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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by tinydancer on March 6, 2004, at 8:05:25
I'm in an extremely productive state unconsciously, it would seem. I'm having like 5-8 dreams a night! T has suggested keeping a dream journal, which I think is a nice idea, but I keep forgetting to do it.
I have had quite a few dreams about my T, and it made me wonder about the types of dreams others may have, and if these individuals are interested in deciphering meanings behind the dreams.
I always think that dreams are boring to everyone but the individual who is having them, but my T says he is interested in mine so I have tried to keep track of them.
I had a hilarious one last week about trying to get to my appointment while there was some sort of earthquake/apocalypse going on, and I'm laughing about it now because I kept trying to use my cell phone to call the office and tell them NOT TO CANCEL because I was going to make it...haha....The best part was when I arrived I sort of barged into his office dripping wet and dirty. In my dream he said, "You look so cold. You should take a bath" Appropriately he had a bathtub in the middle of his office and invited me to step in, while explaining that he would sit at one end and I could sit at the other. The dream wasn't romantic (unfortunately) but the conversation afterwards we had was intriguing because we began discussing what the word "bathtub" means to me. I felt I got a lot of thinking material out of that.
Do you ever discuss your dreams with your T? Find any meaning in them yourself?
Posted by toomuchpain on March 6, 2004, at 10:44:23
In reply to Dreams, posted by tinydancer on March 6, 2004, at 8:05:25
i do share my dreams with my t and i do never find a meaning to them except since i dream of death alot she tells me i think of death too much and that is y i dream about it
Posted by cubic_me on March 6, 2004, at 10:48:04
In reply to Re: Dreams, posted by toomuchpain on March 6, 2004, at 10:44:23
I also have many many dreams in a night. Sometimes I wake up mentally exhausted becuase it feels like I have been awake all that time!
I have told my T a few of my dreams, only the ones I think are significant though. She suggested keeping a dream diary too, but I just never get round to it and often they are too abstract to put into words.
Posted by Elle2021 on March 6, 2004, at 13:54:13
In reply to Dreams, posted by tinydancer on March 6, 2004, at 8:05:25
> Do you ever discuss your dreams with your T?
I discuss my dreams with my psychiatrist because he seems really interested in them. Some of the interpretations he gives me are very fair and accurate.
>Find any meaning in them yourself?
I think about my own dreams (provided I actually remember them) and I try to decypher what they mean. Sometimes I come to the conclusion that it was just a random dream that didn't mean anything, but other times I get a lot of insight out of them.
Elle
Posted by shortelise on March 6, 2004, at 13:54:52
In reply to Dreams, posted by tinydancer on March 6, 2004, at 8:05:25
"Dreams are the window to the soul." Who said that?
I have had so many dreams where I am trying to get to my appointment with my therapist. Now I realize that we've never discussed it and I don't know what it means.
I often get ideas about what my dreams might mean, but the ones that are the most meaningful, I seem to take to therapy without having tried to figure them out. My shrink is very helpful at interpreting them, though he likes me to say what I think first. It always takes some time.
I have learned that when I write out the dreams, I need to think about how I felt during the dream and make a note of that. The feelings can fade as easily as the events of a dream.
When I began therapy, my therapist suggested I keep a diary, a journal, and I have. I write dreams, events, feelings, etc. in it and it has been the best tool I could imagine. And it's wonderful to go back and read dreams and feelings from five years ago - I have changed a lot, and that reassures.
At the moment I am dreaming about things underneath other things. A world beneath a floor, landscapes with hollows, mice under mats, it's strange.
It seems we all dream in colour, by the way - it's just that colour is not always the focus.
Great thread.
ShortE
Posted by tinydancer on March 6, 2004, at 14:07:20
In reply to I love dreams, posted by shortelise on March 6, 2004, at 13:54:52
I find dreams fascinating and mysterious. Isn't it amazing that we can emotionally and physically experience something without actually experiencing it? It can be a wonderful way to work through anxiety, anguish, sadness, and a dozen other emotions.
The thing that I struggle with is having such intense and realistic dreams. When I wake up, I find it hard to leave behind. I guess I berate myself for spending time thinking about something that never actually happened outside the confines of my head. But then I wonder how valid that is. The dream did happen to my body and mind, so it seems natural to have an emotional carry over in our waking state.
What do you all think about that? Does anyone else see dreams as a resource to overcoming problems, or experience dreams in a very intense way that they often feel troubled upon waking?
Posted by DaisyM on March 6, 2004, at 15:19:27
In reply to The dream experience, posted by tinydancer on March 6, 2004, at 14:07:20
Sometimes I'll dream about fighting with my husband and wake up and discover I'm actually mad at him. I have to remember that it was only a dream! LOL
We talk about dreams a lot in therapy. Many of mine signal my concerns about taking care of the whole world and about my Therapist leaving me. But recently I had a dream where I was shoe shopping (not unusual for me) and my Therapist was with me, watching. He said, in the dream, that he needed to understand why shoes were so important to me. And, while still dreaming, I "realized" that he wasn't suppose to be in this dream, that it made no sense. When I talked to him about it, especially dreaming about analyzing the dream, he said that maybe it meant that I now carry him with me doing fun things too, like shoe shopping. But maybe I *still* think I'm not supposed to. It was an interesting discussion.
I have a really disturbing one to talk about on Monday. We'll see where that goes.
Posted by gardenergirl on March 6, 2004, at 23:51:33
In reply to Re: The dream experience, posted by DaisyM on March 6, 2004, at 15:19:27
Since I started on Nardil, my dreams have all but disappeared. I used to dream quite a bit, especially between snooze alarms. I know Nardil can mess with REM sleep, but I wonder...am I not getting into REM, or just not remembering them now? Either way, I used to want to go back to sleep because I liked my dreams so much. Perhaps therapy is also interfering. It's making IRL better so I don't need to go back to them?
But I miss them...
gg
Posted by Apperceptor on March 7, 2004, at 0:12:02
In reply to I miss my dreams, sigh., posted by gardenergirl on March 6, 2004, at 23:51:33
I've had similar experiences with Prozac, Effexor, and now Zoloft
Posted by antigua on March 7, 2004, at 11:52:08
In reply to Re: I miss my dreams, sigh., posted by Apperceptor on March 7, 2004, at 0:12:02
I'll trade you. When I first began Effexor I stopped dreaming entirely, but since my dosage was upped I have had the most elaborate and often horrific dreams. Most of time I can't remember the details when I wake up, but I feel just awful and it can last the whole day. Sometimes it feels like mental gymnastics and I'm exhausted when I wake up. Last night it was something up ending up in the psych ward in the hospital and not knowing what I'd done (or who I'd hurt) to get there and the doctors wouldn't tell me. I literally was blind. That's all I can remember but I know there's a lot more.
My T loves dreams so I'm sure she'll have a field day with this one..
antigua
Posted by gardenergirl on March 7, 2004, at 13:07:25
In reply to Re: I miss my dreams, sigh., posted by antigua on March 7, 2004, at 11:52:08
Oh antigua, that sounds awful. I'm so sorry you have to go through that. Before, I rarely had nightmares, so what I miss was pretty benign, although usually quite vivid. Only occasionally did they stay with me all day.
I hope this gets better for you and that your T can help you with it. (((antigua)))
gg
Posted by Apperceptor on March 7, 2004, at 14:29:55
In reply to Re: I miss my dreams, sigh. » antigua, posted by gardenergirl on March 7, 2004, at 13:07:25
I don't mean to divert the topic in the least, but I'm curious about people's feelings about Nardil (I know this is the wrong board so I'll keep this brief!)
Antigua, I'm so glad that was a dream...I had to read it a few times, at first I thought you meant that happened! Have fun with your therapist ;-)
Posted by gardenergirl on March 9, 2004, at 23:10:23
In reply to Re: I miss my dreams, sigh., posted by Apperceptor on March 7, 2004, at 14:29:55
I posted stuff about Nardil in the wrong thread. Oops, here is the link:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040308/msgs/322488.htmlgg
Posted by Apperceptor on March 10, 2004, at 22:21:39
In reply to Re: I miss my dreams, sigh. » Apperceptor, posted by gardenergirl on March 9, 2004, at 23:10:23
GG-
Thanks for the info...I definitely see myself in that as well. I've talked to my last psychiatrist about taking Nardil or Parnate, but she claimed there is "no reason for MAOIs in the 21st century." It certainly sounds as though I am not the only one who might beg to differ! :-)
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