I believe one reason I have returned to WrongPlanet today after an absence is over a dream I had this past Thursday night (or Friday morning before dawn).
Can a nightmare leave one with PTSD? The authority of the world (the internet) says no. But I have read of people who say it can.
PTSD develops after a person experiences or witnesses a traumatic event.
In the entirety of my life, I have never had a dream that was so realistic to me as this one from the past Thursday night (except for one I had several years ago -- but that one was of a spiritual nature that is in a category by itself.) Back to Thursday night. In this nightmare, I was fully aware during my sleep of my emotions. I was able to control my thoughts. In my sleep, I was able to control my actions and make decisions. During this dream and my sleep, I was fully aware of what I was doing and how to try and handle it. However, the people in the dream I could not control. I was a prisoner to their actions. When I recall this nightmare, going on three days later, I recall it as a real life memory rather than a dream. Since I lived this dream as a real life event, I might as well have experienced this traumatic event.
Symptoms include intrusive memories or flashbacks
All weekend I have relived this experience. And each time I do, the emotions of fear, terror, and horror encase me. I have tried to focus on my writing and online Yahtzee to get my mind on other things.
avoidance of trauma reminders
Although I normally write down memorable dreams upon awakening, I avoided this one. I wished that I might forget it, but it has remained as clear as day in my memory. I finally wrote it down tonight, three nights later. I only shared it with my private journal. I have told no one the content of this dream. Because I forced myself to awaken, I can only dare imagine what traumatic feelings I would have incurred had the plot played out.
negative changes in thinking or mood
Yeah, I've been spooked all weekend. I've spent the majority of this weekend sitting in my chair escaping into my writing.
I realize some of you reading this may automatically render the diagnosis that what I experienced was a lucid dream. A lucid dream is one where the person is able to control their actions and thoughts, and the person realizes it is a dream that they are engaging in. In my dream, I was not aware that this was a dream. While standard dreams also make the dreamer unaware that they are in a dream, in my dream, I was aware that it was real. When I awoke, I did not feel it was a dream I had escaped from, but rather I was recalling a real event that had happened to me. If reincarnation is real, then I have recalled something from a former life that I should wish to have never recalled.
On a positive note:
Although still troubled, I feel a little better tonight. But I am still haunted and dread sleep for fear of this dream continuing.
Also, if I can make myself do it, I may incorporate this nightmare's content into a story. I definitely recall the emotions, because due to the reality of the dream, I lived it and felt it.
_________________
"My journey has just begun."
21 Aug 2025, 9:58 am
