NationStates Jolt Archive

Quick question:

I have a friend who claims she has never had a nightmare, or even a vaguely bad dream in her life. I was just wondering, is this possible? Does it show she's remarkably well adjusted, or quite the opposite?

Speaking of which, do you think dreams mean anything? Are they portents of the future, clues to our psyche or random hallucinations?

There have probably been a lot of topics on this already, but let the discussion a-fly!

I've not had a nightmare since I was a little kid, so it's probably possible to go without them your whole life. Probably quite rare though.

Quick question:

I have a friend who claims she has never had a nightmare, or even a vaguely bad dream in her life. I was just wondering, is this possible? Does it show she's remarkably well adjusted, or quite the opposite?

Speaking of which, do you think dreams mean anything? Are they portents of the future, clues to our psyche or random hallucinations?

There have probably been a lot of topics on this already, but let the discussion a-fly!

Heh I tend to have nothing but nightmares. I don't think it means much though. Just a remind on what your brain has been mulling over during the day, and whatever housekeeping the brain does while you sleep.

Nightmares, eh?

They are quite common among my dreams - although, lately, it's gotten a whole lot better!

my husband is a lucid dreamer so he never truly has nightmares, but when he was a child he did, as he has gained greater control over the dreams he has, he remembers less of them. It's possible that she just doesn't remember what she dreams.

I never had any nightmares.

my husband is a lucid dreamer so he never truly has nightmares, but when he was a child he did, as he has gained greater control over the dreams he has, he remembers less of them. It's possible that she just doesn't remember what she dreams.

Is SHE is missspelling, or do you have a 3-way marrage.

Is SHE is missspelling, or do you have a 3-way marrage.

It is not her misspelling but a misunderstanding on your end. When Smunkee was talking "She" Smunkee was referring to the friend in the OP.

Quick question:

I have a friend who claims she has never had a nightmare, or even a vaguely bad dream in her life. I was just wondering, is this possible? Does it show she's remarkably well adjusted, or quite the opposite?

It's very possible. I myself never had a true nightmare (the wake up terrified and have to convince yourself it didn't really happen variety) until a few months ago. I'm 24 now.


Speaking of which, do you think dreams mean anything? Are they portents of the future, clues to our psyche or random hallucinations?


There may be some insight to be gained from examining a person's dreams. But the science (if it can truly be called that) of doing so is steeped in so-much hokey chicken-on-a-stick waving that it'll never be taken seriously. As to portents of the future, I've had experiences of deja-vu that I can't fully explain and I've talked to others that have had similar, but I highly doubt it really means anything significant. Deja-vu is just that.

Quick question:

I have a friend who claims she has never had a nightmare, or even a vaguely bad dream in her life. I was just wondering, is this possible? I have never had a nightmare.Bad dreams where I am dying but not anything nightmarish. Unless you count all the times when I had very vivid sexual dreams and woke up realizing they were just dreams.:(

Speaking of which, do you think dreams mean anything? I think they do. I think it is your sub-conscious trying letting itself out..so to speak. A way of letting you know how you truly feel about something. If I remember them I usually try and figure out what it means. Even if the dream is a bunch of garbled mess, I pick out certain events in it and figure out how I felt and such..and go from there.

It is not her misspelling but a misunderstanding on your end. When Smunkee was talking "She" Smunkee was referring to the friend in the OP.


I see.

I have never had a nightmare.Bad dreams where I am dying but not anything nightmarish. Unless you count all the times when I had very vivid sexual dreams and woke up realizing they were just dreams.:(

Which always sucks, unless someone is around to help you recreate them...


I think they do. I think it is your sub-conscious trying letting itself out..so to speak. A way of letting you know how you truly feel about something. If I remember them I usually try and figure out what it means. Even if the dream is a bunch of garbled mess, I pick out certain events in it and figure out how I felt and such..and go from there.

It can be interesting to poke around and see what bubbles to the surface. But sometimes it's better to just remember that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

I'm also not sure how you define "nightmare." I assume that it means "unpleasant dream of any kind." Keep in mind that people respond to these unpleasant dreams in their own ways.

My wife once panicked over a dream she had where I was seeing somebody else openly while still married to her. She was upset because I seemed nonchalant and uncaring about it, and she woke up and was scared that I would do something like that to her (I have never cheated, never made plans to cheat, and never actively considered cheating, so the answer is no.)

On the other hand, I dreamt a few weeks later that she cheated on me and was equally nonchalant about it, even implying that her actions were completely acceptable. In the dream, I was furious and planned to leave her, but when I woke up, I shook off the cobwebs and realized that, to my knowledge, she has never cheated.

There are other scenarios - the worst dream I had recently was seeing my wife die in my arms, and that was the only one that bothered me. It's partially because she's not in the best of health and seems to think she's going to die young.

I guess it's all a reflection of one's most open fears. If you're afraid of snakes, your worst fear will be to be in a room full of snakes, and that would constitute a nightmare.

Another nightmare might be that you have to go to work or school for a day or part of a day, it's as dull as it normally is, and then you wake up and realize that you didn't actually go to school or work and have to do it again.

The most frustrating of unpleasant dreams, however, are the really pleasant ones you wake up from only to realize they aren't true. I've won the lottery, gotten a super-well-paying job, been married to Carrie Underwood, and even won American Idol in my dreams, only to realize that I was only dreaming.

So it all depends on your definition of "nightmare."

Quick question:

I have a friend who claims she has never had a nightmare, or even a vaguely bad dream in her life. I was just wondering, is this possible? Does it show she's remarkably well adjusted, or quite the opposite?

It's possible, I suppose, but it's much more likely that she's had nightmares and simply doesn't remember them. That happens to some people.


Speaking of which, do you think dreams mean anything? Are they portents of the future, clues to our psyche or random hallucinations?

None of the above. Dreams are how our minds sort through information, and also appear to help us express and process subconscious concerns.

Remember that your conscious mind only perceives a tiny fraction of the information that comes into your brain. Much of that "extra" input gets discarded, but some of it gets processed later. This may be why we often say we should "sleep on it" when we have an important decision.

I'm also not sure how you define "nightmare." I assume that it means "unpleasant dream of any kind." Keep in mind that people respond to these unpleasant dreams in their own ways.

My wife once panicked over a dream she had where I was seeing somebody else openly while still married to her. She was upset because I seemed nonchalant and uncaring about it, and she woke up and was scared that I would do something like that to her (I have never cheated, never made plans to cheat, and never actively considered cheating, so the answer is no.)

On the other hand, I dreamt a few weeks later that she cheated on me and was equally nonchalant about it, even implying that her actions were completely acceptable. In the dream, I was furious and planned to leave her, but when I woke up, I shook off the cobwebs and realized that, to my knowledge, she has never cheated.

When I was pregnant I had those dreams about my husband and I would wake up all angry at him......he was so confused. I would be like "in my dream you were..." and he was like "in your dream, not real, dream"

I was still mad.

When I was pregnant I had those dreams about my husband and I would wake up all angry at him......he was so confused. I would be like "in my dream you were..." and he was like "in your dream, not real, dream"

I was still mad.
My mom still talks about the most vivid dream she's ever had. She was pregnant with me, and she had a dream that she was a Butterfinger candy bar, and she was being eaten.

She still insists it's one of the best dreams she has ever had.

I'm still waiting for her to give in and admit her secret desire to eat her young.

I'm not entirely sure how you can go your whole life without having a single nightmare. I get them every now and then (though less and less frequently), and it is more than likely that your friend can't remember the ones she has. After all, generally, people can't remember most of their dreams.

As for whether they mean anything, I doubt anything terribly important. Probably more than anything your brain doing its housekeeping. Or sometimes running through hypothetical scenarios: I've had several dreams where people who bother me were picking on me, and then dream-me whirled around and punched them in the face. Some of the best dreams I've ever had.

Every time I go home to visit my parents I start having naked dreams.

Not sexy-naked dreams, but the I'm-at-work-like-normal-and-suddenly-notice-I'm-naked kind of dreams.

For the longest time I couldn't figure out what the fuck that was all about.

This year I finally got it:

My family is very open about nudity. I've seen my parents and brother naked, and they've seen me naked. We all tend to towel off in the bathroom but then just walk to our respective rooms to get dressed. Naked is no big thing around the house. (This is one of the reasons I have never believed that my naked dreams are actually about generalized anxiety, the way some people's are, because nudity doesn't make me anxious.)

But that's not how the rest of the world works, and I think my brain is trying to gently remind me to not get too casual about wearing clothes. I think I get these "reminders" when I visit home because we tend to have house guests these days, and because I'm often going to be staying with friends for a night or two, and my brain wants to make sure I am modest enough to not get myself in an embarrassing situation.

my husband is a lucid dreamer so he never truly has nightmares, but when he was a child he did, as he has gained greater control over the dreams he has, he remembers less of them. It's possible that she just doesn't remember what she dreams.

Dreams are our minds working at best, imo.

Lucid dreaming is just trying to have some control over it, but some psychic abilities can be activated while you're sleeping, such as clairvoyance.

Yea, I'm gonna have to say I don't really believe she's never had a nightmare unless she has a really different definition of such than I do. I have recurring dreams where I jolt awake but they're usually just me driving and my breaks stop working or something or I'm trying to do something and realize some calamity is about to occur. These aren't "scary" but they're uncomfortable and I consider them nightmares. Though, maybe she's used sleeping pills her entire life or something *shrug*.

Thats interesting, I seem to never have a dream unless its sexual. Im not perveted though, I just barely ever dream.

As I understand it everyone dreams, we just don't always remember them. So it could be that OP's friend doesn't remember her nightmares.

I don't remember any of my dreams. If my thoughts when I'm lying in bed (before I go to sleep) disturb me, I just put on the headphones and listen to some Mozart.

If you asked me just after I woke up, I would likely be more capable of explaining what I was dreaming about; but given that I frequently forget my thoughts and become sidetracked very easily, this is no surprise.

I have dreams of all sorts, fun, strange, unusual, religous, even philisophical. I have nightmares too, scary ones.

Then, I have Epics.

An Epic is a dream that continues on like a movie and its sequals ( similar to star wars) that is a mix of good and bad, and has other qualities I'm just not sure how to describe. Its like, its like Having a body here on earth, and a body somewhere else, and living two lifes at once, as though my soul was simply switching bodies. I even woke up with scratches and bite marks I recieved in my dreams.

I have dreams of all sorts, fun, strange, unusual, religous, even philisophical. I have nightmares too, scary ones.

Then, I have Epics.

An Epic is a dream that continues on like a movie and its sequals ( similar to star wars) that is a mix of good and bad, and has other qualities I'm just not sure how to describe. Its like, its like Having a body here on earth, and a body somewhere else, and living two lifes at once, as though my soul was simply switching bodies. I even woke up with scratches and bite marks I recieved in my dreams.

I have these Epic type dreams as well, they seem to last forever and you have an unusual amount of control over them.

I have these Epic type dreams as well, they seem to last forever and you have an unusual amount of control over them.

I love having epics. My last one was one in which I was Merlin, and I was exploring this cave and a structure within. The area was called Deathtrap Dungeon, and it was aptly named because I died like, ten times, and killed others like, six, all because of the deviousness, and the unfairness of the traps. One was a stepping stone, indistinguishable from the rest, you don't even know you've activated it after you do. It sets off a chain reaction throughout the rest of the cave releasing this green poisonous Anthrax like gas. Poor Vin'della, she never saw it coming. Literally, she was blind, and could foresee everything but her own death.

Well as for dreams i have a few too many (probably due to irregular sleep patterns and eating before i go to sleep). As for nightmares i don't get many but i've had a few, e.g. i dream my mates are playing pool as i wake up, then i do wake up (properly) and wonder if this is a dream that really fucks me up.

The worst nightmare i had was that i was stabbed, horrible feeling though i've never been stabbed, that was a while ago.
I usually have wierd or bizzare dreams e.g. last night i dreamt i was in a city submerged in water and escaping a big submarine then escaped.

Apparently the most common dreams are being chased or being attacked, not sure where i heard this.

As for dreams proving the future i doubt it, but they might lead to a "self-fulfilling prophecy" where you dream you'l do something then you actually do it, because you believed in yourself. It's very peculiar stuff.
I've never had a hallucination, but my dad had one where (because he was working night shifts, he thought he could still do ordinary daytime stuff as well this didn't work out) after 5 days without sleep he believed a sort of monster was just at the corner of his vision (like when you dream, in the dream you assume all strange things to be perfectly normal) and was terrified.

The worst nightmare I ever had was when I was 5.

I was trapped in a house that was on fire which had no exits and there were also man eating dogs running about.

Scariest. Nightmare. Ever.

I used to have nightmares a lot. Sometimes I even woke up nauseous from them.

I used to have nightmares a lot. Sometimes I even woke up nauseous from them.

You know what's good for nightmares? Not having them, or refrain from eating and more exercise, regular sleep patterns. i'm guilty of the lack of exercise, i used to do alot but since i've become a student in a city it's alot harder, i just walk about alot.

Quick question:

I have a friend who claims she has never had a nightmare, or even a vaguely bad dream in her life. I was just wondering, is this possible? Does it show she's remarkably well adjusted, or quite the opposite?

Speaking of which, do you think dreams mean anything? Are they portents of the future, clues to our psyche or random hallucinations?

There have probably been a lot of topics on this already, but let the discussion a-fly!

I think a lot of dreams are just your brain sorting out what's happened in your day, or what you are thinking about. For instance, before I went to bed last night, I read a magazine about my footy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collingwood_Football_Club) club (http://collingwoodfc.com.au/). I woke up this morning with a dream about going to the MCG (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne_Cricket_Ground) to watch them play. I don't think you can really read much more into them than that. As for your friend not having nightmares, I think she probably does, but just doesn't remember them.

I love having epics. My last one was one in which I was Merlin, and I was exploring this cave and a structure within. The area was called Deathtrap Dungeon, and it was aptly named because I died like, ten times, and killed others like, six, all because of the deviousness, and the unfairness of the traps. One was a stepping stone, indistinguishable from the rest, you don't even know you've activated it after you do. It sets off a chain reaction throughout the rest of the cave releasing this green poisonous Anthrax like gas. Poor Vin'della, she never saw it coming. Literally, she was blind, and could foresee everything but her own death.

Holy shit that's deep.

See, the only kinds of dreams I ever have that are anything like those epic dreams are ongoing ones where I'm in a really bizarre situation. They get really surreal, really quickly. I recall speaking to another me onetime in a dream. It was bizarre. I think there were also a bunch of disembodied heads talking to me. I have no idea what I ate before I had that one. *Shudders*

And then there was a dream I had where I went to school one day, to find out that a friend of mine who had moved away years ago had come back, and it seemed like a regular day. Then I woke up, and that really screwed with me.

To my knowledge, I have never had a nightmare. I often remember my dreams, whether they seam meaningful or are obvious mental garbage, so it doesn't seem likely that I would not remember the bad dreams.

You know what's good for nightmares? Not having them, or refrain from eating and more exercise, regular sleep patterns. i'm guilty of the lack of exercise, i used to do alot but since i've become a student in a city it's alot harder, i just walk about alot.

Some of the nightmares were pretty gruesome. :(

I think everyone has dreams and nightmares. Not everynight but every so often. They do have some signifigance. You know how they relate to things going on in real life. I think they have something to do with eye movement or something.

I am the cause of nightmares, not a victim of them. *demonic laughter*

I very rarely remember my dreams unless I've reached a certain numer of hours asleep; however, once approximately 9 hours have been slept, I immediately begin to remember dreams.

Just recently I had a dream that could be interpreted -- though not saying that things were representative of other things -- but that the plot and my actions in the dream reflected my subconscious feelings on issues such as friendships that I might never have realized if my dream hadn't made it clearer.

I had nightmares very frequently as a child and as a teen. Once I hit about 20 or so, though, that all stopped.

I wouldn't be surprised if they're triggered both by anxiety and stress and also surging hormones. I do know I've not dreamed anything near as vividly as I used to when I was younger.

Nightmares are usually merely not remembered. I've had many times in which I wake up screaming, but I don't remember what I'm scared of. Of course, I play too much of the Chzo mythos so that might have something to do with it...

just last night i had a dream where there was a zombie outbreak in my neighbor hood and my family refused to keep the doors closes.

it wasnt really zombies. has anyone here seen the show blood+ ? they have somt zombie like creature on that show but i can remember what they are called. thats the the outbreak was. zombie is he closest thing i can remember.

The worst nightmare I ever had was after my uncle died.

I dreamt he was still alive, and that I could save him, and despite my best efforts, failed to do so just seconds before he died. The scene replayed itself over and over again, changing to all the events I had hoped he would be there for, when I became a success, when I brought home the woman that would be my wife, when we married, when our children were born. Over, and over again, I had to watch as I failed to save the one man I was so close to, as to think of him as my father. It was horrible, and probably scarred me for life, but thank god I just repressed the memory instead of dealing with it.