Dream

I woke up this morning after having had a very interesting dream. I've always thought that Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung's work on Dream Theory was rubbish, given that most of my dreams are silly, but this last one was profound in its realism, and makes me think that they were not just onto something, they were geniuses.

So it's only dreams related to real life (present or past) that matter - not just any random dream. (Flying on the back of a magical hippo in your underpants doesn't count, there's nothing to learn there!). It's got to relate to an incident that you have experienced or are experiencing. A recreation of the event.

A random example: You're at home, in the company of someone you know well. You get into an argument, and it gets vicious, possibly violent. For whatever reason, let's assume that person is no longer in your real life (moved on, deceased, whatever reason applies), so you can't ask them about the incident in reality, therefore pay attention to the dream. It will reveal an extension of their personality, and you may learn a few things about them that you hadn't realised before. It will likely be unpleasant, though very cathartic - because it will give you some understanding and insight on the issue.

Freud and Jung were not the first to come up with Dream Theory, they just made it a proper science. A key example of this was in Ancient Greece: they did their own version of Dream Theory in a place called Epidaurus. There was a temple to the god Asclepius (god of medicine), son of the god Apollo (god of healing in general.) People who required healing went there and slept upon the ground of the temple overnight. Asclepius would 'inspire' them through revelatory dreams, then the priests would help interpret them in the morning. (Oh, and harmless snakes were in the temple as well, because they were symbolic of Asclepius and believed to help promote the dreams. They freely moved around as you slept, including over you.)

Back to the dream. In it, you likely experience it from the perspective of 'first person' (as yourself, seeing through your own eyes) and/or 'third person' (from a distance, watching yourself. 'Second person' is never you.) Either way, you get to experience the incident safely. No matter what happens in the dream, it's not happening in reality, because you are asleep. Because of this, you can witness the incident without being 100% involved in it. If you get injured in the dream, no pain will be felt, for instance. You will likely feel the emotions, but nothing physical. No broken bones, no nothing. You are safe.

When you wake up, you will likely still feel emotions related to the dream: anger, sadness, fear, whatever. During this time, write down as much of the dream as you can remember, while it still lingers. Most dreams we don't remember for more than a few seconds/minutes, but ones like these tend to linger for a little while, because we had so much psychological investment in them. Make sure you write down the parts that are revelatory - that you didn't notice in reality.

Next step. When your emotions are gone and your head is clear (say, the next day or so), go back to your notes and reflect upon them.

🔸️ Some questions to reflect upon:

📍 What did the dream reveal that you didn't experience during the real incident?
📍 What did the dream tell you about how you coped with the incident?
📍 What did the dream tell you about how the other person coped with the incident?
📍 What feelings did the dream evoke while you were asleep?
📍 What feelings did the dream evoke while you were awake? (After the dream happens, there's always a secondary emotion(s) you feel while awake as your brain tries to sort out what to make of it.)
📍 If you witness that you are the one at 'fault' in the dream, can you acknowledge this to yourself? Can you try to understand why it happened, and seek to forgive yourself?
📍 It you witness that it was not you at 'fault', can forgive the other person? (It's okay if you can't, but try to see their motivation: did they react the way they did because of anger? Fear? Guilt/shame? What else?)
📍 It's possible that you are both equally at 'fault'. If that is the case, then perhaps you are looking at a core difference between you, irreconcilable or otherwise. Seeing this, can you forgive your part in it? Can you move on from the situation, with your new knowledge?
📍 Are there any changes you would make to your real life? (This is working under the assumption that you cannot reach the other person, so any changes must be about yourself, not them.)
📍 If you feel you need to change something about yourself personally in reality, do you have any supports who can help you? (Family? Friends? A therapist? A psychiatrist?)

After going through all of that, it's important to acknowledge the hard work you've put into the reflection. (It's not an easy thing to do, and may churn up possible guilt/shame, especially if you feel you are the one at 'fault'.) It is something that will require some self-care. But it is also something worth treating with respect: Celebrate it, if you can, you've earned it.

#Dream #Dreaming #PTSD #Trauma #Therapy #MentalHealth #Journaling #analysis #freud #jung #Grief #Shame #Selfcare #Recovery

I just had a really amazing dream that I started a huuuuuuge entertainment nonprofit that traveled all across the world and brought cooks, comics, musicians, and other people together to raise funds for things like research into cures for diseases, funding LGBT resource centers , helping at food banks and homeless shelters and more... The Try Guys were in my dream. We got an RV and decorated the inside with inspirational pictures from hundreds of artists. We got talent like chef Andrew Zimmern , musicians like Devin Townsend ,and improv comedians like Colin Mochrie just to name a few. It...blew my mind. I wish I could actually make it a reality. I've been trying to find meaning and purpose to my life and that would be the ultimate perfect thing.

#CheckInWithMe

Have you ever felt like you are anxious continously for seemingly no reason?
As a recovering BPD person, I often take a long route of searching for any event that might have triggered it.

Until one day, I realized, it is probably from some dream(s) I had the night before, that kept me up fir quite a while. It was scary, not devastating. It probably just hit a soft spot.

Even though I do not remember it completely, it was something about abandonment.
The realization helped me though... #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder
#Dream
#Anxiety

How is everyone? We have almost hit 50 members, which I think is fantastic...it means we are out there and sunning ourselves like a lizard in the hot sun! If you have made friends on here who are over 50, don't forget to invite them to the group! As 50+er's, we need all the support from each other that we can get.

If you are brave enough, speak up and share who you are and why you're here in this group...tell me what you hope to get out of it so that I can try and cater to your needs.

I'm here because I believe that so often people have an image in their head of what a person with a mental illness looks like. What comes up in your mind when you see/hear those words? The truth is that M.I. affects people of all cultures, genders, and of course - ages. "Society" often forgets that we can be more mature and still suffering. In fact, I think at our age we are missed. It is either a troubled teenager, or an elderly person who has a form of senility that is thought of when prompted.

What about us, the group that is trying to deal with the fact that they're probably past the halfway point, but still have a life to live? A life that still has potential? I know I still have hopes and dreams. It's ok to be over 50 and still have goals in mind - in fact I would encourage you to consider this. What ideas do you have for yourself in the future, 'after' this? Things might be rough at the moment, but that doesn't mean it will always be this way. Do you have plans? Plans for tomorrow, plans for next week, next month, next year etc? Do you have a 5 year plan, a 10 year plan?

If you're like me, you're probably saying, 'C'mon, I can't even think past now!' 'It's hopeless, why bother?' 'I don't want to think about the future, it's too hard'! Well, why can't we? Is it because your suffering is too intense? Does your self-talk stop you?

In my therapy session yesterday, I was told that we should talk to ourselves with self compassion - the way we would speak to a friend. Some of us wouldn't even say what we say to ourselves to our enemies! Would we say to a friend that they didn't deserve to dream? No! We would tell them to aim for the stars!

So, in your mind (or if you forget or are anal like me - write it down ;), tell yourself your dreams and goals. Try making a plan. You are so special, you are so worth it! If no one else tells you today/tonight, then I will - YOU ARE WORTHY! I firmly believe that you deserve to soar like the eagles. Now start thinking or writing...

Care to share? Here's the place for some encouragement - even if it's to tell me that tomorrow you're going to have a shower. YAY! I am your number one fan!!! GO TEAM YOU :)

Lots of love, Judi.

#MentalIllness #Dream #goals

Stuck in a 5 day flare. Thoracic Outlet Syndrome affects my entire left side and makes it hard to move. Yesterday, I could barely walk through the mall without stopping and leaning against a wall. It causes such unbearable pain, stiffness and fatigue.

They say get out of the house when you don’t feel well, it will make you feel better. Sometimes, it's better to rest and stay home. I’m still only able to walk small distances today.

Days like these are mental days. Where my hands and body don’t work well enough to do much at all.

Too much time spent in my head day. Watching what others can do.

Fighting back tears day, and trying to be strong.

Dreaming day. Dreaming of the day I can be more than this.

Angry day. Angry that I can’t do what I’m dreaming of.

These days I need people to distract me, but I’m so in my head it’s hard to pretend I’m ok.

Yesterday, I was able to look up and take this photo, even though I was stuck in the chair because I could no longer walk through the mall.

Today, I was able to make this post.

What CAN you do today?
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#teetheredcord #ThoracicOutletSyndrome #ChronicIllnessEDS #EhlersDanlosSyndromes #MentalHealth #ChronicPain #ChronicFatigue #RareDisease #Fibromyalgia #Chronicpainsucks #chronicpainlife #chronicpainawareness #chronicpainartist #Hope #Dream #fibrowarrior #ehlersdanlostype3 #EhlersDanlosSyndrome