Saturday, August 6, 2011

Trapped in a Dream


Have you ever felt trapped in a dream?

I dream a lot, and I usually remember them the next day. Most of my dreams are so ordinary that sometimes I think something happened in real life, then I realize I dreamed it. But, every once in a while I have a dream from which I can't escape. I had one of those last night.

I had some dental work done yesterday, and when the numbness wore off I had pain. I decided to take a pain killer and go to bed early. I dreamed about myself, in a different world I couldn't recognize. It was confusing and menacing. I wanted to leave, but I couldn't wake up. This has happened to me in dreams before. I know I am dreaming and I want to wake up and escape, but I can not figure out how to do that. I try to open my eyes. I try to reach out and touch something real in my room. I feel like I am trapped in the dream world and I can't make myself wake up. It's very strange. It makes me afraid to go to sleep again.

This time, I knew that two of my cats were sleeping on the bed with me. I started saying their names, then I finally woke up. Maybe they moved when they heard their names, and that brought me back to reality. I can't be sure. I was still very groggy and stiff all over. I got out of bed and stretched and turned on some lights. It was very early, too early to stay awake. I got up and had a snack then went back to sleep again. This time my dream was more normal. Thank goodness!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think that is such a horrible sensation not being able to wake up properly. It hasn't happened to me in a long time, but I did dream my dad who has dementia was squeezing the cat much too tightly and wouldn't let it go. I couldn't make myself heard shouting out to him to stop. My husband eventually woke me up saying the whole neighbourhood must have heard me shouting out.

judy in ky said...

Oh, Pam, that is so frightening! Your dream sounds worse than mine.