Poll: How often do you see nightmares?

[OniaPL]

So I've been wondering this for a while; as I myself see nightmares from time to time, I'd like to know how often does the members of this community have big bad dreams. Added a small poll for that purpose.
Also, you may share any that you remember, and I'd also like to hear how you deal/dealt with them, how they affected you "did you feel stressed, shocked, etc. etc.) and so on. Basically, anything you can tell me about your experiences with the darker side of the dreamland.

Spoiler: Wikipedia's definition of nightmares.

A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror. Sufferers usually awaken in a state of distress and may be unable to return to sleep for a prolonged period of time.[1]

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Very rarely do I have anything you could consider a nightmare, and I almost never have anything that truly distresses me.

The worst I wake up with is a feeling of uneasiness. My childhood however...

There was a period of my childhood where I would have consistent night terrors.

Night terrors are really weird, I'd wake up feeling genuinely upset, but I'd have no idea why.

 

[Kordie]

Honestly, I either don't dream (doubtful) or have not been able to remember a dream for quite some time. I know when I was younger I had the occasional nightmare, and while I can't pinpoint when it started it has been at least 10 years since I can remember a dream.

 

[GodofDisaster]

Not to often however I have had some really weird ones all of them have the same ending, and I was wonder if someone could explain what this is.

I have a nightmare and as I wake up the figure, ghost, scary monster or what ever I was dreaming about, is standing right beside my bed. I loose all feeling in my body and can only let out the smallest whimper before turning on my light and it goes away. I'm then fully awake and can move and speak freely.

However the worse one would have to be when I woke up beside a corpse, it turned to me and smiled, before disapearing the second I turned on my light. Needless to say I spent the rest of the night sleeping with my light on.

 

[IndomitableSam]

Had one last night/this morning, actually. The students at the school I used to teach at were being treated poorly so I was trying to get to them to get my job back and take care of them. So I was with a crack military/spec ops type group wanding dungeons and hallways trying to get the back way into the school (that looked nothing like the real one of course) and we came across a door. Inside, one student (thankfully my brain didn't put the face of anyone I remember on them, but I knew it was a Brazillian exchange student) was stripped naked and chained mid-air slowly being cut in half by a mechanized saw. When she saw me she said "It's you" or something, even though she had no lungs (her innards were gone due to the saw) so then I knew it was a dream and woke up. Slowly. Was about 5am, so I really only dozed afterward, but still saw the image every time I closed my eyes until I got up for work. Poor girl had blood all over her, but looked relived to see me. That was rough.

I get them now and again, and usually have to turn on a light and wrap myself in a cocoon of blankets (my head included) and grab my teddy and blankie. I'm 29.

 

[ErwinGodfrey]

Not often, but most of the ones I do have are a recurring series about walking around a crowded super sized version of my city while meeting friends, family, and other colleagues who suddenly disappear or run off when I try and speak with them. Most of the time I wake up feeling depressed after I'm ditched a few times, but other times it continues on and I apparently get killed by some unseen enemy after the crowds themselves disappear. One time the nightmare even abruptly cut to an entirely different scenario, which was your typical, explore-haunted-house-get-killed-by-ghost nightmare.

 

[Goofguy]

My dreams are so vivid, it's hard for me classify when they enter in to nightmare territory. Sure, I have experienced fear and terror while dreaming but it's usually mixed in with the exciting and happy parts so it's hard to tell. I still went with the "now and then" poll option as it seems the most pertinent.

 

[Iyon]

I pretty much exclusively have nightmares. I don't get too bothered by them though and I usually wake up thinking, "That was awesome!", even if I'm sweating and my heart's pounding. To me they seem more like little horror movies in my mind. They can be scary, but generally they're enjoyable.

 

[game-lover]

I believe I have them as much as the average person.

They seem to be clear only as far as I can explain what's happening and how it's upsetting me or why. But I can never figure out how we got there in my dream. Then again, even my good dreams are like that.

When I was a little girl, I had consistent nightmares of being eaten by a bear. I never quite saw the bear at any point. Not even sure I heard it. I just knew when I found myself in some weird, closed off orange void, I knew I'd been eaten. And I would freak the hell out until I woke up and ran to my mom.

My last one at this age wasn't even me. I was an anime character. I can't recall anything before it got scary. But at that moment, I was underwater and I'd gotten pinned underneath some rocks and couldn't breathe.

I woke up about a minute later, actually gasping a little. Not majorly but still. It was freaky to give it some thought. Never had a dream that seem to affect me on the outside.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I pretty much exclusively have nightmares. I don't get too bothered by them though and I usually wake up thinking, "That was awesome!", even if I'm sweating and my heart's pounding. To me they seem more like little horror movies in my mind. They can be scary, but generally they're enjoyable.

I read an article once that said that gamers tend to have a lot of dreams with content that most people would consider unpleasant, but the gamers don't, because they feel like they're in control. It plays out, just as you said, like a horror movie -- or even an action movie. It seems to be true in my experience. I haven't had a true nightmare, like a dream where zombies are chasing you and there's nothing you can do about it, in years, but I've had plenty of dreams where there were zombies/other monsters, but /I/ was the one hunting /them,/ or at least putting up an equal fight. It'll be interesting to see if this thread matches up to this idea. The "rarely" option is already the largest by a wide margin.

 

[teqrevisited]

I only have dreams and really fucked up dreams.

The last remotely strange one I remember was about how I was chased through a hedge maze that was, for some unexplained reason, now occupying the front garden by a huge wolf. I found a way where the maze lead to an underpass that went under the house and when I came out the other side there was a family of leopards that chased it off.

 

[eggy32]

I almost never have nightmares. In my 19 years I can only ever remember having 2 nightmares. I count myself lucky

 

[yuval152]

Never, I do dream but I never have nightmares.(which is odd because I get scared easily)

 

[HerrBobo]

So I've been wondering this for a while; as I myself see nightmares from time to time, I'd like to know how often does the members of this community have big bad dreams. Added a small poll for that purpose.
Also, you may share any that you remember, and I'd also like to hear how you deal/dealt with them, how they affected you "did you feel stressed, shocked, etc. etc.) and so on. Basically, anything you can tell me about your experiences with the darker side of the dreamland.

Spoiler: Wikipedia's definition of nightmares.

A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror. Sufferers usually awaken in a state of distress and may be unable to return to sleep for a prolonged period of time.[1]

I would say that my dreams/nightmares wake me at least three nights a week.

I talk, move around and sleep walk at night. I have always done it, even as a young child. I would say it is maybe not quite as bad as it once was in my late teens/early 20's. Still way worse than "normal" It tends to scare new girlfriends.

I have a recurring dream of a rabbit biting my big toe. I swear I can feel the little fuckers teeth. I get up and go hunting for him in my sleep and then wake up, anywhere....

Sucks.

 

[Ljs1121]

Typically I only have nightmares when I've been extremely scared or unnerved right before sleeping.

The last time I had one was the first time I saw Jeff the Killer, actually.

 

[Rylot]

I usually have nightmares after watching too much Shark Week. I'm fascinated by sharks but have really bad dreams about being stuck under water and getting eaten by them. I will also have the occasional odd giant spider nightmare. I'm not fascinated by spiders. Fuck spiders.

 

[Arakasi]

Sometimes my dreams try to scare me, but it kind of ends up turning into a B- horror film with an overly complex plot that just makes me have fun instead.

Few actually scare me, but those that do... Are weirdly less scary than the others.
I'd say I get one once every 2 months max.