I've heard a few helpful theories about nightmares:
1. One of my psychology professors said when interpreting dreams (or nightmares), it is not so much about dissecting each event, item, color or detail that you remember from your dream...but even MORE significant is how you FELT. So, to use Kristin's example, what may be more significant about her dream is not the stairs or even the height, but her feelings of being overwhelmed. Then, you can piece together where in your waking life you are feeling overwhelmed, and problem solve from there.
2. A psychology co-worker and friend on mine said "your brain works in mysterious ways", and often when we sleep, our minds are hard at work solving the "unsolvable" problems of the day. This is true for nightmares, too, that our brains may be working through all possible scenarios and problem solving. The dream/nightmare will not make sense to our "waking mind" when we recall the odd and random pieces of the dream/nightmare. For instance, our brains may take a high school memory from 20 years ago and pair it with what we ate for dinner last night and then our three-headed niece asks a question...that your brain is now trying to solve.
I liked the second theory, because as a new mom, I have been in between awake-asleep, and my mind starts racing with awful things that could possibly happen to my toddler!! I absolutely can not watch the evening news or horror movies any more, because now I just insert my toddler into the horrible, unthinkable situation that I saw/heard on TV. The GOOD NEWS about this: my brain is trying to be helpful, and "run through" scenarios as practice, in case anything like this did happen. I have to talk myself down from the images, and tell my brain to stop it! Do any of you with kids have this problem??
Comment Reply
I've heard a few helpful theories about nightmares:
1. One of my psychology professors said when interpreting dreams (or nightmares), it is not so much about dissecting each event, item, color or detail that you remember from your dream...but even MORE significant is how you FELT. So, to use Kristin's example, what may be more significant about her dream is not the stairs or even the height, but her feelings of being overwhelmed. Then, you can piece together where in your waking life you are feeling overwhelmed, and problem solve from there.
2. A psychology co-worker and friend on mine said "your brain works in mysterious ways", and often when we sleep, our minds are hard at work solving the "unsolvable" problems of the day. This is true for nightmares, too, that our brains may be working through all possible scenarios and problem solving. The dream/nightmare will not make sense to our "waking mind" when we recall the odd and random pieces of the dream/nightmare. For instance, our brains may take a high school memory from 20 years ago and pair it with what we ate for dinner last night and then our three-headed niece asks a question...that your brain is now trying to solve.
I liked the second theory, because as a new mom, I have been in between awake-asleep, and my mind starts racing with awful things that could possibly happen to my toddler!! I absolutely can not watch the evening news or horror movies any more, because now I just insert my toddler into the horrible, unthinkable situation that I saw/heard on TV. The GOOD NEWS about this: my brain is trying to be helpful, and "run through" scenarios as practice, in case anything like this did happen. I have to talk myself down from the images, and tell my brain to stop it! Do any of you with kids have this problem??
January 11, 2009 - 7:54pmThis Comment
Reply