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November 11, 2009 4:42 PM Subscribe
NightmareFilter: Every few months I have a really bad nightmare that leaves me sort of shaken and out of it for the rest of the day. How do I shake that kind of mood?
I'm not having trouble sleeping because of fear of nightmares, because I don't get them often, but the ones that I remember when I wake up are usually disturbing and difficult to get out of my head. This happens both when I go on with my daily routine and when I try to snap out of it and do something different.
Does anyone have any mental health hacks for shaking that post-nightmare state of mind?
I should note that I am depressed and medicated for it (Lexapro), if that changes anything.
I'm not having trouble sleeping because of fear of nightmares, because I don't get them often, but the ones that I remember when I wake up are usually disturbing and difficult to get out of my head. This happens both when I go on with my daily routine and when I try to snap out of it and do something different.
Does anyone have any mental health hacks for shaking that post-nightmare state of mind?
I should note that I am depressed and medicated for it (Lexapro), if that changes anything.
Strong, disturbing dreams like that are messages, and they are worth dealing with professionally. Find the key to the code and they will go away. You may want to pick up Love's Executioner, a great read anyway, and check out the chapter about the Dreamer.
posted by bearwife at 4:50 PM on November 11, 2009
posted by bearwife at 4:50 PM on November 11, 2009
someone once told me that a dream is simply your mind taking a healthy shit.
if you look at it in that light, you can just assume that your subconscious has *already* shaken it, and if your subconscious doesn't think it's worth holding on to, then your conscious probably shouldn't invest too much time in it, either.
posted by msconduct at 5:08 PM on November 11, 2009
if you look at it in that light, you can just assume that your subconscious has *already* shaken it, and if your subconscious doesn't think it's worth holding on to, then your conscious probably shouldn't invest too much time in it, either.
posted by msconduct at 5:08 PM on November 11, 2009
Best answer: I consider this a nightmare hangover. I've had nightmares for years, and I have to say that the best solution I've come up with for this kind of post-nightmare discombobulation is just to write off the day. Sometimes you see (or dream) fucked-up shit, and it makes you bummed out and a little low for a while. You'd expect to feel lousy after watching a sad or disturbing movie, and I find that it's not really any different for dreams.
So give yourself a bit of time and TLC and accept that it's going to pass and you're going to feel kinda crappy until you go back to bed and have a decent dream to wipe out the bad one.
I know that "it happens" and "it'll go away in its own time" aren't really helpful mind hacks, but they're how I get through those kinds of days.
posted by stefanie at 5:28 PM on November 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
So give yourself a bit of time and TLC and accept that it's going to pass and you're going to feel kinda crappy until you go back to bed and have a decent dream to wipe out the bad one.
I know that "it happens" and "it'll go away in its own time" aren't really helpful mind hacks, but they're how I get through those kinds of days.
posted by stefanie at 5:28 PM on November 11, 2009 [1 favorite]
Strong, disturbing dreams like that are messages, and they are worth dealing with professionally.
Personally, I disagree with this. I don't have any experience with Lexapro, but I had awful, awful nightmares and vivid dreams while I was taking Wellbutrin, so don't discount the possibility that it's involved. Mine cleared up pretty much instantly (within a night or two) when I stopped taking Wellbutrin.
A google search for "Lexapro nightmares" suggests that you're not alone.
posted by pullayup at 5:42 PM on November 11, 2009
Personally, I disagree with this. I don't have any experience with Lexapro, but I had awful, awful nightmares and vivid dreams while I was taking Wellbutrin, so don't discount the possibility that it's involved. Mine cleared up pretty much instantly (within a night or two) when I stopped taking Wellbutrin.
A google search for "Lexapro nightmares" suggests that you're not alone.
posted by pullayup at 5:42 PM on November 11, 2009
Okay, I realize, upon re-reading, that I sounded like I was suggesting that you stop taking Lexapro. I didn't mean that at all, and I should note that I 1) didn't stop taking Wellbutrin solely because it was messing up my slumbering hours and 2) I did it with the supervision of my medical professional. If Lexapro works well for you otherwise, stick with it--but you might talk to your mental health professional about it, as it's not inconceivable (though I have no idea) that something as simple as adjusting your dosage might help.
posted by pullayup at 5:50 PM on November 11, 2009
posted by pullayup at 5:50 PM on November 11, 2009
Response by poster: I had dreams like this before I was on the Lexapro-- I just mentioned that in case the depression itself was a possible reason.
posted by NoraReed at 6:11 PM on November 11, 2009
posted by NoraReed at 6:11 PM on November 11, 2009
Response by poster: Good answers so far-- Chocolate Pickle, I do that to an extent already but haven't really made effort to do it more, so I will try that. (The appearance of the Incredible Hulk in my last nightmare, for example.)
More answers are welcome even though I've marked some as best. Thanks!
posted by NoraReed at 6:13 PM on November 11, 2009
More answers are welcome even though I've marked some as best. Thanks!
posted by NoraReed at 6:13 PM on November 11, 2009
Response by poster: Also (aaugh triple self response, sorry): I'm trying to making the nightmares *go away*. They don't happen all that often and they don't interfere with my sleep-- they just give me the sort of "nightmare hangover" that stephanie discussed. I'm just looking for ways to deal with the aftereffects of them.
posted by NoraReed at 6:16 PM on November 11, 2009
posted by NoraReed at 6:16 PM on November 11, 2009
Response by poster: Correction: Not trying to make the nightmares go away. See what I mean by being sort of out of it?
posted by NoraReed at 6:40 PM on November 11, 2009
posted by NoraReed at 6:40 PM on November 11, 2009
Dreams are nothing if not fascinating. Are there "meanings" in dreams? Many of us believe so - but not necessarily. Just as a pain could be a symptom of disease, it's not always. A nightmare could be important to your mental health, but not always.
What do you think? Do you feel the content of the dreams are of any importance? I don't mean to suggest trying to "interpret" your dreams; just the content, as silly as it might be, is there a common thread?
The hangover effect is the power of the brain. Again, a topic we know so little about. A good strategy would be to allow yourself the rebound from the dream and except it as part of the process - whatever that might be. Hopefully one day there will be more answers. Right now there's far more questions.
An aside, if you mention this to your mental health provider, think long and hard about accepting more drugs for the "hangover." Some may try to convince you that the anxiety from nightmares may need anti-anxiety medications. I personally think this is the wrong approach. It's become almost diabolical how quickly some doctors feel every emotional discomfort needs a new chemical to slosh around in your brain. I'm not opposed to psychotropic medications, but they're over-prescribed - especially in the USA.
One more thing, the Lexapro could very well be enhancing your dream life, but don't stop it. Suddenly stopping any antidepressant is dangerous.
Good luck!
posted by Gerard Sorme at 7:07 PM on November 11, 2009
What do you think? Do you feel the content of the dreams are of any importance? I don't mean to suggest trying to "interpret" your dreams; just the content, as silly as it might be, is there a common thread?
The hangover effect is the power of the brain. Again, a topic we know so little about. A good strategy would be to allow yourself the rebound from the dream and except it as part of the process - whatever that might be. Hopefully one day there will be more answers. Right now there's far more questions.
An aside, if you mention this to your mental health provider, think long and hard about accepting more drugs for the "hangover." Some may try to convince you that the anxiety from nightmares may need anti-anxiety medications. I personally think this is the wrong approach. It's become almost diabolical how quickly some doctors feel every emotional discomfort needs a new chemical to slosh around in your brain. I'm not opposed to psychotropic medications, but they're over-prescribed - especially in the USA.
One more thing, the Lexapro could very well be enhancing your dream life, but don't stop it. Suddenly stopping any antidepressant is dangerous.
Good luck!
posted by Gerard Sorme at 7:07 PM on November 11, 2009
Paragraph 3: Yes, I know the difference between except and accept. I was typing faster than I was thinking. Why is AskMe the one place so many of us feel we need to acknowledge our errors? I do anyway. To let everone know we're not as dumb as our mistakes make us appear? Hmmmm. To my couch.
posted by Gerard Sorme at 7:12 PM on November 11, 2009
posted by Gerard Sorme at 7:12 PM on November 11, 2009
Talk to a psychologist; she will help you unravel this.
posted by funkbrain at 7:28 PM on November 11, 2009
posted by funkbrain at 7:28 PM on November 11, 2009
Dreams are a side effect of the mind going through what amounts to "defragging". During our waking time we absorb information which needs to become memories. While we sleep, the mind organizes those memories, cross correlates them, figures out relevance numbers, and all the things that have to happen to make a huge store of associative memory work properly. The subjective experience of having that happen is what we call "dreaming".
Dreams may not mean anything at all; they're made of whatever symbols the defragging process happens to be working on cleaning up. But sometimes they do make sense, at least somewhat, because they are based on the things we have been thinking about and doing. That is what our memories are made of.
What that means is that no one can control what they dream, not totally. There are ways, to a limited extent, to make yourself dream about things you want to dream about, but it isn't really possible to avoid dreaming about things you don't want to dream about.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:50 PM on November 11, 2009
Dreams may not mean anything at all; they're made of whatever symbols the defragging process happens to be working on cleaning up. But sometimes they do make sense, at least somewhat, because they are based on the things we have been thinking about and doing. That is what our memories are made of.
What that means is that no one can control what they dream, not totally. There are ways, to a limited extent, to make yourself dream about things you want to dream about, but it isn't really possible to avoid dreaming about things you don't want to dream about.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:50 PM on November 11, 2009
Best answer: I had a terrible nightmare just the other day: an operation that was going wrong (I'll spare you the details but it felt 100% realistic and believable).
When I woke up, I had that "nightmare hangover" so aptly described above. I found a hack that worked for me: I imagined all the characters in my dream were in a play, and once the play had ended, they all got up and took a bow to an applauding audience. Every actor was smiling and I could see they were all physically fine, and it was just a performance (and one in which they were all very proud).
This allowed me to pretend to myself that the whole nightmare was a performance showcasing the actors' skills.
Don't know if it would work for you. I visualized it for about five minutes before I got out of bed. Seemed to do the trick.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 8:04 PM on November 11, 2009
When I woke up, I had that "nightmare hangover" so aptly described above. I found a hack that worked for me: I imagined all the characters in my dream were in a play, and once the play had ended, they all got up and took a bow to an applauding audience. Every actor was smiling and I could see they were all physically fine, and it was just a performance (and one in which they were all very proud).
This allowed me to pretend to myself that the whole nightmare was a performance showcasing the actors' skills.
Don't know if it would work for you. I visualized it for about five minutes before I got out of bed. Seemed to do the trick.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 8:04 PM on November 11, 2009
I guess I don't understand why it is a problem to have this happen every few months. Having an occasional day of being out of it, even with disturbing thoughts, is well within the bounds of normal human experience. Why not simply allow it? You might experiment with welcoming this experience instead of trying to cure it or push it away. You may find, paradoxically, that it dissipates quicker if you stop resisting it or believing that it isn't supposed to be there. I am sure you could get a psychologist who would be happy to help you conquer and control this aspect of yourself. But why?
posted by Wordwoman at 8:05 PM on November 11, 2009
posted by Wordwoman at 8:05 PM on November 11, 2009
I have found that drawing or writing out a freaky dream helps me to get it out of my head
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 10:59 PM on November 11, 2009
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 10:59 PM on November 11, 2009
Best answer: I have "nightmare hangovers" sometimes and they really, really mess me up. I find the best way to shake it is to find someone I love and trust (usually my partner, sometimes a close friend) and say "Hey, I had this dream and it's making me feel lousy. I want to tell you about it just to get it out of my system." Saying the dream outloud to someone else helps me realize that dreams are totally, totally wacky and also help me purge the leftover feelings.
Doesn't have to be a therapist, just saying them outloud without trying to analyze them really does help to remind yourself that it was "just" a dream.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 5:14 AM on November 12, 2009
Doesn't have to be a therapist, just saying them outloud without trying to analyze them really does help to remind yourself that it was "just" a dream.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 5:14 AM on November 12, 2009
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posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:48 PM on November 11, 2009