Nightmares

For some time now I have been fascinated by the illusions that fill my mind as I sleep. I have an imagination more vivid than most and the inner workings of my brain seem to draw out the most peculiar images and stories as I rest. As intense and clear as these dreams are, I find myself awakening feeling as if they are more akin to memories, than mere figments of fantasy.

With that being said, I have unfortunately come under a spell of nightmares. For roughly the past two months I have suffered from a plague of dreams that evoke a horrible sense of terror.

I find it rather unfortunate, as I usually find my dreams intriguing and seek to dissect their origination and purpose. I even wrote a term paper on the psychology behind dreams and their interpretations. I know dreams have been around since God created the earth and I find them such a beautiful phenomena to be marvel at. Discovering the root and provocation of my dreams typically leads to me gaining better understanding, and sometimes control, of them. However, I cannot seem to unlock the mystery of this string of unfortunate visions.

The general consensus from ongoing discussion from others has been relating the crux of this terror to be related to one of two things: stress or security.

When it comes to stress, I feel like I'm invincible. I have encountered so much stress throughout my life, and I'm certain there is much more to come. Though I deal with in many ways, I'm not sure how it could creep it's way into my dreams. I typically crawl into bed at night, either too exhausted to worry about the next day, or drifting into unconsciousness as I say my prayers. Both of which I do not think would yield the horror that I come upon in my bad dreams.

Security seems like a more logical reason, though dreams are never really logical now are they? It may be that since I sleep all alone in my bed (I have three roommates, but none of which are staying the night right next to me, haha) that I feel more susceptible to danger. I'd like to think that I can handle my own, and I've spent most of my life filled with anxiety which has provided an arsenal of adrenaline ready to burn through my veins when my fight or flight sensors kick in. Needless to say, consciously, I'm not worried about my safety when I go to bed at night.

At this point, I'm less captivated and more bothered because it's affecting my sleep. With exams and the semester ending, I really can't afford to be exhausted and waking up during the little sleep I get in a state of panic.

I'm curious to know how others cope with such frustration and if there are any realistic ways to go about finding a remedy for these buggers before I can't sleep at all.