When you're dreaming.

Starburst
Starburst Member Posts: 2,546
edited 5. Jun 2015, 05:47 in Living with Arthritis archive
I've always been a vivid dreamer and more often than not, I remember my dreams. In my dreams, I am always very physically fit and able. However, last night, I had my first dream where my physical problems featured and I was using my crutch. I like to ponder on the meaning on my dreams and I wonder if this is an unconscious acceptance that the crutch I've been using for 2 years has become a permanent feature of my life. I'm interested in hearing about other people's experiences, if they wish to share.

Comments

  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I rarely remember dreams unless I wake up in the middle. I don't use walking aids so wouldn't in my dreams. I can't recall the last time I ran though either in reality or in dreams.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • Slosh
    Slosh Member Posts: 3,194
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I don't always remember my dreams, I think it's something to do with what part of the sleep cycle you wake up in, but when I do they are very vivid, often they relate back to things that had happened the day before or to things that are on my mind and sometimes are so vivid and realistic that I have been known to check if something actually happened or was just a dream. I find that at the moment it varies in my dreams if I am using my crutches or not, this has only started happening over the last month or so and I was thinking the same as you, that it shows a gradual acceptance of the "new" me, and in my case the timing of this would also fit in with my starting counselling.
    He did not say you will not be storm tossed, you will not be sore distressed, you will not be work weary. He said you will not be overcome.
    Julian of Norwich
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    In my dreams my walking aids have gone AWOL for whatever reason and I am challenged with having to negotiate flight upon flight of stairs with unsafe handrails, or steep hills, shifting sands, pebbly beaches, anything that provides a walking challenge. I know why this happens - the pain is building and if I don't wake early enough then the dream shifts to my needing to run. :lol:

    Dreams are peculiar things but I reckon it's the brain sorting and sifting our concerns, reflecting our stresses and strains. Do they hold any meaning? I don't think so but I tend towards the pragmatic approach to life. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Very interesting reading all your dreams :?

    I will try and make an effort to remember some of mine properly. I reckon though that DD is right and it is our subconscious trying to make sense of what is going on for us now; worries etc. That and memories :)

    Love

    Toni xxx
  • Slosh
    Slosh Member Posts: 3,194
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    My thinking about dreams has always been the same as DDs as I can often linkmthem back to things that happened in the day or that are on my mind. I also have a recurring dream which I get from time to time, the details vary but in it I am always being chased and know that something bad will happen to me if I get caught. Luckily I always manage to wake myself up before this happens.

    Last night I woke up from a very unpleasant dream which ended with the physical feeling of something being forced down my throat. The feeling was so strong I woke up gagging! I don't know if it's connected but my throat is playing up today and The feeling I have of something pressing on my windpipe is the worst it's been for a while.
    He did not say you will not be storm tossed, you will not be sore distressed, you will not be work weary. He said you will not be overcome.
    Julian of Norwich
  • Kitty
    Kitty Member Posts: 3,583
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I sometimes remember snippets of dreams, and there are two I can remember from last night and the night before. I'm back at my old job in a special school (retired in my late 50s because of health problems). I used to get there by bicycle, but in the dreams I had no bikes so had to do a five mile trek. I can't even walk to our local bus stop without stopping a few times on the way. So each dream (snippet) made me feel anxious, both at the thought of walking that far, and of doing the job. Oh, forgot to mention. In the dream I was already at work and anxiously trying to get home again. :?

    "Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." Robert A Heinlein

  • barbara12
    barbara12 Member Posts: 21,280
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I dream constantly and wake up shattered..like yours they are so very vivid..more often than not I am lost , and my phone wont dial properly and I have no money... :shock: but I am normal in respect to arthritis...no pain and no crutches...and like someone else has said my dreams usually include something I have heard or seen in the day..I would love to sleep through without dreaming.. :)
    Love
    Barbara
  • theresak
    theresak Member Posts: 1,998
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Sometimes I can remember my dreams, and sometimes I can`t. I know I dream more often, and more vividly since taking amitryptilene. The dreams often feature my parents, both dead, but no idea what the significance is, if any.

    My walking sticks are never present in my dreams.
  • Slosh
    Slosh Member Posts: 3,194
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    The nicest one I've had recently was about a month ago when I dreamed my three year old grandson climbed on my lap, something he doesn't usually do unprompted, put his arms around me, kissed me and said, "I love you Granny". Even better, I'm happy to say that was one dream that did come true!
    He did not say you will not be storm tossed, you will not be sore distressed, you will not be work weary. He said you will not be overcome.
    Julian of Norwich
  • applerose
    applerose Member Posts: 3,621
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I have had a dream a few times where my next door neighbours come in to my garden, set up their chairs and bbq and sit sunbathing. I think it's because they are so noisy that I can often hear them talking to each other. They shout and don't seem to know how to talk normally. It feels as if they are invading my privacy.

    Another I had quite a few years ago was when my son left home. I dreamed that I was flying round the house from one room to another. probably because I had so much more space. :lol:
    Christine
  • hileena111
    hileena111 Member Posts: 7,099
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi
    I very rarely remember dreams.....they are either good ones or bad ones and tats the feeling I have in the morning but that's as close to remembering them as I get.
    Don't think I have ever NOT had my crutches in them.
    I've been told that when you dream its the brain sorting out all the things that have happened while you were awake and putting them in order to maker more space :lol:
    Almost like doing a "disc clean up and defraging your computer "...if that makes sense

    Love
    Hileena
  • Starburst
    Starburst Member Posts: 2,546
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Interesting replies, thank you for sharing. I do tend to dream about things that have been on my mind. I struggle to get off to sleep, due to pain, so lying in bed is when I do my thinking. I suspect I was having a ponder about my current state of mobility, hence why it featured in my dream.

    My uncle is a psychic and while I am a skeptic, I do like his perspectives on dreams and what they mean. So, I am prone to over-analysing dreams and their meanings. Then again, over-analysing is just something I do, so it shouldn't be a surprise really.
  • lindalegs
    lindalegs Member Posts: 5,393
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Starburst,

    I often dream and do remember them on waking. I only started dreaming I had arthritis about two years after the crippling onset of the disease. Whenever I'm in my dreams now I'm always struggling to do things or hobbling to keep up with others. I knew I'd accepted arthur was here to stay after my 'crip' dreams started.

    The wonderful thing about having arthritis in dreams is that it never hurts :wink::D

    Love,
    Love, Legs x
    'Make a life out of what you have, not what you're missing'
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I had a peachy one this morning, I woke up twice, yelping like a puppy whose tail had been flattened, thanks to the less-than-gentle-administrations of doctor who was ramming a red hot needle through my right knee joint, from the outside in. I consoled myself with an alphabet list of countries without the letter 'e' in their names (immediately E is ignored from the alphabet so only twenty five to find). Albania, Burundi, Canada, Dubai, Finland etc. etc. etc. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Next, of course, there's Gurmany and Groonland :wink:
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright