How do you stop yourself from dreaming...my mind keeps tricking me in my sleep!?

Question

For years I have had these dreams/visions of a spider on a web coming at me while I am sleeping. The thing is as it happens, I don't think I am sleeping and it is a vision of my dark room...I jump up, flip the light on and realize it was a dream. My boyfriend has witnessed this, which only has helped me confirm there is infact no spider, but it is really embarrassing. The other night it happened and I saw a cat climbing out of a shopping bag. I start hitting my boyfriend to wake up because there was a black cat in the room, finally I realized it was my head messing with me again...I think my eyes are open when this happens...am I dreaming, how do I stop this...it is getting worse and worse. I have nightmares often, and I can deal with those...but these visions are really causing me stress...my heart beats so fast it makes me feel so stressed out, not to mention, now it is embarrasing...I really was sitting up in bed hitting my boyfriend about an imaginary cat! HELP ME STOP THIS!

Lol, I actually have been praying for good dreams...I thought I was weird for doing that, but nice to hear it from somewhere else.

Answer 1

There's a simple explanation. You have hypnogogia, and it's harmless.

There is a sequence of things that happen when you sleep and dream, and sometimes in some people it screws up. The usual order is, you fall asleep, your body shuts off so you don't hurt yourself when you dream, you dream, you stop dreaming, your body turns back on, and you wake up. In some people, it goes a little wrong. In your case, the dream sequence doesn't quite shut off before you wake up. The dreams are of spiders or something scary, like a black cat, because it's coming from the deepest, oldest part of your brain.

When it happens, just tell yourself that it will stop in a minute or two, and it will. I have hypnogogia, and I often see bugs. It really is harmless, don't stress over it.

Answer 2

Please, talk with your doctor about this one. You should also insist on a referral for a sleep study. That means an overnight or longer stay in a hospital-based or free standing sleep clinic, wired about 20 or so different ways, with every measurement being recorded. You will also be videotaped to assist in this study, but you can say no to that one.

These measurements will be analyzed by doctors who specialize in sleep disorders and they will report back to the doctor who sent the referral. This analysis will take a month or more. But it may help to figure out what precisely is happening to cause these dreams. Figuring that out is the first step in doing something about it.

Answer 3

Is it embarassing for you because your boyfriend witnesses it? If he thinks your crazy and doesn't help you, you shouldn't be together. talk to your doctor. change your sleeping place. your boyfriend should be of some comfort to you. analyze something you love to study as your falling asleep. i hope you sleep better soon.

Answer 4

Here is some information I have found for you on the web. Hope this will help you!! Good Luck!

Since the early 20th century, human sleep has been described as a succession of five recurring stages: four non-REM stages and the REM stage. A sixth stage, waking, is often included. Waking, in this context, is actually the phase during which a person falls asleep. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is marked by extensive physiological changes, such as accelerated respiration, increased brain activity, eye movement, and muscle relaxation. People dream during REM sleep, perhaps as a result of excited brain activity and the paralysis of major voluntary muscles.


What is a nightmare?
A nightmare is a very distressing dream which usually forces at least partial awakening. The dreamer may feel any number of disturbing emotions in a nightmare, such as anger, guilt, sadness or depression, but the most common feelings are fear and anxiety. Nightmare themes may vary widely from person to person and from time to time for any one person. Probably the most common theme is being chased. Adults are commonly chased by an unknown male figure whereas children are commonly chased by an animal or some fantasy figure.
Who has nightmares?
Just about everyone has them at one time or another. The majority of children have nightmares between the ages of three or four and seven or eight. These nightmares appear to be a part of normal development, and do not generally signal unusual problems. Nightmares are less common in adults, though studies have shown that they too may have nightmares from time to time. About 5-lO% have nightmares once a month or more frequently.
That causes nightmares?
There are a number of possibilities. Some nightmares can be caused by certain drugs or medications, or by rapid withdrawal from them, or by physical conditions such as illness and fever. The nightmares of early childhood likely reflect the struggle to learn to deal with normal childhood fears and problems. Many people experience nightmares after they have suffered a traumatic event, such as surgery, the loss of a loved one, an assault or a severe accident. The nightmares of combat veterans fall into this category. The content of these nightmares is typically directly related to the traumatic event and the nightmares often occur over and over. Other people experience nightmares when they are undergoing stress in their waking lives, such as difficulty or change on the job or with a loved one, moving, pregnancy, financial concerns, etc. Finally, some people experience frequent nightmares that seem unrelated to their waking lives. These people tend to be more creative, sensitive, trusting and emotional than average.
What can be done about nightmares?
It really depends on the source of the nightmare. To rule out drugs, medications or illness as a cause, discussion with a physician is recommended. It is useful to encourage young children to discuss their nightmares with their parents or other adults, but they generally do not need treatment. If a child is suffering from recurrent or very disturbing nightmares, the aid of a therapist may be required. The therapist may have the child draw the nightmare, talk with the frightening characters, or fantasize changes in the nightmare, in order help the child feel safer and less frightened .


The nightmares which repeat a traumatic event reflect a normal psychic healing process, and will diminish in frequency and intensity if recovery is progressing. If after several weeks no change is noted, consultation with a therapist is advisable.


Adults' nightmares offer the same opportunity as other dreams for self-exploration and understanding. With practice, the dreamer can often learn to decode the visual and symbolic language of the dream and to see relationships between the dream and waking life. The nightmare by nature is distressing, however, and the dreamer may need to reduce the distress before looking more closely at the meaning of the dream. Some techniques for reducing the distress of the nightmare include writing it down, drawing or painting it, talking in fantasy to the characters, imaging a more pleasant ending, or simply reciting it over several times. The more relaxed the dreamer can be while using these techniques the better. A number of good books are available for learning how to understand dreams. Alternately, the dreamer may wish to ask a therapist for assistance.


Sometimes nightmares are related to intense stress or emotional conflict that is best dealt with in consultation with a therapist. One should not hesitate to consult a therapist when in doubt.


It may be surprising to learn that many people are not really disturbed by their nightmares, even though the experiences themselves are distressing. Research has shown that about half of people who have quite frequent nightmares regard them as fascinating and creative acts of their minds, and either view them as very interesting or dismiss them as "just dreams". This illustrates the fact that one's attitude toward nightmares is quite important.
What about night terrors?
Night terrors are something quite different. Nightmares tend to occur after several hours of sleep, screaming or moving about is very uncommon, the dream is usually elaborate and intense, and the dreamer realizes soon after wakening that he or she has had a dream. Night terrors, on the other hand, occur during the first hour or two of sleep, loud screaming and thrashing about are common, the sleeper is hard to awaken and usually remembers no more than an overwhelming feeling or a single scene, if anything. Nightmares and night terrors arise from different physiological stages of sleep. Children who have night terrors also may have a tendency to sleepwalk and/or urinate in bed. The causes of night terrors are not well understood. Children usually stop having them by puberty. They may be associated with stress in adults. A consultation with a physician may be useful if the night terrors are frequent or especially disturbing.

Answer 5

you could try not eating before you go to bed, sometimes stress with manifest its self in your dreams so try exercising to relieve stress, and go to bed at the same time.

Answer 6

Go on vacation or keep on changing the sleeping place till the problem ends

Answer 7

I dont think you can but maybe try preying for good dreams instead of nightmares