Bipolar Disorder Support Group
Bipolar disorder is not just a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders marked by periods of abnormally high energy and euphoria, often accompanied by bouts of clinical depression. This is the place to talk about your experience with bipolar disorder, learn from others' experiences, and find support.
I have had nightmares every night for the past 4 nights.... I don't know what to do I can't sleep. Most all of these night mares have been about men. and They have all been pretty messed up. (I'm sensitive to the men figures because of the rape I think... and this all around fear)
The first one I had a dream about this navy guy who recently broke my heart. He kept turning into some kind of mutant and oozing green stuff from his hands. The goo would kill me. So I hid in whatever room I could and locked the door in fear for my life.
The second one was about Barrack Obama... but that was weird not scary... we were having an affair. STRANGE!
The third one my dear ex Nathan was in my dream. I don't remember much about that one but there was a scary clown and there were people trying to shoot at it. Then I was the scary clown and I was being shot at. There were these swirls of energy/color that would blot out my vision everytime I was shot. I dono...
The fourth one (last night) was about this guy I had a crush on in high school. For some reason he looked older and weathered like a base ball glove. I don't remember what provoked me but I beat the shit out of him in my dream.
And every time I close my eyes to sleep it's like my imagination is on halucinigenics. I see weird things forming. Strange images and scary.. even trippy characters appear and I get scared to fall asleep because I know what it's leading to. Another nightmare.
So if you have any insight or have nightmares yourself feel free to respond. Thanks.
The first one I had a dream about this navy guy who recently broke my heart. He kept turning into some kind of mutant and oozing green stuff from his hands. The goo would kill me. So I hid in whatever room I could and locked the door in fear for my life.
The second one was about Barrack Obama... but that was weird not scary... we were having an affair. STRANGE!
The third one my dear ex Nathan was in my dream. I don't remember much about that one but there was a scary clown and there were people trying to shoot at it. Then I was the scary clown and I was being shot at. There were these swirls of energy/color that would blot out my vision everytime I was shot. I dono...
The fourth one (last night) was about this guy I had a crush on in high school. For some reason he looked older and weathered like a base ball glove. I don't remember what provoked me but I beat the shit out of him in my dream.
And every time I close my eyes to sleep it's like my imagination is on halucinigenics. I see weird things forming. Strange images and scary.. even trippy characters appear and I get scared to fall asleep because I know what it's leading to. Another nightmare.
So if you have any insight or have nightmares yourself feel free to respond. Thanks.
I have nightmares at times too. It is a sign for me that a mania is approaching. I take risperdal (anti-psychotic) to keep them at bay. Are you on any APs?
I would definitely get in contact with your pdoc as soon as possible to see if there are some med changes/additions to help you with this. Sleep is key for me. Bad sleep or no sleep really sets my moods off.
Good luck; I'm sending you good sleep vibes. :)
Nickles- I will definitely try to calm myself before sleeping tonight. I hope that helps. Thanks.
i too, have nightmares, but like nickle, not as many as you have had in the same week...
i agree that you should just try to relax as much as you can before going to sleep..do something that is really relaxing for u, like maybe taking a nice bath, or drinking a cup of herbal tea..and listening to music that sooths you....
and then when your lying in bed..if you can, try to just imagine what you want to dream about....all good things, and when the bad thoughts, or weird stuff comes..then just kind of let it go by and replace it with the soft fuzzy thoughts that make you feel good..even picture yourself on a dock lying in the warm sun, with the sea or a lake all around u...whatever makes you feel good and nice...
and like blue sky said, i would get in touch with your pdoc and tell him what is going on...especially since the lack of sleep is not good for us...
abilify is an anti-psychotic..i was on it once, and it did not react well with me, i got really anxious and felt like i wanted to jump out of my skin...but meds work differntly on different people..i am now on zyprexa as an anti-psychotic, and that is very calming for me..
anyway, i wish you sweet dreams tonight grenadine....peace 4 u, love, maggie
I hope you have a peaceful sleep tonight.
You may also want to really be aware of how powerful fear is. My fears can send me into a panic attack just thinking about them momentarily. Though nightmares are very scary, I always remind myself that they are NOT real; that they can NOT hurt me.
One way I calm myself is with a breathing technique. First, I close my eyes or glaze over so I am not focusing on anything. Then I breath in through my nose and count to myself "one... two". Last I breath out through my mouth as far as I can while counting to myself "three.... four....". By repeating that 10-15 times I find I am much more relaxed AND my mind has been forced to think of something else.
(Sometimes I only get to 4 or 5 deep breaths before my mind wanders off of breathing. In this case I refocus my mind and start again with breath number 1 and work again toward 10.)
And when you do wake up with bad dreams I find I have to get up and become fully awake in order not to slide back into the nightmare.
I hope you get some peaceful rest soon.
i know the news, alcohol and depressing or gory realistic movies makes them way worse...
I used to trick myself by thinking really happy thoughts right before i slept. it worked most of the time.
i enjoy them lately, strange but i cant rent the shit that goes on in my head... LOL
I used to struggle with bad night terrors and very weird dreams as a kid...and there are times when I still have dreams that bother me...
If I pray to the Lord to have good dreams, and dreams that HE would want for me, and relax to my favorite soft music on my mp3, then I am much less likely to have nightmares.
I think all the advice about breathing, a bible under your bed, and calling your pdoc are great! A funny show before bed can be soothing too. I watched a newer episode of House before I went to bed one time, and that did't work, haha! If I am focusing on something serious or scary before trying to sleep, I won't be able to go to sleep that easily.
God bless you, hugssss and love. :)
-Jasmine
Can't say I was in fear of going to sleep but I did take the attitude of gee, wonder what the saga of tonight's dream will be about. Then right after that I didn't have them anymore. I have heard you should think about good things before you go to sleep.
I think our dreams can just be a mixture of little blips we read or watch on TV, news and newspaper stories, in magazines or things that happened to us that day or we thought or talked about. Then combine with some whacky meds can produce some weird dreams. I have also had dreams where I woke myself up laughing. I like those kinda dreams. Hope you get some good sleep soon and some sweet dreams too.
You need to talk to your tdoc or pdoc about the medications but also about the dreams. We can only stuff so much . . . eventually it all comes out and we are forced to deal with our issues.
It really helps me to write things down in as much detail as possible.
Usually once I start writing things down I can usually tell if the dream is just crazy-making because I run out of things to write rather quickly. Other times I start to write and it is like a spring gushing up inside of me and I just write until I have nothing else to say. Just the exercise of writing releases the tension, fear, etc. Sometimes I share what I have written with tdoc and sometimes I don't.
Hugs