A link between depression and bad dreams?

All my life, the only dreams I've ever had have been bad dreams. As I've gotten older, I have started drawing parallels with constantly having bad dreams, and the fact that my mind is constantly filled with negative feelings, like fear, loneliness, and bitterness. I find it hard to fathom that there is no correlation between me having all these negative feelings and emotions, and the fact that I regularly have bad dreams.

I guess what I want to know, is whether there is actually a proven link between bad dreams and things like depression. But to me it just makes sense, that if you're feeling bad all the time, surely this would translate also to your subconcious mind whilst you are dreaming.

So, is there a link between depression and bad dreams? Or is it simply a weird coincidence that I keep having these bad dreams all the time?

 

Hi Invisible Soul, I believe there's a link but have no proof - howsoever wouldn't ask for one but just go and work with those dreams and take them as a great chance, and key to disentangle some of what feels like knots.

Like, starting a dream journal.

Good luck !

 

I 'm wondering ... why don't you post one of yr dreams here?

others may interpret your dream in ways that make sense for you ... and maybe help you find the source of yr depression!

I also wonder ... is your depression 'diagnosed' ... or is 'depression' your description of the way you mostly feel?

 

Mainly because most of my dreams are chaotic, outlandish, and difficult to put into any kind of context, even by myself. There's also times when I have difficulty in remembering my dreams. This doesn't always happen though. It's strange, cos sometimes I can recall dreams more or less in their entirety, and have vivid memories of them. But some dreams, I can only remember bits and pieces from, but not the whole dream. And other times, I struggle to recall anything from a dream at all. I'm not sure if this is normal, or not. But maybe I will post one of my dreams here if I can recall enough of it to write down.

In fact, I've been meaning to make this specific thread for a while, but just took it upon myself now to do so. I actually had another bad dream last night, and made this thread just 10 minutes later. lol

As for my depression, yes, I have been diagnosed with depression. Although I was fully aware that I had it before I was given any medical diagnosis for it.

@Moving_cloud: I had it in my mind a couple of years back to start a "dream journal", but I never really got round to starting it. I do remember writing down a couple of my dreams down though from round about that time. And thank you.

 

thanks for yr reply.

so yr dreams are hard to 'pin down'?

and seems chaos is a general theme?

is it that yr thoughts are as chaotic as yr dreams?

can you say WHAT it is about yr dreams that make them 'bad' for you? is there horror ... or fear ... or violence?

I ask because I 'm looking for a theme. what is it about yr dreams that make them similar? does the same image appear in different dreams?

Oh, and I was wondering about yr username: why is yr soul invisible?

cheers!

 

yeah dreams usually have stuff in common with my life and the way i think. For example i keep dreaming about driving wayy too fast and almost crashing, and i fantasize about that kinda thing all the time in real life, and been playing a lot of my new forza horizon game lately that games fuckin crazy. But ya my dreams have been sick as fuck lately haha.
That sucks invisible, youd think if you were really depressed then at least sleep would be a good escape, so you dont even have that then thats fucked im sorry.

 

i'd be very interested to know if there was a correlation between depression and having no (or being unable to remember any) dreams. i had a bout of depression a while back which was fairly unpleasant and stopped dreaming completely. in fact these days i only seem to dream when i've had a particularly pleasant day...

 

^^^ This has been my experience also

 

I always hear people say that smoking weed makes you stop dreaming. I am living proof that is not true.

 

nah smoking weed just makes you forget most of ur dreams.

 

I've heard that dreams are a reflection of your subconscious.
Study them for self-analysis. They might seem weird and chaotic but if you write them down and study them it will start to make sense.
I don't believe in books that tell you what your dreams mean. I think it is something you have to figure out for yourself.

 

Well, they're not always hard to pin down. Sometimes the meaning of a dream is completely obvious to me, in that I can understand why I'd be dreaming of those specific things. Other dreams are completely chaotic, and make little sense to me.

About exactly what it is that makes my dreams bad, it usually is at least one of those things you mentioned, and sometimes, it's all 3.

There isn't really a common theme in my dreams, except that elements such as fear, violence, horror, and sometimes chaos are always present in all my dreams. Sometimes not all those elements will be present in the same dream, but at least one of them always will be. Rejection is also sometimes an element in my bad dreams.

I dunno if I'd describe my thoughts as "chaotic", but my life has never been stable, or settled, my mind is always on edge. And I guess that could be the trigger for the more chaotic elements of my dreams.

As for my username... well, I've always felt like I'm invisible to other people. I feel like my soul is trapped in a cage from which there is no escape.

I have actually often said that, that even when I'm asleep I can't escape from the nightmarish things that plague my life when I'm awake. It's like the bad feelings follow me everywhere I go, even in sleep I can't escape from them.

Thank you for the kind vibes.

 

thanks for sharing ...

so you're seeing yr dream life is more or less the same as yr 'real' life ...?

do you mind me asking:

when you say "... felt like I 'm invisible to other people" do you mean you feel Worthless?"

and when you say "... my soul is trapped in a cage" do you mean you can't open up to Others ... or trust Others?

and does "...bad feelings follow me everywhere I go" mean you often feel afraid?

I ask because I 'm trying to understand, you dig?

answer when yr ready ...

 

For what it is worth, I've read that most people--depressed or otherwise--tend to have or remember more bad dreams than good dreams.

It would seem to make sense that depressed people have more bad dreams, but bad dreams aren't necessarily connected to depression.

 

There are definite links between depression and the content of your dreams. People suffering from depression typically have greater than normal activation of the amygdala during sleep. The amygdala is involved, among other things, in the processing of fear and aggression, and is instrumental in recognizing fear and aggression in other people. This means that a person suffering from depression is more likely to have their fear centers activated during sleep, and are therefor more likely to have or recall negatively emotionally charged dreams.

People with depression typically also have extended R.E.M. sleep, with reduced deep stage sleep. Recent research suggests that negatively emotionally charged dreams tend to occur during R.E.M. This also explains why many depressed people feel exhausted even after 8 hours of sleep: R.E.M. sleep is one of the least restful stages of sleep, and a person who spends most of their sleep cycle stuck in R.E.M is likely to wake up feeling emotionally and physically exhausted. Interesting side note, extreme cases of depression are sometimes treated temporarily through sleep deprivation.

 

It has to be a vicious cycle. When you are in a shitty state of mind you would have shitty dreams, no?

 

there is certainly a parallelism, but i don't believe the link is entirely causal, in any long term clinical sense.

 

Without a doubt there's a link (IMO). I have been living with clinical depression for 35 years. And because of the bad dreams I have each night, I wake up several times, so I'm usually totally exhausted during the day.

I honestly cannot remember the last time I had a good dream? Maybe when I was still in my early teens? Anyway, sorry to hear this is happening to you. You deserve better.

QP

 

Do you think it would help to take something to put you to sleep intermitently so you can rest up and break the cycle?

 

Actually, I am taking something for anxiety (which my doctor claims is supposed to also help me sleep). It does help somewhat. At least I'm not waking up every thirty minutes.

QP