Do I need help?
December 9, 2006 8:29 AM Subscribe
Just as I'm falling asleep, I regularly have a brief but powerful dream in which I experience the fear that I'm about to have or cause a car wreck, and then I wake up.
Should recurring dreams of this nature be a cause for concern, or are they quite commonplace and natural?
Obligatory obvious question: Have you recently had a car wreck, or almost been in one? Or has a family member? That could prompt it easily, but I assume that you haven't.
On the flip side of the coin, I was recently (beginning of November) in a pretty bad car accident (head-on collision where each driver was going ~50mph), and sustained some injuries, but I was able to pretty easily fall asleep that night, and have been every night after. I've never dreamed about it, or had metaphorical dreams in which cars come eat me or something. Did you know an air bag deploys at 324mph? My face still hurts sometimes.
Steering away (lollerskates) from the more obvious reasons, are you pretty stressed out generally? High-stress job/family life? I know a friend who was going through a high-stress time, and used to have a recurring dream in which he lost teeth, even though his choppers are in good health. This car wreck dream could be your brain's way of telling you you're too stressed out.
Regardless, I doubt therapy would hurt the situation, at least. If you can't figure out the cause yourself, a few sessions might be beneficial.
(IANATherapist)
posted by Verdandi at 8:53 AM on December 9, 2006
On the flip side of the coin, I was recently (beginning of November) in a pretty bad car accident (head-on collision where each driver was going ~50mph), and sustained some injuries, but I was able to pretty easily fall asleep that night, and have been every night after. I've never dreamed about it, or had metaphorical dreams in which cars come eat me or something. Did you know an air bag deploys at 324mph? My face still hurts sometimes.
Steering away (lollerskates) from the more obvious reasons, are you pretty stressed out generally? High-stress job/family life? I know a friend who was going through a high-stress time, and used to have a recurring dream in which he lost teeth, even though his choppers are in good health. This car wreck dream could be your brain's way of telling you you're too stressed out.
Regardless, I doubt therapy would hurt the situation, at least. If you can't figure out the cause yourself, a few sessions might be beneficial.
(IANATherapist)
posted by Verdandi at 8:53 AM on December 9, 2006
I have something similar. It's not a car dream, but just as I'm falling asleep I frequently wake up in a panic b/c there's something extremely important that I need to do, and then I try and remember what that thing is, and it slips away from me. I tend to think it's related to a hypnic jerk - I think I panic bc of a feeling of falling and my just registers the panic as something I need to do. Not sure if it's true or not. I have noticed that this most often happens when I'm alone. Not sure why.
posted by Amizu at 9:05 AM on December 9, 2006
posted by Amizu at 9:05 AM on December 9, 2006
I have had this dream a few times recently, as I start to fall asleep. I get this great sensation of panic, and then see myself ploughing into the back of another car at great speed. I wake up just at the moment of impact. I'm going to second Verdandi's suggestion that it might be a sign of stress in your life. Maybe its a hint from your brain that you need to make an effort to take it easy.
posted by Joh at 9:41 AM on December 9, 2006
posted by Joh at 9:41 AM on December 9, 2006
It's probably stress related, but likely not car accident related.
Before I got my anxiety under control, when I was stressed I used to regularly wake up soon after falling asleep, get up and go answer the door because I was sure there was someone there dying to get in.
When I was a child, every time I had a fever I had a dream that I was a matchstick person caught inside a huge clock threatening to crush me in its gears. It passed.
Focused positive meditation before bed is an excellent way to get dreams and anxiety under control.
Do you have difficulty falling back asleep?
posted by Ookseer at 9:48 AM on December 9, 2006
Before I got my anxiety under control, when I was stressed I used to regularly wake up soon after falling asleep, get up and go answer the door because I was sure there was someone there dying to get in.
When I was a child, every time I had a fever I had a dream that I was a matchstick person caught inside a huge clock threatening to crush me in its gears. It passed.
Focused positive meditation before bed is an excellent way to get dreams and anxiety under control.
Do you have difficulty falling back asleep?
posted by Ookseer at 9:48 AM on December 9, 2006
Well, they aren't cause for concern in the sense of premonition (unless you are experienced with premonitions -- I think few people are, though some say they are.)
I would look at a possible dream interpretation of any disturbing dream. I know you didn't ask for a dream interpretation, but it could be a useful way to look at it. If everything in your dream relates to you or your life, a n impending car wreck implies something you aren't paying attention to that may suddenly spin out of control. Might be a thought to meditate on.
I had a very disturbing dream -- in fact they were getting more intennse -- this type of interpretation and focusing/meditation was helpful in resolving the actual problem it seemed to be referring to.
posted by Listener at 10:16 AM on December 9, 2006
I would look at a possible dream interpretation of any disturbing dream. I know you didn't ask for a dream interpretation, but it could be a useful way to look at it. If everything in your dream relates to you or your life, a n impending car wreck implies something you aren't paying attention to that may suddenly spin out of control. Might be a thought to meditate on.
I had a very disturbing dream -- in fact they were getting more intennse -- this type of interpretation and focusing/meditation was helpful in resolving the actual problem it seemed to be referring to.
posted by Listener at 10:16 AM on December 9, 2006
Yes, probably hypnic jerk. Commonplace and natural. I had the car crash dream all the time last summer when I was working two full-time jobs and commuting between them. Most likely you are not getting enough sleep.
posted by Methylviolet at 10:44 AM on December 9, 2006
posted by Methylviolet at 10:44 AM on December 9, 2006
Quite commonplace and natural. Car wrecks are scary; they may be appearing in your dreams for this reason, representing a conscious or unconscious fear.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:00 AM on December 9, 2006
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:00 AM on December 9, 2006
I have a lot of car dreams, especially ones where I can't brake, or I'm going too fast. I noticed that I get them more when I'm feeling like my life is going out of control.
posted by gt2 at 11:20 AM on December 9, 2006
posted by gt2 at 11:20 AM on December 9, 2006
As others have said, these dreams are not uncommon, the standard interpretation being stress and fear of losing control of your life or your concerns. This is a fairly apt mind-metaphor - driving is the act of appropriately reacting to complex demands and information (especially if there are others in the car with you), if you are overwhelmed with demands or stimuli you don't feel you can keep up with, it can feel very much like one lapse could wreck everything.
Though these dreams are quite commonplace and natural, doesn't necessarily mean you should ignore them entirely. I don't like to guess what might cause such dreams, but a generalised suggestion would be making time to relax, reducing your workload where possible, or talking over things that have been bothering you with your partner, a friend or relative.
posted by MetaMonkey at 1:15 PM on December 9, 2006
Though these dreams are quite commonplace and natural, doesn't necessarily mean you should ignore them entirely. I don't like to guess what might cause such dreams, but a generalised suggestion would be making time to relax, reducing your workload where possible, or talking over things that have been bothering you with your partner, a friend or relative.
posted by MetaMonkey at 1:15 PM on December 9, 2006
If you believe dream dictionaries, cars in dreams represent control or direction in life (or lack thereof).
posted by Violet Hour at 9:12 PM on December 9, 2006
posted by Violet Hour at 9:12 PM on December 9, 2006
Because it happens as you're falling asleep, it's not really a dream. A friend of mine had this happen, except the recurring sensation was one of overwhelming dread, evil, threat, etc.
Turns out it's a form of epilepsy. I don't know if she ever sought treatment (insurance issues), but throwing that word into your search terms should find some better resources.
posted by Myself at 2:55 AM on December 11, 2006
Turns out it's a form of epilepsy. I don't know if she ever sought treatment (insurance issues), but throwing that word into your search terms should find some better resources.
posted by Myself at 2:55 AM on December 11, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
Could be hypnic jerk, which I think was a previous post (but hard for you to find for your specific problem).
Also, interesting stuff on this older post, and on this site.
posted by landedjentry at 8:45 AM on December 9, 2006