OCD Action

Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

(I picked up the idea for this in a post, but can't readily retrieve it, sorry.)

Do you ever dream about your form of OCD, its consequences for your life? Or of some aspects of it? And in what manner?

I'm asking this because I myself very rarely do so. In all honesty: I did it sometimes when I had had too much alcohol before bedtime.

Of course it's also very well possible that one's OCD transforms itself into dreams that are about the absolute opposite of one's OCD. Everyday reality then may be juxtaposed by dreams that are about the joys of freedom, of dropping, damaging, or plainly losing things without getting anxious about that, and so on and so forth.

Yet another possibility may be that the dream is metaphorical, i.e. a hoarder may dream about being trapped in a landfill, a heap of garbage somewhere in the open, whatever.

I am very curious, especially since it's rarely mentioned in scientific literature. Your contributions are hugely valued, thank you in advance.

Cheers, Cuthbert.

Tue Nov 15 2011 11:31:11 #
BT
Member

I have awful dreams almost every night and they usually involve my particular obsessions. I am often immersed in my worst case scenarios and I wake up distressed, tired and anxious. It can often take a while for me to realise they were just dreams. Strangely enough, I find this happens more when I am taking an SSRI.

Tue Nov 15 2011 11:47:21 #
Soxon
Key Master

Click on the tag 'OCD dreams' at the top of this thread or in Hot Tags to the right of this page for more threads on dreaming and OCD.

Soxon

Tue Nov 15 2011 12:37:53 #
Soxon
Key Master

Click on the tag 'OCD dreams' at the top of this thread or in Hot Tags to the right of this page for more threads on dreaming and OCD.

Soxon

Tue Nov 15 2011 12:37:54 #
Cuthbert ffoliott
Moderator

Thank you Soxon, will do so!

BT, that is interesting (and sorry to hear that, BTW).

Cheers, Cuthbert.

Tue Nov 15 2011 13:10:00 #
Ratwomble
Member

Hi cuthbert,

I sometimes check things in my dreams. Always get very frustrated with myself when I wake up. Usually my family are there shouting at me for relapsing.

No idea what this means....

David

Tue Nov 15 2011 16:09:35 #
wannabefree
Member

I too have frightening dreams, usually about not having OCD though... Or maybe Ido, I don't fully know, I just know that when I wake up, the reality of my situation floods in, and I go down into depression from that point... This makes mornings hell, but as the day goes on it seems to ease a little, but only a little...
wannabe

Tue Nov 15 2011 18:54:24 #
playthoseblues
Member

Hmm I think I do too.

Like when a bad thing happens in my dream, I believe that it has happen and then I panic in my dream.

Some dreams I've had, make me think it's happened in reality, even after I wake up!

Tue Nov 15 2011 19:37:01 #
Wombat140
Member

BT - I think vivid dreams are one of the known effects of SSRIs, so maybe they're just inflating your existing dreams of OCD to something you can't overlook?

For years after my OCD started, I never used to have OCD in my dreams. I think they just hadn't caught on. Now I sometimes do, not often, thank goodness. Once I do get into an OCD state in a dream, there's no escaping it - for instance, if it's something that I'm not allowed to touch, I'll end up backed into a corner, screaming, while someone obliviously goes on trying to hand it to me until I wake up and heave a sigh of relief!

A funny thing happened to me a while ago. I'd accidentally touched something that was absolutely at the top of the scale, and was careering round the room looking for something to scrape my hands on, when I suddenly realised it didn't count - I was dreaming! And when I woke up, that somehow led to me doing it for real, and I've had no trouble with that since. (Is anyone else into lucid dreaming? I know Helz was.)

Wed Nov 16 2011 19:43:02 #
wannabefree
Member

Hi Wombat, I'm into lucid daydreaming... I can be sat in a room, but miles away from everyone else while my intrusive thoughts swim around in my minds' eye...
My night-time dreams are very powerful, but usually fade away quickly when I awaken...
wannabe

Thu Nov 17 2011 17:27:28 #
tizzkins
Member

Hi all havent wanted to post this as i thought it was maybe just me but this post has given me the confidence to post. Most nights i will have some sort of ocd dream in one way or another but over the last six months i have had two which have really spooked me. Around six months or so ago i dreamt i was talking to my brother who has been dead for fourteen years now cant remember what we said though. Then wednesday night i had the dream that i was talking to my grandad on the telephone who has been dead for around 30 years and we were talking and discussing how my parents used to discipline me cant get my head around any of it. I am really fed up with the dreams which i am sure are worse since i had to up my meds to 60mg prozac but on the other hand with the moving house on the cards i darent even think about cutting the meds down as i know it is the wrong time. At the time when i am dreaming doesnt really seem to be the problem its when i wake up i get freaked out by the dreams and of course having ocd i am always looking for a reason to why i dreamt what i did. Any ideas gratefully receieved.

Pretty spooked.

Liz x

Fri Nov 18 2011 0:05:24 #
Tess
Member

Hi Liz
Can't offer any explanations but I seem to have been dreaming every night for the last few days - and people from my past have featured too, especially a lady who was my boss about 15 years ago and who bullied me into a breakdown. She was the same to everyone, it wasn't personal and it was so subtle I didn't even realise it was bullying until everyone had a letter from Unison about bullying in the workplace and she met 17 of their 20 criteria. We think we have moved on but all these experiences must be stored up in our subconscious and then return to haunt us when we least expect it and mine sometimes haunt me worse in my dreams than they did in reality. I don't think it helps to think about reasons for our dreams - I prefer to concentrate on trying to get good quality sleep.

Fri Nov 18 2011 10:39:07 #