Well, Health/Fitness isn't active and the last time I made a thread in IE about a problem with my health it was closed.

Anyways, I believe I'm in need of some help.


Here lately I have been having (day)dreams of my friends dying, being raped, brutally beaten, being murdered on levels of 1st degree, and it has even went so far as to spread into my family.

I'm scared to sleep or to go too deep into my thoughts. I've tried to find something on Google, but sadly and surely nothing appeared.

Does anyone have a possible idea of what might be going on? Is it stress-related or some mental disorder?

I have asked a similar question to my professor regarding dreams. There are still much research to be done in this field, but according to my prof, dreams like yours are very common.

There are three theories regarding the purpose of dreams. Sigmund Freud believes that the principal purpose of dreams is for wish fulfillment. This doesnt seem to be the case in your situation. A second theory by Rosalind Cartwright thinks of dreams as a way to solve problems. Doesnt seem to be true for your case either. Finally, a third theory by J. Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley suggest that dreams are a way to make sense of your neural signal in your body. For example, your brain might fire specific signals to your body when you encounter something dangerous. Now, when you are sleeping, your body might experience the same kind of signals. In this case, Hobson and McCarley would explain that your cortex is trying to contruct a dream (of something dangerous happening) to reflect these signals.

The last theory might explain why you are constantly having these dreams. Have you been watching lots of action/horror movies lately? Have you been experiencing lots of stress recently? If so, maybe this is why you are having these dreams.

I have been under a load of stress here lately, come to think of it. What with just getting over being sick, best friend dying, loads of makeup work in school, that kind of stuff. They seem to be pretty harmless. I haven't had any suicidal thoughts lately or anything like that. Just loads of minor stress it all. Thanks for helping me understand this, I'm just glad I don't have something like Schizophrenia lol.

Glad I could help. Stress seems to be the big one here, and I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. The things you've listed are not harmless at all, however. They are the sources of your stress, which your body has to make adjustments to in order to cope with it. Evolution psychology would give you a whole explaination of why that occurs if you are interested. It's ok for a short term basis, but in the long run, this is bad for you as it is very damaging to your body.

Now regarding your situation, I would suggest you to try to find some way to relax. It's easier to say than to do, of course. But if you can find a way, it would really help to prevent your nightmares. Some suggestions I can think of are slowly and concentrating on breathing (I've never tried it myself but my prof said it is VERY effective); taking a walk in the park; or even exercising. Basically anything that directs your thoughts from whatever is giving you the stress. They don't have to be long. Perhaps five to ten minutes at a time should do.

As for Schizophrenia, I'm pretty sure you don't have it lol. They are pretty serious stuff and you definitely don't seem to have the symptoms for it .

Tbh, the first thing I thought of when I read your post was OCD. If this is the case, your dreams are the 'obsessions'; they're not usually something the patient can control, but are usually quite distressing.

The next step is the development of the 'compulsion'; something which is completely arbitrary but, for whatever reason, either takes away or lessens the influence of the obsessions.

OCD's not a bad thing provided that it doesn't get in the way of normal daily activity. I have it to a small extent. It's just an oddity that makes me feel more comfortable. People will ask about it sometimes but it doesn't really bother me.

I'm not saying for a minute that that's what you've got. But it's a possibility, I suppose. I went through a similar phase (unrelated to my current oddities) and got over it - the important thing to remember is that these thoughts do not necessarily reflect any underlying desires and you can effectively treat them as not your own. Don't let them get on top of you, or interfere with your life. Most of all, don't be scared of them, because it's not as uncommon as you think, They should go away eventually. If they don't, seek professional help.

quote SquallyBalambGirl

Some suggestions I can think of are slowly and concentrating on breathing (I've never tried it myself but my prof said it is VERY effective); taking a walk in the park; or even exercising. Basically anything that directs your thoughts from whatever is giving you the stress. They don't have to be long. Perhaps five to ten minutes at a time should do.

Just from saying daydreaming I'm thinking of fantasizing (also linked to excessive indoor activities if I could remember from my psychology book =p)? That might be an intensive word to use, eh. Controlling your thoughts could often be challenging but can be done.

Well, I don't think daydreaming is really the word for it. Usually I stay pretty active, but if I had said something like "visions" it'd have seem to be too crazy lol.