i'm often getting nightmares!?

Question

plz somebody help me .i'm suffering from lack of sleep becoz i often see night mares of tigers approaching me to kill or following me with silent step.i'm not getting proper sleep also.plz help

Answer 1

Ok, since many of the other answerers so far have decided to make fun of you and act like jerks, I decided I would try to give you the best answers I can that should help (I had not planned to give an answer to this, but it irritates me to see people be so callous and mean).

Dreams are brought on by our subconscious mind. They are a mixture of things. The primary reason we dream is because that is how our mind (both conscious and subconscious) reviews the 'data' stored in our short term memory though out our day to day lives. As the mind reviews the short term data, it either stores it in mid term memory, long term memory, or discards it completely (based on how the mind sees its relevance to other memories and data, and the possibility of it being needed again)

Our minds truly are computers, they way they access, store, inspect and put out data (in this case memories) is just the way a computer works. When we dream, you could say our minds are running a biological version of Scan Disk, Disk Defragmenter, and Disk Cleanup. There are a variety of reasons for why we see what we see when we dream. Some think that we see is the memories/impressions/emotions that are to be sent to the recycle bin, others think that the dreams are the memories/impressions/emotions that will be saved to the mid and long term areas of memory.

Also, while we sleep, the brain interacts with different parts of itself than it does when we are awake. When we sleep, the conscious and subconscious areas of our brains interact more directly and much more actively than when we are awake (or conscious). While asleep, our minds attempt to resolve any outstanding issues still in the short term memory areas- unresolved conflicts, things we don’t understand, moral issues, and other problems our minds see as needing to be solved. Our dreams can give insight into this; sometimes what we see in our dreams is the answer to an issue we have been unable to resolve while awake.

There are also a lot of symbols used in dreams, where many of the things we see are used to represent other things. By seeing tigers that are trying to harm you, you may very well have some unresolved fear issues related to your physical or emotional health. The attacking tigers could represent something your mind considers a threat to your well being, but not necessarily a physical threat. It could be stress over an upcoming test, a repeating conflict with a friend or loved on, a conflict with a coworker. It could also represent a bad breakup, or the injury or death of a friend or loved one.

Try to spend some time in a relaxing environment free of distraction and think about the stresses you are currently facing. By identifying what issues you are dealing with right now, you may be able to realize what has you fearful or being hurt, whether it is physical, emotional, or mental.

If your bad dreams continue, you should consider counseling. Try counseling before you attempt to self-medicate with herbal supplements or over the counter medications. You may be surprised how much it helps to have a non judgmental person to vent to on a regular basis (and really, that is all you do in counseling. You get things off your chest that are bothering you, to a person that is not going to judge or mock you, and will keep private what you say). It may be, after going to counseling for awhile that the counselor feels you may need to either be on some type of medication or see a psychologist/psychiatrist to see if you need medication. However, most issues like this, involving bad dreams, can be easily resolved by nothing more than some one on one counseling sessions.

Just make sure to find a licensed, accredited counselor. Your medical doctor should be able to recommend a respectable counselor.

Answer 2

First, I would like you to really pay attention to what Bradly has to say above. Dreams and nightmares are really just trying to get a message across (from our subconscious) and they can be pleasant if it gets through easily, or more and more intense in order to be remembered if the message isn't understood the first time around.

If the nightmare isn't understood it may become a recurring nightmare. So, it's very important to pay attention rather than to try and push the message further and further away. It will just persist. It IS your subconscious. It's not going far.

Do you, yourself have any associations with tigers? with cats? with stripes? with things sneaking up on you? with things that are quiet?

Here's what I read: "...tigers approaching me to kill or following me with silent step." Pay attention to EVERYTHING in the dream. Even different meanings to words (or puns), This may have nothing to do with THIS dream, but, for example, if there are "dangerous silent steps" I would investigate any staircase that your subconscious picked up on, that your consciousness doesn't know about. Is there a bad step in that staircase? Are you making a wrong step in your life? What silent steps have been made where you can't even see them? ... anyhow, you get the point of that exercise.

Now on to the tiger. Instead of thinking "tiger means ..." what does the idea of THIS tiger mean to you? Was it old or young? Sleak or scraggly? Male or female? Beautiful or not? If it WASN'T stalking you, if it was safe in a zoo, would you admire it?

Carl Jung spoke of all the elements of the dream having claim to the person dreaming in addition to the character of the dreamer IN the dream. So since (if it were MY dream) Sandy is being pursued by a tiger, "I also am a tiger ... who can step silently. I am graceful and proud and strong. I will take care of myself. I will survive! I will catch up to Sandy to keeps trying to avoid me. I won't let her avoid me."

That is called "doing a Gestalt". Gestalt means the Whole. The dream as a whole is both the one pursued and the pursuer, the soft, silent feet (and perhaps claws?) the ground being walked on, the environment we're in, etc. The method of "Gestalting" is to "become" each element by describing the new self from within, as if the dream belonged to that character. The storyline of the dream may change (SURPRISE!). The tiger may have something very powerful to tell the Saki character. It needs to be in earnest or the Gestalt isn't being done properly. You need to REALLY empathize with the new character just for the exercise. It's very hard to do. A moment ago they were the villain.

I cannot tell you the meaning of your dream. No one should. A dream and its meaning belong to the dreamer alone. I will tell you that I firmly believe every dream is a benevolently intended message ...whether it comes in the form of a sweet package or as a horror.

When I work with a client we do dreamwork in a variety of ways, and one of them is Gestalt. I invite you to consider learning more about this subject by visiting the website of the International Association for the Study of Dreams: http://www.ASDreams.org

After 9-11 we had a Nightmare Hotline and I'm not sure if it's still available, but you may find more answers there. Also, DreamTree is a very good site online. I will mention some good authors below.

Also, I have one of my articles online. It deals with honoring the dream once you have figured its meaning and want to drive its message home. http://www.worlddreamspeacebridge.org/sanarticle.htm

Answer 3

To see a tiger in your dream, represents power and your ability to exert it in various situations. The dream may also indicate that you take more of a leadership role. Alternatively, the tiger represents female sexuality, aggression, and seduction.

To dream that you are attacked by a tiger, symbolizes repressed feelings or emotions that frighten you.

To see a caged tiger in your dream, suggests that your repressed feelings/emotions are on the verge of surfacing.

Try to think about what is going on in your life right now, and why this tiger is showing up now. Once you face it in your dreams or waking life, the tiger will most likely leave you alone.

Answer 4

Lay off the caffeine, write down your daily events in a journal, get a nice bath just before bed and avoid any violent films or people for a while. If you are on any prescription pills, research them. Do peaceful things before sleeping like listen to calming music, have a massage, sleep nude, chew some valarian root. Something in your life is disturbing you and it's apparent in your dreams. If you take meds, that might be your problem.

Answer 5

I like the idea of melatonin. Also, some tips to getting good sleep. No caffiene 8 hrs before sleep and no alchohol 3 -4 hrs before sleep at least not everyday - These to affect your REM stages and can cause your stages to get screwed up. No eating 3 hrs before sleep- eat your dinner like at 6pm if you go to bed at 9pm. You may have anxiety issues, see your MD about maybe getting like Ambiem (sp) take it once in a while (PRN) - as needed, this will cause a sounder sleep, remember- we remember our dreams when we wake up to them, even if we dont remember waking up at night. Also, dont watch anything bad on TV before bed, no discovery channel in your case or horror movies. Also, dont fall asleep with the TV on, and make sure your room is very quite. Any stimuli can affect your sleep. Hope this helps
Mike RN

Answer 6

You should see a therapist or doctor about this. A therapist can help you figure out why you are having the dreams and a doctor may be able to give you medication to help you sleep better in the meantime.

Answer 7

ambien is better than mentalon b/c you just fall asleep adn wake up so fast the 9 or 8 hours of sleep you got only feels like 3 seconds. and you dont dream anything.

Answer 8

Get a life and quit whinning cause you don't know what sleeping pills are. Also what ya got a guilty concience about. Oh yeah a tiger stalking you in a dream means mutilation. Who have you made mad?

Answer 9

Try melatonin. It is a over the counter drug that helps people get some sleep.....
Good luck and use it only when you need it....

Answer 10

Hmmm. Go learn about tigers.