setback - anxiety and thoughts

[aminaismail]

hey everyone, i am currently a bit stressed out..I had a horrible nightmare last night which left me feeling a bit terrified. I had a dream that someone was stalking me and i would always see that person whenever i look at my room window and i went psychotic trying to tell everyone that someone is after me. what really freaks me out is that it still freaks me out and i have a hint of myself that thinks i may have a stalker (even typing that out sounds wrong) I am terrified that i may become psychotic / schizophrenic / paranoid ..someone please help note that i do generally have a fear of being schizophrenic.

[ElJared91]

Sorry to hear that you had such a rough time last night The mind is a curious and amazing creature that can provide us with such happiness, but can also scare the *#*$ out of us as well!! The fact that you recognize that this was only a dream is a great positive, in that you are able to distinguish between reality and fantasy. If you are constantly thinking during the day about thoughts of paranoia, psychosis and schizophrenia, it's only natural that they would seep into your dreams more often than not. A really good tip to always remember: the people who actually think they are going crazy, almost never are and never do! Can you think back to when you started having these aggravating thoughts?? If you haven't already, it might be a great idea to go and talk to your doctor or to a mental health specialist to let them know how you are feeling (and don't leave out any details) so they can formulate a plan of action for the next time you have these intrusive thoughts and nightmares, as well as how you might be able to break the cycle. Never forget: You are not alone in how you are feeling!! Best of luck

[aminaismail in reply to ElJared91]

thanks so much ElJared91 ! that was very comforting to hear, yes i had these thoughts for a while now, right after I learnt about schizophrenia at school in the beginning of this year. It is very challenging mentally and it feels so real I feel terrified to go out at times in the past due to the fear of becoming crazy and doing all sorts of crazy things. hopefully we all find our own ways to end this vicious cycle

[ElJared91 in reply to aminaismail]

You're welcome! When we don't fully understand certain things about ourselves, it can be very easy to become attached to an idea or concept and believe with all our might that this is what we truly are. Try and talk to your doctor or mental health specialist as soon as you can, as they are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to helping people out, or referring them to others who might be able to help. With the right treatment and mindset, we CAN end the cycle!! Hope you have a great rest of your day.

[aminaismail in reply to ElJared91]

i will definitely talk about this to my psychologist because its too much! thanks so much you're too kind

[Hidden in reply to aminaismail]

If you were studying schizophrenia in school at the age of 16-17, I'm surprised, but maybe you started university early. You probably learned that mental health condition usually manifests somewhere between the teenage years and age 30. Maybe subconsciously that fact snuck into your dreams. Practicing dream changing techniques have worked for me, as I have nightmares that are similar in theme.

[ElJared91 in reply to Hidden]

are dream changing techniques the same as lucid dreaming?? I've never tried before, but I'm told it can be very effective.

[Hidden in reply to ElJared91]

Sorry I don't know what lucid dreaming is.

[ElJared91 in reply to Hidden]

Lucid dreaming is when you are able to identify that you are in a dream state and instead of being a passenger to it, you develop the capability to actual control the direction of the dream itself. I'm not sure how rooted in science it is, but it seems like a potentially interesting solution to those who have very vivid and scary/frightening dreams.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid...

[Hidden in reply to ElJared91]

Oh my, Wikipedia . As just about anyone on the planet can manage to edit that site, I see your reservation about it being scientific. Thank you for forwarding the info. The dream changing applied to my PTSD nightmares has changed one and resolved it for me, and I am working on the other one.

[aminaismail in reply to Hidden]

yes! we learned just basic information about it in high-school along with other mental/neurological disorders. it was very interesting however my anxiety took that to a different matter. i didn't know that you could change dream techniques, thats really interesting !

[Hidden in reply to aminaismail]

Yes, dream changing is for real. Used to treat my PTSD nightmares by my neuropsychiatrist.