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Nightmares After Playing - 2/3/2008 2:32:40 PM

ChainedExistence

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I've found it is common for me to have intense nightmares after a heavy day of playing, particularly if I don't space. Usually I can tie nightmares directly to particular frightening things that have happened to me, but at the end of play I am usually quite happy and content. So, here's a theory I have on why this might be happening. I know the body's natural response to pain is to trigger a fight or flight response. As I am not fighting what is happening or attempting to run away from it, the primitive part of my mind must construct a reason for not following a natural course of action. In order to do this it "invents" a reason through dreams of being pursued, hiding from, or fighting against attackers. Does this idea make sense? Would anyone care to comment on similar experiences or their take on why this happens?

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RE: Nightmares After Playing - 2/3/2008 2:35:26 PM

laurell3

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There was another poster here that had a similar post a few months ago, I would try to search for it if I were you.

I don't know how to answer that question. Your theory is certainly plausible. When I was in grad school I had sexual dreams about professors that were NOT attractive that I didn't even like and not in a d/s bdsm I get to hit them sort of way either and not in classes I had stress over. Sometimes dreams just don't make sense.

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RE: Nightmares After Playing - 2/3/2008 2:43:58 PM

LuckyAlbatross

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It's also a theory that dreams are a way of processing out what's happened. Your self might still be processing the activities that went on and even though initially it was a good response, in the moment of that processing, it all comes out confused and nightmarish.

Lots of people have good records of being able to tame and direct their dreams if it becomes enough of a problem- might want to study up on some methods.

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RE: Nightmares After Playing - 2/3/2008 3:50:29 PM

Prinsexx

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ChainedExistence

I've found it is common for me to have intense nightmares after a heavy day of playing, particularly if I don't space. Usually I can tie nightmares directly to particular frightening things that have happened to me, but at the end of play I am usually quite happy and content. So, here's a theory I have on why this might be happening. I know the body's natural response to pain is to trigger a fight or flight response. As I am not fighting what is happening or attempting to run away from it, the primitive part of my mind must construct a reason for not following a natural course of action. In order to do this it "invents" a reason through dreams of being pursued, hiding from, or fighting against attackers. Does this idea make sense? Would anyone care to comment on similar experiences or their take on why this happens?

BUZZ WORDS TO GOOGLE:
DREAMS AND REPRESSION
EXCITATION TRANSFER
RESTORATION
DREAM METAPHORS
LUCID DREAMING
I love going into dreams, having dreams (negative or positive), trying to remember dreams when waking. the lite

I keep a note book at the side of my bed, and sometimes, even in the dark, if i write clearly, dreams are just such a fablous source for creativity.

Before 'coming out' to myself about my needs and desires my dreams used to be nightmares but after a secene i always sleep so so deeply. Now even the bad dreams are good as they are always trying to tell me soemthing.

< Message edited by Prinsexx -- 2/3/2008 3:53:52 PM >

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RE: Nightmares After Playing - 2/3/2008 4:10:27 PM

chellekitty

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as i understand it, the body's natural flight or fight trigger is adrenaline...so if the manner your playing in or for whatever reason your play, no matter how painful, does not trigger adrenaline release there should, theoretically, not be a fight or flight response...

for me, when i have a nightmare after a scene is more akin to having a nightmare after watching a scary movie (i don't watch scary movies for a reason)...it is something that resonates within my sub-conscious memory as not being "ok" and then when the unconscious takes over in sleep, it makes up stories....to put it very simply...i'm sure there are numerous neurotransmitters involved in the process but i am not going to get involved in it right now...adrenaline may be one of them, but i am fairly sure it is not the only one...

thats all for now
chelle

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RE: Nightmares After Playing - 2/3/2008 4:20:41 PM

MasterFireMaam

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A friend of mine says that the reaction to danger is "fight, flight or freeze".

Our subconscious mind does many things...and it doesn't know the difference between reality and fantasy. There's any number of things that could be going on. My guess is that it's trying to work through the "trauma".

Master Fire

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RE: Nightmares After Playing - 2/3/2008 4:20:42 PM

B1gBearC0

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Dreams process feelings, emotions and anxieties of our waking world. They are the subconcious outlet for what may or may not be something in our concious lives. In your message you eluded to the fact that the dreams mimic events that have really happened to you in some way. Consider the fact that you may like many others get an outlet from your play to help cope with or in some way regain control over traumatic events in your life that you had no control over. The endorphine rush that comes from sub-space is one thing, but not everyone wants/needs it for the same reasons. Sometimes its got nothing to do with past events, sometimes its a direct outlet that helps people cope with past traumas. You may be like many who live out their past traumas in their dreams over and over again. Very Very normal! If your play style is not something that is producing a productive or theraputic outlet for those concious or even subconcious emotions, then it would be logical that they are producing an negative response that is reflected in your dreams. For instance, if you were raped at some point in your life, a rape or forced sex scene may provide therapy and a controlled outlet for repressed feelings of helplessness or on the negative, bring those old feelings and emotions to the surface and into your dreams. When dealing with play and past traumatic issues, it is important to be sure the play is something that is helpful to the healing process, not something that will bring you nightmares. We call them 'landmines' and playing without careful forethought on what the result may be, 'tripping over landmines'. Perhaps you and the person you play with should consider the cause and effect of the type of play versus the traumatic events of the past and focus play on something that will help move past those, not bring them to the forefront of your dreams.

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RE: Nightmares After Playing - 2/3/2008 4:20:51 PM

quick

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ChainedExistence

I've found it is common for me to have intense nightmares after a heavy day of playing, particularly if I don't space. Usually I can tie nightmares directly to particular frightening things that have happened to me, but at the end of play I am usually quite happy and content. So, here's a theory I have on why this might be happening. I know the body's natural response to pain is to trigger a fight or flight response. As I am not fighting what is happening or attempting to run away from it, the primitive part of my mind must construct a reason for not following a natural course of action. In order to do this it "invents" a reason through dreams of being pursued, hiding from, or fighting against attackers. Does this idea make sense? Would anyone care to comment on similar experiences or their take on why this happens?

For me, new equals frightening. Even when I face my fears, the fear is still there, somewhere, lurking. The fears come back through my dreams, but I have learned to lucid dream, so I have control over them. I take a lot of pride in facing the fears I do face, but that does not make the after effects disappear. I hope you find a way to handle them.

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RE: Nightmares After Playing - 2/3/2008 8:46:53 PM

ChainedExistence

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Laurell3- Had to laugh about your professor dream...there was more than one professor who gave me fits, too, though I didn't dream about having sex with them! Mostly they just told me I was past the deadline for work!

LA- You know I've tried taming dreams, but I've never had much success with that. I've always had a rather vivid dream life, but they are rarely troublesome. It just seems that lately I've noticed a pattern to this.

Prinsexx- I have a notebook just for that, but I will admit I don't write them down nearly as much as I used to. I used to try to look for the elements that I could pick out of the dream, and look those up to see if I could find some meaning in them. Often they would be obvious- like my college dreams. More often than not, they seemed to be a random collection of images and triggers from my day- a squirrel running across the road, a news story about a flood, spilling a glass of water, and they would all combine into some huge dream where those random elements made some sort of weird significance. Usually, I was like you though after playing..really tired and blissful and I slept like a rock, but lately I've had these nightmares afterwards which seem atypical for me.

ChelleKitty- Ha! I don't watch scary movies either for the same reasons...I see them, I dream them!

MasterFireMaam-I do see the sense in the idea of my brain working through the "trauma", but this is a relatively new pattern, and Master and I have been playing for a long time.

B1gBearC0- While my first post said my dreams often had elements of things that happened to me in them, this isn't a situation where I have an old traumatic event that the play is bringing to the surface. I am not one of those subs who came from a nightmarish childhood, or suffered some abuse in my past. Like many people, I didn't have the best marriage in the world, but it was more about incompatability than anything. Believe me, if he or I thought he was causing me any harm, we'd definitely talk about and adjust the play, but I feel completely safe with him.

Quick- Thanks, That's sort of why I posted..wondered if anyone sort had a way of working through their scary dreams. Although it's supposed to be possible to change a dream while it's happening, I've never been able to do that, so I am trying to deal with them after the fact. It does help to talk to Master when I wake up from one, but it sure would be nice not to have them in the first place.

Thanks everyone for the ideas, and comments. Laurell- I did check out the old posts, and there was some good info there, and Prinsexx, I will google your suggestions. Any other comments are welcome. :)

< Message edited by ChainedExistence -- 2/3/2008 8:51:58 PM >

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RE: Nightmares After Playing - 2/4/2008 10:01:12 AM

mhawk

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i'd be concerned if there were nightmares after play but that's just me. but also as others have said maybe there are things that the system is working on releasing when you are alseep.

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RE: Nightmares After Playing - 2/4/2008 10:29:53 AM

kyraofMists

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quote:

ORIGINAL: quick

For me, new equals frightening. Even when I face my fears, the fear is still there, somewhere, lurking. The fears come back through my dreams, but I have learned to lucid dream, so I have control over them. I take a lot of pride in facing the fears I do face, but that does not make the after effects disappear. I hope you find a way to handle them.

Most of the bad dreams that I have are also a result of my fears. When my fear is controlling my behavior and thoughts, I do not have many bad dreams. Once the fear is no longer able to control my behavior and thoughts, its only outlet is through my subconscious. These things are not necessarily triggered by play.

The last 3 - 4 nights I have been having bad dreams that are a result of insecurity about my relationship. Moving in has had a drastic impact on building security within the relationship and eliminating negative thoughts that were a result of this fear. Since it is no longer expressed when I am awake, it is coming out while I sleep. I know that they will soon go away and are just a last ditch effort of an old fear to try and control me.

It took awhile to recognize this pattern and once I did the dreams have become milder and have less of a negative impact on me.

Knight's Kyra

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RE: Nightmares After Playing - 2/4/2008 10:42:38 AM

softness

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I have a sleep related disorder so have read up a lot on disturbed sleep through dreams; i am by no means an expert but these ideas made a lot of sense to me

Most people will find that they remember dreams better from shallow sleep, now if you have been playing the tension (especially if denied your own release), perhaps anxiety, pain, slight injuries and discomforts will all compound your ability to get into a deep sleep. This means that you will be more conscious of your dreams and nightmares. It is only natural for your subconscious to process what the body went through during the day, especially if there are some lasting physical reminders.

when I get badly ill it is very difficult for me to breath, this manifests itself in my sleep as dreams of being trapped .. also i get terrible joint pains, and I dream of being badly beaten ... my brain is trying to reason out what my body is feeling yet it cant explain

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RE: Nightmares After Playing - 2/4/2008 11:54:42 AM

laurell3

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I used to have a reoccuring nightmare about childhood trauma. I tried several techniques to keep from having it. The technique of thinking about what you wanted to dream about and focusing on waking myself if I got into the traumatic dream worked marginally. It was valuable though, I learned how to wake myself up without an alarm clock from it! What eventually worked most successfully was figuring out why I was having it and getting help to get over it. I don't think that is all that helpful to you though as there doesn't seem to be any reason you can identify for having it, but you might have more success with the techniques because of the lack of trauma.

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I cannot be defined by moments in my life, but must be considered for by the entirety of my existence.

When you fail to consider that I am the best judge for what is right for me, all of your opinions become suspect to me.

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