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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by HyperFocus on April 11, 2009, at 19:09:42
A question to all: when you dream do you experience yourself as ill or 'normal'? In your dreams are you ever depressed or anxious or obsessive or bipolar or psychotic?
I find it fascinating that despite having severe social phobia for nearly 20 years - 2/3 of my life - I never dream myself phobic. In all the thousands of dreams I have I've never dreamed myself in a social situation with the slightest tinge of anxiety - the anxiety that has been part of my real day-to-day existence for so long. No matter what I dream, I am never depressed, anxious, obsessed, neurotic, et. al
So how come the actor playing HyperFocus in my dreams doesn't have mental illness as part of his repertoire? Is this true for everybody? Is it that the parts of our brain responsible for dreams are somehow cut off from the parts responsible for mental illness? Or is there some sort of switch that gets thrown that turns off the illness in the dream?
How cool would it be to be able to throw the switch that turns off mental illness when we are awake?
Posted by Sigismund on April 11, 2009, at 20:18:33
In reply to Do you ever dream your illness?, posted by HyperFocus on April 11, 2009, at 19:09:42
This is interesting.
I am normal in my dreams, but in the distant past, subject to persecution.
My mother hanged me once in one of them, which wasn't very nice of her/me.
Posted by Sigismund on April 11, 2009, at 20:22:17
In reply to Do you ever dream your illness?, posted by HyperFocus on April 11, 2009, at 19:09:42
>How cool would it be to be able to throw the switch that turns off mental illness when we are awake?
In the literature on autism I recall some kid's answer to the question
'What was the point at which you started to get better?'
which was
'When I realised it was me doing it.'
Posted by Sigismund on April 11, 2009, at 20:34:24
In reply to Re: Do you ever dream your illness?, posted by Sigismund on April 11, 2009, at 20:22:17
This was a kid who had this thing with string. He would connect things with it. There may have been a problem of orientation....like no inside/outside, and therefore no subjectivity as such.
Posted by HyperFocus on April 11, 2009, at 22:42:13
In reply to Re: Do you ever dream your illness? » HyperFocus, posted by Sigismund on April 11, 2009, at 20:18:33
Yeah I get a lot dreams of persecution too. Not ever from family but mostly people from my past in school.
I wonder what would happen if we really could take a drug or get an operation to delete painful memories. Ever saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? I don't think it would be that straightforward though. It might be like deleting important files with the operating system still up. Weird unpredictable dangerous stuff could happen. Like it or not our memories define who we are - they are inextricably tied to our core logic. Remember Star Trek 5? Our pain makes us who we are, or so Kirk said. I wonder.
> This is interesting.
>
> I am normal in my dreams, but in the distant past, subject to persecution.
>
> My mother hanged me once in one of them, which wasn't very nice of her/me.
Posted by Phillipa on April 12, 2009, at 10:54:54
In reply to Re: Do you ever dream your illness? » Sigismund, posted by HyperFocus on April 11, 2009, at 22:42:13
Lots of anxiety dreams where nursing can't get or find my patients. Wonder what that means. Lately I'm younger and having fun. Love Phillipa
Posted by SLS on April 12, 2009, at 11:30:01
In reply to Do you ever dream your illness?, posted by HyperFocus on April 11, 2009, at 19:09:42
When depressed, the content of my dreams and my behavior in them change, although I don't actually "feel" the depression. As an example, I am bullied more often and lack the assertiveness to do anything about it. However, when I am in an improved state, I become much more assertive. The content of my dreams change too. Much less bullying and negative experiences.
So, I guess in a way, I do have differences in the content or themes of dreams depending on my level of depression during waking hours, despite not generally being aware of depression while in the dream.
- Scott
Posted by Poet on April 12, 2009, at 11:58:23
In reply to Do you ever dream your illness?, posted by HyperFocus on April 11, 2009, at 19:09:42
Hi Hyperfocus,
My self esteem is based on work and I have a recurring dream that I am at a company that I left after having a complete mental meltdown. My office doesn't always look the same and it's obvious it now belongs to someone else. I am obsessed with career and this dream annoys the hell out of me because it's like I can't let go of my obsession even when I dream. The only good thing is that I'm not the meltdown Poet, I seem to be normal just out of place.
I would love to turn off that switch when I am awake and asleep. What is normal anyway?
Poet
Posted by DarkStarEtc on April 12, 2009, at 16:35:28
In reply to Do you ever dream your illness?, posted by HyperFocus on April 11, 2009, at 19:09:42
When I am severely depressed I don't remember my dreams very well- they become really vague fragments, but I think they must be distressing because I wake up feeling sad.
When I do have decent dream recall they are often about stressful situation- I'm a passenger in a car with someone who's not driving well; I'm running late to get to the airport and realise I've left my passport and ticket behind; I'm walking along a dark road with cars driving by so close I think they might hit me; or I have to climb difficult obstacles (ie.-huge steep flights of bleachers, with gaps or broken places!) in order to get somewhere...
These are themes that reoccur pretty frequently- I can't remember the last time I had a happy or pleasant dream.
I worry about this- how am I ever going to get better when even my subconscious is obsessing all night long?? When I DO sleep... get insomnia a lot, too- not surprising, I guess.
DS Etc.
Posted by FindingMyDesire on April 13, 2009, at 20:03:44
In reply to Do you ever dream your illness?, posted by HyperFocus on April 11, 2009, at 19:09:42
Well, how do I define my illness first of all? Social anxiety for sure. Yes, I definitely have that in my dreams. Also, insecurity and worry. I worry about the relationships around me and people watching me. Have that in my dreams too. I have a lot of shame around my gender and sexuality. And, yes, I certainly dream of that! So I guess so!
Lately I have been going through a familiar cycle of feelings for my T - great longings and romantic/sexual attraction. And I have had a couple of doozies! They are so realistic too - in the sense that they take place in her office and she acts in ways that are as consistent as I could imagine her being in that kind of context based on the way she treats me. (I actually and obviously know nothing about her romantically/sexually in real life so not sure this statement will make sense to anyone.) They just feel so real. And they do freak me out so much!
I suppose, in general then, I'm rarely "better" in them than in real life. Dreams are just another opportunity to sledge through it all...
FMD
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