Sleep and Dreams

Hi Maddison and welcome! I am glad that you found us, and have introduced yourself so nicely-this way we can all say hello:)
I am sorry that your worries are interfering with your sleep/dreams. I am glad that you sought the help of your school counselor, very smart move! I think that dreaming is healthy and a release for our subconsious worries, but if it is causing you distress, then maybe you could talk to your family dr. about it. He/she may be able to give you some good advice, and possibly check out the possibility of a sleep disorder.

In the mean time why don't you try this. Keep a dream diary-get a blank journal type book, and keep it next to your nightstand. Whenever you wake (middle of the night or morning) immediately write down all the dreams that you can recall. If you remeber one during the day, write it on a slip of paper, then copy it into your journal when you get home. You may start to see patterns to your dreams, which will help you pinpoint the stress in your life. You will probably be less confused by what was a dream, and what was reality, because you can simply look it up in your journal. You may even find that journalling the dreams helps diminish them!
I hope that you stick around-there is a lot of great information and support here. Again, welcome and post anytime:)
Take care,
Scaredy Cat

Hi Maddison and welcome.

Scaredy Cat's idea about the dream diary is a really good one. She's one smart cat! It sounds like your dreams must be pretty realistic. Do you worry a lot?

It sounds like you did a great job with the school counselor of figuring out what your friend drowning dream meant. By writing down your dreams as soon as you remember or wake up you'll be less likely to forget some of the details which can make it easier to later try to make sense of them. Your mind may simply be trying to communicate another worry, concern, or other message to you through a dream. And with them written down you may as SC said see patterns or even simply feel better just because they're written down. You may want to as you write your dreams also add how the dream made you feel. For instance, you could describe the image of your friend drowning and also about how scary it was... This can help you further getting in touch with the underlying emotions of your dreams.

P.S. Mangoes are yummy!!

Hi ILM! Good luck and let us know how it goes, and how you're doing soon:)
Scaredy Cat