The link between mental illness and dreaming

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By Zoe Thomson

We all dream. Some of us wake up and don’t remember a thing. Some people feel like they have just watched an all-night movie marathon. I am one of those people. Dreaming fascinates me; I do believe that at night our brains try to tell us things: subtle hints that our lives are too stressful, or that we’re running from our fears.

The problem is, I don’t have the typical dreams you so often hear about. I have never dreamt that I was falling, that I was back at school taking an exam or that my clothes disappeared. Experts have analysed and written about those common dreams for years. My dreams are always vivid, strange, and feel totally unique to me.

Scientists still don’t know why we dream, or if it means anything at all, but people love to speculate. I like to think they can tell us a little bit about ourselves.

I’ve started a dream diary

In an effort to learn more about myself and what my mind may or may not be trying to tell me, I started a dream diary, encouraged by my counsellor, who was also intrigued to see if there were links between my dreaming and my waking life.

Every morning, after having a strange or interesting dream, I would grab a notebook and pen and write down every detail like I was writing a story. This practice helped me remember dreams more clearly and even, in some cases, remember more dreams. It is said that we dream up to 7 dreams a night but we only ever remember the last one, right before waking.

People with PTSD and depression report more nightmares and intense dreams, but that’s not to say it’s a symptom everybody gets. For some people, it’s just their imagination at play when they’re sleeping.

My counsellor and I started to analyse my dreams, and we noticed patterns. As well as signs pointing to changes and struggles in my life. I would relive old trauma or rewrite a scenario in my dreams. I think dreams can be an interesting insight into your subconscious, which is why I’m so excited to be starting a new series on my blog.

Unique experiences

‘Dream Diary’ will be published every Friday (as long as I have weird enough dreams to write about). I will write as clearly and in as much detail as I can recall. I like the idea of sharing an insight into something personal and not widely talked about.

There are dozens of articles on common dream types, but never about unique experiences. I have never personally known anyone to dream as vividly as I do. I would love to know if there are more of you out there, and I would love to hear from experts and amateurs alike about the science of dreaming, and what mine may be trying to tell me – if they make any sense at all.

Reproduced with permission, originally posted on nolightwithoutdarkness.com