (and probably the stuffing of your feelings as you approach your wedding date). Second dream in a ditch, pinned with a wolf blocking your exit. Bro, you sure you want to get married. This one reeks of you being trapped with no way out. Time to talk to fiance - not to break up, but to tell her that you are nervous and scared. I bet talking about it will alleviate these nightmares.
Didn't read anyones post besides yours nightmare. IDK if this helps or anything, but I too was smoking pot only for a year though. Long story short, smoked a quarter a day while dealing, then stopped after I had been put in jail because of probation for a month. Only dreams I had in jail were believing I was actually tripping on acid in my dream, which I had done in real life. Nothing outta the ordinary really, once I got out I began drinking every night and then stopped for a week. During that week, I had a similar but stronger night terror. I woke up screaming, blacked out when I sat up. And My girlfriend told me the rest, I began banging on the window trying to get out of MY OWN HOUSE, and then fell to the ground on my knees (I had been robbed about 2 months ago at gun point by 2 people, my gf thinks that was what happened with that part) And while on my knees I was screaming GET THEM OFF ME. And then I finally woke up, scared shitless for the rest of the night to scared to even go to my own bathroom by myself. And it was a different kind of scared, like chills just thinking about certain things. IDK if it has anything to do with it, but thats what happened to me. Ever since then I've been sleep talkin a good amount, and that only happened to me before twice when I was 8/9. Now it happens weekly 2/3 times.
