N is for Nightmares

My Blair Witch pic lol

I have a feeling my daughter takes after me. I’ve always dreamed very vividly and I usually remember everything I dream about in detail. This is pretty great when I’m dreaming something romantic or adventurous. I could stay in bed all day! But I also have nightmares and lots of them. Realistic ones about family members.  Horrible gruesome ones (possibly related to the true crime books I read). I don’t watch horror movies much anymore because I can guarantee a lot of sleepless nights to follow.

I used to have dreams about the demon bear from Scooby Doo when I was a kid. My mom likes to tell that story. I was a terrible sleeper. I also remember having this recurring dream when I was sick (feverish) where I had to balance an entire planet worth of sand on a spoon and grains where beginning to fall off the sides. Even thinking about that dream today makes me anxious.

The trick for a person who dreams like I do and also suffers from anxiety is convincing yourself that the dreams aren’t real long enough to avoid a panic attack. This is a skill I’ve been working on for years, and I’m happy to admit that I’m getting much better at it. For instance, it only took me about 10 minutes the other night to convince myself that I wasn’t going to choke on an imaginary piece of gum. I dreamt about choking on gum and when I work up, I swear I could feel a lump in my throat. After applying some logic, it occurred to me that I don’t chew gum AND I definitely didn’t have any in my mouth when I went to bed SO it was possible that I wasn’t going to die after all.

Do you remember your dreams? Do you have nightmares as an adult? My son has occasional nightmares, but my daughter is more regular. And she can tell me all the little crazy details. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that she’s inherited this trait from me.

Zombie nightmares are the worst.

The end. 

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