OCD Action

Luke
Member

Hi,
I'm interested to know from other members whether OCD suffers normally have wild/strange dreams?
Luke

Wed Dec 21 2011 23:02:17 #
slogsweep
Member

I think we all do, though OCD can (like any intrusive thought) attach massive significance to what are essentially just thoughts. Do you suffer distress from them?

Hark at me, when I'm a slave to thoughts too!

Best wishes

Slog

Wed Dec 21 2011 23:10:46 #
Luke
Member

Sometimes they can be quite stressful due to the content of the dream and how very strange they are, when I have a really wild dream it makes me really tired so I wake up shattered. I've spoken to friends about the dreams and none of them have had anything similarly strange and I get them very frequently.

Also I sleep walk when I get very stressful dreams like when I have the dream/nightmere that I'm enclosed in a room and can't escape.

Wed Dec 21 2011 23:18:58 #
slogsweep
Member

If I were you, I'd (when you wake up) treat the dream as an intrusive thought and go about eliminating the intrusive thought in whatever way you find effective.

I have had dreams that have caused real distress too. I think everyone does but most forget about them so quickly. Your OCD mind might be attaching significance that isn't there to these dreams, causing you strain.

Also make sure you get lots of sleep. It's one of the best weapons against such things . And try positive visualisation before going to bed, think of things to look forward to, hobbies you enjoy, those you love etc.

Best wishes and sleep well!

Slog

Wed Dec 21 2011 23:25:31 #
tizzkins
Member

Hi Luke yes i have had some very strange and scary dreams sometimes i even find myself doing an ocd ritual in my dreams. For me and admittadely this may not be true of everyone but for me i have found through trial and error that my ocd medication makes the dreams more vivid. My husband always wakes up saying he can never remember anything about his dreams whereas i could write a book.

Quite happy to discuss this more if you would like.

Take care
liz

Thu Dec 22 2011 15:40:11 #
wannabefree
Member

Hi everyone, I just have wierd dreams! For some reason my OCD doesn't exist much in my dreams, so when I wake up, I'm confronted by an awful reality of OCD... That wrecks my entire morning... I've been doing stuff in my dreams that I used to do years ago, but when I wake up I find myself not wanting to get out of bed... I wish it wasn't like this...
wannabe

Thu Dec 22 2011 21:48:26 #
Luke
Member

Liz,
I have exactly the same! Was speaking with a friend about some of recent dreams and he said that he can't remember dreaming let alone the details of the dreams. I can remember the dreams and in detail, I can remember them like memories of things that have actually happened.
The dreams I have have a logical order and are so reallistic so often I wake up really tired as its been like being awake for 7 hours.
Luke

Fri Dec 23 2011 14:01:43 #
tizzkins
Member

Hi Luke the only good thing i can think of with these dreams is the relief i feel when i wake up and realise that it was only a dream and i dont have to deal with the ocd dilemmas.

Ru on medication?
Take care
Liz

Fri Dec 23 2011 21:31:26 #
Wombat140
Member

When my OCD goes off in a dream, I get the usual stupid dream thing where nothing I do makes any difference - like if I tell someone to stop trying to hand me something because I'm not allowed to touch it, they don't even hear; if I try to back away, I find there's a wall behind me... usually it only stops when I'm screaming so hard I wake up. (Luckily I don't really scream!) OCD doesn't often get in my dreams though, I'm gald to say!

SSRI's are known to make dreams more vivid. Whether that's a good thing depends on the dreams!

Wed Dec 28 2011 19:55:49 #
wannabefree
Member

My dreams are very vivid too, but don't have OCD in them at all, which is wierd in the mornings... I hadn't made the connection with SSRI's, but as I'm on Fluoxetine, yes, that makes sense, mind you, I'm also on Olanzapine at night... That could be having an effect too...
wannabe

Wed Dec 28 2011 20:50:22 #
Tess
Member

Dogs started fidgeting a bit early this morning so hubby decided to get up and let them out rather than risk a puddle and despite my pleading to him for just another few minutes back in bed before starting the day he got dressed and went and made a cup of tea and brought mine to me. I'd gone back into a semi doze and as he put the mug down on the bedside cabinet I apparently said "TOUGH" in a rather aggressive tone. This led to the Spanish Inquisition over breakfast but I'd actually been dreaming about black and white thinking on this forum and anticipating a verbal hammering for trying to give an alternative view and in my dream I was trying to protect myself. Thankfully as I came to the sparrows were just singing their dawn chorus which put things back into perspective.

Thu Dec 29 2011 10:28:43 #
Truddles
Member

Yes, I can understand that dream Tess as I agree that there has of late been a lot of black and white thinking on the forum, mainly in the form of long lectures. We should remember that we are all different and what works for one won't necessarily work for someone else. With OCD we each have to find what works best for us. It can unfortunately sometimes take time to find what works best and this is where the forum is invaluable providing support and encouragement.
None of us should be afraid to post our point of view.

Thu Dec 29 2011 12:21:04 #
S*F
Member

Yes I have OCD dreams, in fact I had one yesterday and it's no surprise that the night before my medication had increased.

I hate the 'normal' dreams as I wake up with such a sense of sadness. It's a cruel taster of what life would be like free of this horrible illness, and when you wake up you realise that that kind of freedom is out of your grasp

I also have intrusive thoughts in my dreams and I wake up dripping in sweat and terrified. Oh for some peace eh?!

Best wishes,

S x

Thu Dec 29 2011 12:35:02 #
Tess
Member

Thanks Trudy. I also think we should all remember that posts are our own personal and individual points of view to be freely expressed without fear or favour but not to be rammed down others throats as the only way forward. I have noticed this trait emerging in some who have had very positive experiences with CBT and/or ERP and it makes me wonder if this is just OCD reappearing in a less recognisable form of the need to control and something which therapists need to be aware of.

Thu Dec 29 2011 12:44:01 #
wannabefree
Member

Hi everyone... My dreams are very real... There have been mornings where I've wanted to continue the dream somehow, instead of facing the reality of he day... It could well be the meds, but I seem to remember having powerful dreams as a smallchild, some I still remember today...
Wannabe

Thu Dec 29 2011 19:49:18 #
Wombat140
Member

Any of you into Lucid dreaming?
(That's where you learn to recognise that you're dreaming. Then you can fly and things. Or wake yourself up trying, if you're not very good at it yet, like me.)

Sat Dec 31 2011 21:42:22 #
wannabefree
Member

Not me as such... It sounds good though! Or is it scary?
Wannabe

Sat Dec 31 2011 22:00:40 #
Wombat140
Member

No, that's the great thing about it - there's nothing to be scared of, because it's a dream and you know it!

Sat Dec 31 2011 22:22:42 #