Hey guys. I haven't posted in a really long time, and I'm sorry this one isn't about something more important... Here it goes. For the past month or two I've had really bad nightmares back-to-back every night I can remember except for one. They're just... It's like torture. My girlfriend breaking up with me, failing all my classes, my band director screaming at me, my family dying... Over and over every night. Recently my family spent a couple of nights sleeping together in a hotel room, and my mom said I woke her up because I was hyperventilating and flailing my arms and legs (wonder if I do this every night?). I'm completely aware that it's just repressed anxiety (I've struggled with it all my life, I'm on medication and in therapy, I have nervous tics, massive insecurity, the whole nine yards). I just want to know if there's any way to stop them...? Any way to just knock myself out completely so I don't have to wake up and carry that horrible feeling of dread in my gut all morning? It's probably a stupid question, but if any of you have had experiences with this your advice would be greatly appreciated.
I know that if you are indeed on medication for depression or anxiety, 'antidepressants' can cause SEVERE nightmares. They can also cause lucid dreams. Personally, I have been on a certain antidepressant and this has caused me to have night sweats, wet the bed (once!), have tremors (which went away after about a month), felt violently nauseous (which went away after about two weeks) and have extremely lucid dreams from which I remember every detail. For instance, I had a dream where I had one of my university exams, though instead of it taking place at my university, it took place somewhere in the France (not sure where - although I am British and live in London. The examiner, instead of being a doctor (I am a med student) was in fact my English teacher from school, although instead of speaking English she was speaking Spanish. I could not complete the station, so a friend came in to help me gain consent for a rectal examination. I gained consent but still failed the station. I then walked out into the corridor and ended up in the US (again, not sure where) without having had the chance to figure out the answer. During the entire exam, one of my female friends was sitting in the corner casually smoking a cigar. Moving onto America, I was at an after party for all the med students when I suddenly became extremely drunk and made out with this girl. Then, a guy I barely knew from school came in and I started making out with him. Point overall being, medication can do a lot of things, and nobody really understands why. For some people, like me, lucid dreams every night become a side effect. For you, terrifiying dreams and feeling anxious all the time may be your side effect. You may wish to return to the doctor who may change your medication to either a different dose or a different medication. I hope you get better soon! I know what you're going through! PLEASE do not say it's not important. It really is! Talk away!
