Was laid off now have nightmares

[Zack Alklazaris]

Short version

Spoiler

I was laid off and while I myself see this as a good thing I keep suffering from nightmares about loss. I feel fine about losing my job and there is great opportunities to find a better one so I don't believe its stress, but yet nightmares of loss is a sign of stress. What gives? What can I do to stop the nightmares? Can I just drink tea or does it require something deeper?

I was recently laid off of work recently, which is fine I was paid half the industry standard and the occupation was just barely scrapping my degrees intended field. There is a growing market in a near by city and all in all it seems like a perfect time (if there ever is one) to be laid off. But? something has been happening.

I keep having these weird nightmares:

The first one involved me getting called up in the middle of the night from my work saying they need me to freelance for a night because no one else is able to do it. I go there, sit down and then find out I forgot how to do everything that my old job requires.

The second one I get involved in a murder. I didn?t kill him, someone knew something that a group (me included) didn?t want others to find out. So we go over to talk to him, but then one of the group member (all of them are strangers that I can?t recall in real life) freaks out when the guy says he?s going to tell because it?s the right thing to do and kills him. We all freak out and cover up the murder. But there are cameras and computer data linking us to the crime (somehow) I spend the rest of the dream trying to erase my electronic trail.

The third one involves me losing my car. (You have to understand this is the first nice car I have ever owned. It?s runs perfectly and looks respectable.) I am forced to by a white van (stop it) and go around searching for my car, but it can?t seem to be found.

I am wondering how to stop these damn nightmares. I do believe that while dreams can often be meaningless nightmares usually hold some form of truth. The three dreams in question can be labeled as:

Lost of Job, Lost of Freedom, and Lost of Property. I think those three things describe the ?American Dream?, but am not positive.

Anyway I figured this place has a lot of college kids, teens in high school, as well as people who have been laid off. AKA people who probably have a lot of stress therefore nightmares. So I am wondering,

Do you have any tips on how to rid myself of them? Can I just drink warm tea before bed or does this require something much deeper? I don?t normally suffer from nightmares so I have no idea on what to do.

Thanks Escapists!

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Do you have any tips on how to rid myself of them? Can I just drink warm tea before bed or does this require something much deeper? I don?t normally suffer from nightmares so I have no idea on what to do.

Exercise. Watch your diet. Tea is fine, just no caffeine (it's diuretic and your anxiety is likely high enough already). Make sure your room is properly dark and avoid over-stimulating yourself for 30 mins to an hour before bedtime.

This is a pretty normal reaction to a stressful situation. Stress (and yes, you are most definitely experiencing stress whether you're aware of it or not) hammers your body, hence pay particular attention to what you eat and make sure you're getting enough vitamins. The exercise will tucker you out and help you sleep more soundly.

You can try taking some melatonin as well if you want a natural sleep aid. I don't recommend going the pharmaceutical route, this is probably temporary and more potent sleep aids can be a bit of an addictive crutch.

Sorry about your job.

 

[cambamuniverse]

Okay, this might come off as kind of crazy or impossible to you, but I suggest that you listen to what I have to say, because it has helped me and others.

Have you ever heard of lucid dreaming? Look it up. Lucid dreaming is when one becomes are that they are dreaming. At that point, they are able to interact with the dream. Just covering the bases here: it sounds supernatural, but it's not.

When I was a kid, I had nightmares about monsters. So I figured that every time I was scared in real life, I would pinch myself. If it hurt, it was reality. If it didn't hurt, it was a dream. A few nights later, I had a nightmare that a cloud of locusts was coming after me. I pinched myself, and I realized I was dreaming. I realized that I was in no imminent danger, and so I enjoyed the clouds of locusts flying around me. After that, I stopped having nightmares.

Lucid dreaming is used by many people to overcome fear. Next time you feel stressed, or upset, or afraid, simply look at your hands. In the dream space, your hands will appear to be misshapen. You will have more or less fingers, or your fingers will look weird. Another test is to plug your nose by pinching it, and try to breathe using only your nose. If it is a dream, you will find that you can breathe, because your real nose is not pinched/plugged.

Do this all the time, throughout the day, even at random intervals. The more you do it, the more likely you will be doing it in the dream.

I should also point out that dreams about not being able to control cars (or losing your car, in your case) often indicate that the mind feels unable to control it's own life. For instance, you might feel fine during the day, but your subconscious feels as though you have lost control of your life, or lost control of your job. (This could also refer to the fact that you can't control these nightmares). All dreams have some sort of meaning, I've seen people decipher amazing things through their dreams.

Long story short: try to become conscious during these nightmares. Look at your hands, plug your nose, and just try to relax before sleep. Don't drink caffeine. Get some sleepytime tea, that stuff works!

Honestly, I hope you don't ignore this post. I've told many people about this, and the majority of them have brushed it off as being supernatural or unnattainable, but I assure you it is not. Good luck on getting rid of those nightmares.

Lastly, check this out: http://www.lucidity.com/LucidDreamingFAQ2.html#nightmares

Feel better amigo!

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

Okay, this might come off as kind of crazy or impossible to you... snip

I am familiar with this tactic as I used it quite heavily as a child. Unfortunately, I have seem to of lost this ability as I grew into adulthood. I can still change the ending of my dream, but its usually end up being a sequel. As in the nightmare ends and I have waken up enough to drift off and change things. It doesn't stop the dreams from occurring now nor does seem to keep other similar dreams from happening on another night.

Do you have any tips on how to rid myself of them? Can I just drink warm tea before bed or does this require something much deeper? I don?t normally suffer from nightmares so I have no idea on what to do.

Exercise. Watch your diet. Tea is fine, just no caffeine (it's diuretic and your anxiety is likely high enough already). Make sure your room is properly dark and avoid over-stimulating yourself for 30 mins to an hour before bedtime.

Ah that might be part of it. Since I've been stuck at home my eating habits have changed drastically. I consume about the same amount of caffeine, but its more constant throughout the day. I also have found myself eating most of a pizza or an entire bag of cookies for dinner. (thank god for high metabolism) I also smoke a cigarette right before bed, but that is a normal part of my routine I would be surprise if just now after years of smoking before bed does it become a significant factor.

I'll try lowing my caffeine level and eliminating the massive amount of junk food I've been taking in. I will also take your advice and rest my mind 30 minutes before bed. I have been playing more video games before bed lately, I didn't think of that.

Do you recommend any sort of activity (or lack of) that would be considered "relaxing of the mind"?

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Thanks for your help guys, this has really started to get on my nerves.

 

[cambamuniverse]

snip

Ah, shame that you lost the ability :/ Sorry!

And I know you were mainly replying to BG here, but I used to have an anxiety problem and had to rest before sleeping as well, and watch my diet and all that, so I'm going to chime in!

I know that some people suggest not looking at screens (like, computer, tv, cell phone, etc.) because it pushes your brain up towards alpha waves, meaning you're more excited, etc. What do you think of journal writing? Perhaps journaling your progress, meditating on your day and such. If you've got an iPod, I find it helpful to listen to relaxing music and just think about my day. It sounds simple, but it helps to clear your head and whatnot. Maybe drawing, or reading a book that you haven't had a chance to get through.

That's all I've got for now, sorry if it seems like I'm just spouting random things, just trying to help!

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I'll try lowing my caffeine level and eliminating the massive amount of junk food I've been taking in. I will also take your advice and rest my mind 30 minutes before bed. I have been playing more video games before bed lately, I didn't think of that.

Do you recommend any sort of activity (or lack of) that would be considered "relaxing of the mind"?

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Thanks for your help guys, this has really started to get on my nerves.

Take it from a guy who had an absolutely epic metabolism straight through the bulk of his 20's...it doesn't last. You're going to want to try and start some good habits now, while it's still relatively easy, rather than later, because your doctor is telling you need to or else.

When you're stressed, your body can't tell the difference between life threatening stress and "my life temporarily sucks" stress. It's all the same to your body. It just shuts down your immune system and floods you with adrenalin so you can run away from whatever is trying to kill you. In the short term, it's fine. In the long term...stress from job loss, stress from breakups, stress from grief...it can be extremely debilitating and can take a serious toll on your health. As in, you can wake up one day with fascinating new diseases you now get to enjoy for the rest of your life. Stress is serious business. People die from stress. And job loss is actually up there with one of the most stressful events you can experience, believe it or not. So take extra good care of your body right now. Treat it like a wounded soldier. Pretend you're sick, because in a way, you kind of are. Definitely give the junk food a boot for the time being, until you've processed this and are feeling more yourself again.

As for relaxing your mind, you can try reading, or writing. Something like meditation or just straight up relaxing might be a good idea until the nightmares tone down. DEFINITELY stop eating shortly before bed, that's likely a big contributor right there. CamBam has some good ideas as well. And don't forget the exercise. 30-40 minutes of cardio a day, if you can. Elevates your mood, and it'll make you tired. Just don't do it within a few hours of going to sleep. Earlier is better.

Really though, you're gonna be fine, man. You have a good attitude about finding a new job, and this is just temporary strain you're experiencing. It's a good learning experience. You're going to go through stressful times in life...some much worse than this...and learning how to take care of yourself in crisis is a good thing.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

Thanks again guys this helps a lot. Now if Ii can only figure out this damn unemployment checks guess I should of expected to find a lot of red tape to get money from the government.