Dreams are much more important than most people realize. They help the brain to process everything that happens, both good & bad, which helps to keep our sanity in tact. Sometimes they can be a good problem solving technique, because you can dream about some scenario you never considered before about a problem you face in your waking life. They also are a fantastic gauge for our mental health, which is what I want to focus on today.
For many years, I had a recurring nightmare. The details would change slightly but the theme was always the same. I was an adult, but needed to repeat high school. I also needed to rely on my mother to get me there, but she was running late &/or screaming at me, much as she did during my final year & a half of high school. In the early days of the nightmare, I was in a blind panic because I was going to be late & had no choice. I also would get to school to find out I had a test on something I hadn’t studied, couldn’t find my locker or some other unsettling scenario. I also was embarrassed to be the only adult in high school classes. I often woke up in a terrible panic from these nightmares.
As time went on, I began to work on my emotional healing, & as I did that, the dream changed. Sometimes I wouldn’t care that I was running late, or I could find my locker. Eventually I started to realize I had my own car & didn’t need to rely on anyone to take me to school. Not long after a few of these new variations on the dream started, I realized I had already been through high school & had no need to repeat it. Finally, the nightmares stopped altogether.
At the time of this recurring nightmare, in addition to working on my emotional healing, I also learned about Narcissistic Personality Disorder & how to deal with my C-PTSD. The more I learned & healed, the more the nightmare changed. It also became much less frequent. Eventually, the nightmare stopped altogether. I don’t remember the last time I had it, but I do know it’s been years.
As it was changing, I realized that it was a reflection of where I was in my healing journey. The healthier I became, the more power I took back in my nightmare & the less upset I was when I woke up.
Not everyone has recurring dreams or nightmares. If you do, they are absolutely worth paying attention to. I firmly believe they repeat because there is an important message in them. Just look at mine as an example. It showed me the state of my mental health.
Even if you don’t have recurring dreams or nightmares, the ones you do have are still important, even if they don’t seem that way at the time. It’s wise to pay attention to them. I sometimes know what my dreams are trying to tell me right away, but if not, I pray & ask God to show me. I also look up everything I can think of in a dream dictionary, such as people, places, colors, objects, or numbers. Any detail at all can be very helpful, no matter how small. There are plenty of free dream dictionary websites online. Usually after prayer, once I start looking things up in a dream dictionary, things start to make sense & I can figure out what the dream meant.
Also, there are plenty of dreams you will know you had, yet you don’t remember any details at all. It may be just a vague feeling that you dreamed something about a particular subject. Don’t worry about that. Those dreams are normal. They are simply the brain processing something. It isn’t important enough for you to remember the details, so you don’t.
A dream journal is also a really good idea. At least write your dreams that you feel are important in your usual journal along with the date. Looking back over your dreams can be an interesting & educational experience.
