SERIOUS ANSWERS only please?

Question

I had been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder several years ago, and am on meds for it. That said, I had an anxiety attack today, out of no where. As you know the exhaustion it can cause, I laid down to take a nap. I had a dream within a dream. Originally, my grand daughter and I were playing something, and I awoke to her lying next to me, and I laughed about it. Then, a family of 5 ( parents and 3 kids ) burst into my home. I knew that they wanted to kill us. I don't know where the knIves came from, but I had about 5 in my hands, determined to kill them ( including kids) before I let them hurt my g.daughter. But, the adults grabbed us both & separated us very quickly. I was unable to use the knives, they took them away from me, cutting my hand deeply as they took them.I have NEVER even thought of hurting a child, but I was ready to. I awoke feeling remorse for my thoughts , and fear. ( ? )
If there are any psychiatrics or MD's here, please try to help me understand. WHAT???

Answer 1

I wouldn't be to concerned about this because dreams are our mind's way of sorting things out and are to be taken as symbolic rather than literal.
I'm sure you never would harm someone but your anxiety attack possibly triggered something in your sub conscious and it manifested as this dream. The dream seems symbolic of being threatened and powerless. Your granddaughter (in the dream) could even have symbolized yourself, your child-self which you were trying to protect.
Have you been having issues lately with your kids? This could be a reason that they got mixed up in this dream.

Don't be hard on yourself; you were tired and stressed and it's not unusual to have nightmares at times like that. If you're seeing a therapist you can give him or her a call and talk it out with them, it might help you feel better.

Take care of yourself :)

Answer 2

We cannot put too much attention on our dreams, they are just an escape route for our brains to cope with every day living.

I think you should feel good that when you awoke you were relieved that you had not done anything wrong, and it was just a dream. You must remember that you never would consider hurting any child and it was good that you felt remorse; can you just image what you would feel if it really happened?

It was just a dream, remember that and put it behind you. Don't dwell on it. Instead, fill your mind with happy things, read books about happy events. Find a video of comedy and tell your self before you fall asleep; "What would I do if I could win the lottery of $!40 million". Then dream about that.

I am sorry you have Anxiety and I hope your meds will help you get through this tough period in life.

Granny

Answer 3

This says "you love your grandaughter!"
Dreams are not always "hidden plans" of future events. It sounds as though you may have been placed in a situation that you had more responsiblity for you grandchild and the dream would be associated with that.

The Meds issue is a different factor all together. Have you had a change in your routine where your doing more or doing less. Yur body's metabolism has a lot to do with that and the results may need an adjustment in meds. Go to your doctor if the depression continues.

Answer 4

First - Don't feel bad about your dream. I think that I know what it means, but it would be more helpful if I knew more about you and your life. I think it means that you really, really love your grandaughter. You are completly comfortable with her being with you all of the time. You are afraid that some people are going to take her away from you. These people are people that you and your grandaughter know, or maybe know about, but have never saw. I don't know how old you G.daughter is, but maybe she is under 5 years old, getting close to time to start school, and when she does it is going to hurt you so very bad. (with sadness) The cut symbalizes the sadness. Your hand was cut - preventing you from reaching out to her and keeping her safe. Don't worry about her starting school. I am sure she will be fine. You will probably be very sad at first, but it will get better. Dreams are crazy sometimes and I am sure you probably think that I am crazy right now!!! I have been doing dreams - if that's what you want to call it for 16 years. I hope that I have helped you.

Answer 5

I'm not a doctor, but I do know that sometimes when we are under serious stress or life changes, our bodies react and it can effect our dreams and sleep cycles. Stress, anxiety, and fear are very powerful things and it sounds like you have been struggling with them a lot especially recently. Managing an anxiety disorder involves keeping up with a therapist and psychiatrist in order to find the right combination of medication and therapy that works for you. I am glad to hear that you are seeking help, because nobody deserves to feel like they are being held hostage by an illness that can be treated.

Answer 6

Dreams are like stories more then they are like YOUR story. Meaning in every day life, your perceptions and reactions are subjective to the context you find yourself in. In dreams, not only are you the subject, but the object (context) as well. You are the set, setting, story, characters (all of them), etc. So it is not that you would hurt a child, but you can concieve of a story where one is hurt (threatened). Also, keep in mind that neural fireing patterens during dreams are purposed to enchance and store information learned during the day. The perceptions you experience while the neural relationships are being "updated" are perceptions that come about as a products of the delta (change) taking place, not thoughts native to your personality. For example, say neuron A talks to neuron B, and neuron B listens to what A says 80% of the time during normal awareness. When you are asleep, however, the rules change and a different fireing pattern is fired, say B only listens 10%, because it helps store the days information from short term memory to long term. These circuts/connections aren't normally used, so thoughts/experiences foreign to you are surfaced. Hope this helped

Answer 7

I am 27.Dreams are dreams,with that said let me tell you that anxiety can cause you to have some crazy dreams!! I have been struggling with anxiety attacks but I haven't been diagnosed with G.A.D. like you.I have noticed that anxiety attacks will usually cause you to have nightmares if you are lucky enough to fall asleep after one.Worry can cause you to have bad dreams too.I will have a day where I will have uncontrollable worry and endup having an anxiety atack and will have nightmares all night,so I think it's definatelty related to anxiety.Medications that you take for anxiety can cause bad dreams too.

Answer 8

you felt remorse because you know killing is wrong and that wanting to kill someone is wrong (sounds like you have more common sense than most of our Supreme Court judges, but that's another matter). .

you did nothing wrong, even tho' you maybe had wrong thoughts and desires during the dream. .

I have done the same thing, awakened from a dream feeling guilty and ashamed, but we really aren't responsible for what we do or think during a dream. .

(there is a teensy weensy bit of responsibility, but not anything like real responsibility, so don't sweat it).

This isn't something I would urge you seeing a shrink about. The fact that you know what's right and wrong is obvious in your question, so I don't think you have much to worry about.

God bless you.

Answer 9

You simply have a fear of things "spiraling out of control." Which is an honest and true fear, since NONE OF US is ever IN CONTROL, ever. We seem in control, but if we stepped back far enough, we'd see just how random things in life really were.

However, you've made it THIS FAR IN LIFE SAFELY!!! Realize that this alone makes your fears UNFOUNDED and that your granddaughter IS SAFE with you, there are no people trying to break in, your dream was just a "reflection" of your unconscious fears. Let them GO! As the Serenity Prayer says, "let us recognize the things we can change and the wisdom to know the difference." You irrational fear of break in is one of those things. Let it go, make your home safer by locking the windows and locking your doors when you come in. That's ALL YOU CAN DO.

From there on out, its out of your hands, if prayer helps to lessen anxiety, use it. Take your medication, the next time you see your doctor, I recommend he up your dosage A SMALL (SMALL) AMOUNT to see if this helps with the anxiety. As time goes on, it is only natural for our dosages to change!

Answer 10

Ok, i have had dreams like that and it's hard enough for me to deal and i don't have that anxiety disorder you have, so im sorry. just take some deep breaths and bare with me here, the psychic sylvia browne, i've read tons of her books and watched her on tv but i believe her when she says we've had past lives and sometimes we dream about them, she puts people under hypnosis and they describe things that you have. so im thinking maybe ur disorder comes about in ur life now because it was around the same time something like this has happened in your former life. i hope this helps and im sorry if you don't believe that. i pray you get better and wish you nothing but the best.

Here's a dream analysis i found:
To dream that you are being attacked by someone, signifies questions on your character and the need for you to defend yourself. You are feeling stressed, vulnerable and helpless. You may also be faced with difficult changes in your waking life.
http://www.dreamdictionary.biz/default.asp?pageid=dreamdetail&DreamID=193