Help! My friend can't sleep!!!?

Question

I have a friend who is plagued by horrible nightmares. She often wakes up gasping for breath and sweating profusely. This causes her to miss quite a bit of sleep, which as a full time student is a valuable commodity. She says that if you die in a dream you die in real life. ( I wouldn't know because every time I'm killed in a dream, I never die - like I'm still "awake" in the dream and the people around me refer to me as dead. They're like: "Too bad you're dead.")
But I really need a seious answer to this question because my friend is doing everything she can to get some sleep. She listens to calming music, watches funny or happy movies before she goes to sleep (she even lets them play while she sleeps but that doesn't help). Is there anything she can do to keep from having these dreams? What about the dieing in real life thing? Is that just a myth? She has no other sickness so I don't think that she would die from a nightmare. Help! Seeing her freaked out is freaking me out!

Answer 1

According to Dreamcrowd:

To dream that you die in your dream, symbolizes inner changes, transformation, self-discovery and positive development that is happening within you or in your life. Although such a dreams may bring about feelings of fear and anxiety, it is no cause for alarm and is often considered a positive symbol. Dreams of experiencing your own death usually means that big changes are ahead for you. You are moving on to new beginnings and leaving the past behind. These changes does not necessarily imply a negative turn of events. Metaphorically, dying can be seen as an end or a termination to your old ways and habits. So, dying does not always mean a physical death, but an ending of something. On a negative note, to dream that you die may represent involvement in deeply painful relationships or unhealthy, destructive behaviors. You may feeling depressed or feel strangled by a situation or person in your waking life. Perhaps your mind is preoccupied with someone who is terminally ill or dying. Alternatively, you may be trying to get out of some obligation, responsibility or other situation. To see someone dying in your dream, signifies that your feelings for that person are dead or that a significant change/loss is occurring in your relationship with that person. Alternatively, you may want to repress that aspect of yourself that is represented by the dying person.
Try posting your dream on Dreamcrowd for a free interpretation.

Answer 2

My mother and grandmother died in their sleep of heart failure. Neither mentione dreams. I believe it's an old wives tale otherwise we'd have a slew of people dying with no reason. She and you are in the panic stage. Once you go without sleep (usually there is a precursor like stress, eating late, drinking alcohol-which is a depressant but not a good sleep aid or staying up late for 3 or 4 days studying) for a few nights, you begin to fear not being able to sleep thus making it true, a form of self hypnosis really. Tell her to take a nice hot bubble bath, get into bed and take 2 tylenol pm pills and read a boring book, she'll sleep. Everyone should sleep the same hours and the same amount of hours each night. I sleep 9 hrs now. When I was younger I slept less and was stressed to the max. (I would also advise a talk with the campus nurse)

Answer 3

Levi has a good answer above, but I'll add my 2 cents.

Something is really bothering your friend and professional help is a good start to finding out what.

No, dying in a dream does not mean your own death is imminent. Dreams don't foretell the future.

But they do tell you stuff about yourself that your conscious mind might not realize. In dreams, dying is a symbol of separating from something, like an important relationship or a certain way of viewing the world. It means something is changing in your friend's life, and from her response you described, I'd say this is a change that she is not exactly welcoming.

But to say that "if you die in a dream you will die in real life," is only true to the extent that all of us will die one day in real life.

Answer 4

if she listens to a CD before she goes to bed that usually helps me not dream at all, for i am too like cursed with weird dreams. its horrible. no the myth that is u die in ur dream u die in real life is just a myth...nothing else. i died in my dream four times. all of them which i also see the ppl around me dieing. dont worry ur friend just needs to learn teh differnmce between dreams and reality

Answer 5

I used to be like that, I had a lot of anxiety going on in my life and I couldn't sleep and when I did I had nightmares. I eventually went to my doctor and they had me go in to do a sleep study, thankfully there was nothing physically wrong with me, but I did have anxiety do to being over worked and over stressed (ironically I was in college too! at that time). Anyways I have since learned to cope and thankfully I am able to get pretty good sleep nowadays! :) Tell her it is very important because lack of sleep can cause weight gain and other very serious health issues, unfortunately I didn't go to the doctor until mine got very bad! But if she can catch the problem early enough it will be much easier for her to fix it! So get her to go to the doctor ASAP!!! She could also have sleep apnea- or depression- but they will check for these too at the doctor's, so just make sure she goes!!!!

Answer 6

first of all, you said it yourself. you die in your dreams, and always wake-up. i, on the other hand, get like your friend sometimes. i often wake-up thinking someones in my house with guns, or even more stupid, video cameras. i don't know how to stop them, either, they just happen. i do all the same things your friend does, and it doesnt help. i do have a husband, so i am able to wake him up. i have had to on several occasions, and even made him go check out the house. nothing. i hope you and your friend figure something out, though. maybe see about taking a sleeping aid. just a thought. good luck.

Answer 7

shall we say 1 2 freddy's commen for u 3 4 better lock your door 5 6 get your crucifix 7 8 better stay up late
come on guys havent you seen all the nightmare on elm street movies

Answer 8

If you die in a nightmare, you wake up at the point of the dream death.

Answer 9

To me it sounds like your friend is way too stressed out and needs to have a relax. I have never died after dreaming it, she needs to just realise that dreams aren't real and to not fret about it

Answer 10

I think something is bothering your friend, I mean emotionally. She needs to figure it out though.

Or she could see a psychologist. I'm sure he/she can help her the most.

About the dying part, I'm not sure...I don't believe those kind of things anyway.