Dreams/ Nightmares

[Lauragbr]

Have any of you had dreams/ nightmares that incorporate your OCD thoughts? It happened to me last night and it was unsettling, although I feel much better this morning.

[LuvSun]

Yes I have many times

[1125_luna in reply to LuvSun]

Yes I have been having them more recently as well. I end up waking up going over what i did in my dream to make sure it was okay, or that I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s super distressful and causes me to overthink things that didn’t even happen in reality. Just know this is completely normal for someone with OCD. Maybe if you have one, talk to your therapist about the dreams. The dreams usually reflect what you worry about during the day, so if you are usually very distressed during the day, this would make sense.

[Lauragbr in reply to 1125_luna]

Thank you for your response. It definitely related to something I was thinking about before I went to sleep

[deValentin]

Yes, I had a nightmare once where I had to solve a very complex mathematical problem. I couldn't solve it, but I was under extreme pressure to persevere. I couldn't give up trying to find a solution I couldn't find. It was awful and caused me a lot of anxiety. It seemed to have lasted for a long time, and I woke up with what felt like a 'wracked brain'.

The difference is that daytime I never became obsessed with trying to solve a mathematical problem, just existential questions. In your case, it looks like the same OCD contents were involved.

[Lauragbr in reply to deValentin]

Yes, agree!