Do Intense Dreams Mean Something? I Can't Shake Them.

When I have an intense dream like that, it means that I am stressed out and not getting good enough sleep!

Dreams are just your brain's way of clearing its cookies. They aren't prophetic, no matter how intense they are.
I have had dreams so intense that I injured myself in my sleep. When my duaghter was a baby, I dreamed that someone was trying to hurt her, and I swung my fist at them. I woke up with my fist through the sheetrock wall of my bedroom.
If dreams are prophecy, then I would be starring in an x-rated episode of "I Love Lucy" wearing kabuki makeup.

JP

You are pregnant - correct?

When I was pregnant I had wicked, vivid dreams as well. I would write them down as best I could when I woke up - basically to remind myself it was just a dream.

Talk with your OB and let him/her know what is going on. To keep your stress levels down, he/she might recommend and/or prescribe Zoloft - which is acceptable to take during pregnancy.

If you are NOT pregnant - please contact your primary care physician and go in and talk with him/her about your dreams. They might be able to refer you to a therapist who can help you deal with the nightmares.

Best of luck to you!

It means your subconscious is trying to work through something and using metaphors to do it.
Are you facing some sort of change and feeling some sort of loss or ending?
Once you figure out what you're feeling you're losing and deal with how you face up to it, you'll have consciously processed it and your subconscious will move on to something else.

Your recurring dreams sound like you're going through some anxiety that needs to be worked out.

There is probably something going on in your subconscious, but you may never know what it is. I have had similar dreams that left me feeling emotional and even angry upon waking up, but eventually they lessoned and then stopped.

Are you a Lucid dreamer? Sometimes dreams can feel more "real" when you are in a lucid state of dreaming, bringing with them more emotional fall out.

If you are pregnant, as Another poster mentioned, I think you are in general experiencing a heightened sense of mortality (I had this in the middle.of both my pregnancies, just being caught up in unusual worries and thoughts. For me, it was not playing out in my dreams... Eg I was super upset about the swine flu- flashback 2010!- with my second pregnancy, and looking back it was such an unnatural reaction for me. I was seriously worried my daughter or I would get it and die). I also think the dreams are reflecting anxiety about general family changes that occur once baby comes. If you have a couple kids already, you may have felt relationships transition and shift when each baby was born. Perhaps you are anticipating that transition. You know you will feel a loss of the status quo, your current family unit, when the new addition arrives. Hence the entire family slipping off the iceberg.

If any of this rings true, maybe that will help you shake the (IMO hormonal) emotional reactions to the dreams... You can think about it as a the rebirth of the new family (or new individual relationship pattern if the dream was only about one family member at a time) that the new baby will bring. Its your pregnancy hormones making you get all intense about it. Otherwise the symbolism of "loss" makes sense in more of a "permanent change" context rather than the "scary death" context that you are focused on.

Looking back to your previous posts, I see you are pregnant...I usually have vivid and strange dreams, but being pregnant makes them 100x worse. Perhaps you are thinking about bringing this new baby into the world and losing everything, thinking about changing the dynamics of your current family, etc. Has anyone around you died or had children lately? I think a lot of what happens around us or we see on TV can influence our dreams. In the past month I have had a dream that my son was floating in the bottom of the pool (drowned), we had black panthers in our house and that there were small children in a classroom talking about how sex education was part of their learning (they were like 4/5). So not as severe as your dreams, but all bothered me A LOT!!

While I do think some people can predict the future, I do not think your dreams are doing that. You may even be worrying about something else (buying a new car, moving, job move, etc) and it's projecting itself into the worse possible scenario in your dreams.

Just my .02!

Are you taking any medicines that are relatively new? This sounds medicinal.

So sorry - if it keeps up, talk to your doctor.

Dream interpretation is a difficult, imprecise science. The fact that the dreams are reoccurring means that your sub-conscience is trying to tell you something. Are you extra stressed? Has there been a change in your family dynamic? Do you feel insecure about something (not just your family, it could be money, job, security, etc.)? It also could be physical.

You have anxiety about something. The dreams should abate when you figure out what.

You could look it up, but It sounds to me like you are super stressed,

Maybe you are concerned or sad that summer is over half way over and not looking forward to the whole Back to school sadness we moms tend to get. Especially when we are having so much fun as a family..

Our children grow up so fast and then when you have done a good job, they move on with their lives. It can be scary and depressing, but we have to remember, slow down enjoy right now. Be proud that they grow up and become independent. .

I get dreams like that when I am rather stressed, or feeling insecure. They will pass again. Can you do something to relax before bed time? Maybe some mediation or Yoga during the day? Please don't think that this has anything to do with reality - they are certainly not premonitions. Maybe something small is off and you are projecting that in these dreams.

I have dreams that are that intense. I've had my husband shake me awake because I was sobbing so hard in my sleep :( It's awful. BUT, it doesn't mean anything bad is going to happen. On the contrary; dreams about people you love dying often means something positive about them - new beginnings (at least, that's what my dream dictionary told me!).

I know they feel horrid and that those feelings linger, but you really have to just try and pep-talk your way out of those feelings. And you can try and prime your brain for good dreams before you go to sleep. Instead of falling asleep thinking about those bad dreams and fearing you'll have them again, try to really focus on positive memories before you fall asleep. They should be ones with powerful, happy emotions. You could also try to write them down so that your brain is really focused on remembering all the details. It might not completely get rid of the bad dreams, but it may help.

"...dreams about death often indicate "the symbolic ending of something, whether that's a phase, a job or a relationship." ...can also indicate attempts to resolve anxiety or anger directed toward the self... People who have dreams about death tend to be those who are entering or exiting an uncertain phase or period in their life. It could be a potentially life-changing event that creates anxiety and fear of the unknown..." ~ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/13/dreams-about-dea...

I hope this helps.

This sounds like anxiety to me, being played out in dreamland. Is there someone you can talk to about whatever is bothering you? Even if you think it might be silly or that you should be able to handle it... sometimes things aren't that easy. I occasionally have one-off dreams like this, which make me want to hold onto my family a bit tighter, however, it doesn't usually come on as a series of nightmares.

Consider finding someone trusted to talk to. Many people go through short bouts of anxiety, however if it's affecting your attitude and how you are living with your family, getting help is important.