Violent Dreams And False Memories

**Avian** · 11-05-2014 03:14 AM

I am looking to have these two trends interpreted, so I will provide as much information as possible.

I have been having a lot of very violent dreams recently. I am not a violent person however. Two such examples are:
The Militia - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views
Platoon Leader - Dream Journals - Lucid Dreaming - Dream Views

These are just two of so many dreams that I have had in the last few weeks, but they are the only ones I really remember. I just know that in these dreams I kill a lot of people without any mercy. It isn't like those dreams where there is a battle and it is like a videogame... no, in these dreams the emotions are really alive. They are super vivid and I feel a lot of real anger. In the first one, I remember that the sky was a brilliant fiery and bloody red, tainted with black from smoke that was rising from the wreckage of the war. In the second dream, when the guy was pointing a gun at me, I didn't feel anything at first. I was just thinking "oh, well I lost I guess". But then the fear and magnitude of the situation hit me. It was real.. my knees were shaking. And I snapped.

Another trend is that I have very strong false memories that last minutes after I wake up. I don't remember any of them specifically now, but I know one time last weekend I woke up thinking about something, and I was confused because it didn't really add up.. and then I slowly started to realize that it was not even real. The thing is, it seemed so real that I was shocked by the fact that it wasn't. I also remember "previous dreams" from within my dreams. Of course, such previous dreams never happened.

These problems aren't actually what is worrying me. I am not worried about becoming a violent psychopath or something, I know what I am and it isn't that. What is worrying me is the root of these problems. The emotions are so powerful and real that the dreams might as well be real. Of course the effect fades after only a few minutes, but if you had talked to me right after one of those dreams I would probably be in the same mindset as someone who had experienced that in real life.

I know there is a lot of stress in my life from school right now, and I know I am changing a lot as a person. But do any of you think there is something deeper to it?

**EamonWill** · 11-05-2014 10:05 AM

Don't worry too much. I also created a post about false memories because they confused and worried me so much. However, I was quickly assured that they were very normal. What I've come to believe is this: Our minds are making up stories in the dream rapidly, but sometimes an element does not make sense, so to keep the story moving our mind creates a new story that we don't act out but instead comes to us in the form of a memory.
We question our short term memories easily, but once they are logged as long term memories we accept them as fact.
We see our dreams as short term memories, but a memory created inside a dream feels like a long term memory. For this reason, the dream memory feels real and unquestionable, even if our rational minds tells us it's not. This creates a conflict in our minds and upsets and confuses us. The best way to deal with this is not to dwell on it. Log your dream in your journal, forget about it, and come back to it in a few days. You should have been able to "reset" your brain in this time and the false memory will no longer feel real.

As for the violence, if you are feeling stressed or threatened in any way (not just physically) this will cue you to resort to your fight or flight instincts and you will begin to practice defending yourself. If you become lucid in a dream like this, show your dream, DCs, and yourself absolute love and acceptance and all violence should end. You may even get answers if you do this and then ask for guidance.

**Avian** · 11-06-2014 02:51 AM

The thing that scares me though is that the violence is not "bad". It is just.. well... violent. And sometimes, I wake up from a violent dream and feel really good, which scares me even more. But again, I am not scared of the violence itself.. I am scared of whatever is causing it.

**Darkmatters** · 11-06-2014 06:54 AM

Sometimes there are actual physiological reasons for things we experience in sleep - your body might be secreting adrenaline or something causing violent dreams, or maybe your amygdala is getting overstimulated - it can cause intense aggression and terror - the real primal animal stuff. I don't know what would cause it to activate like that though. I noticed the dreams you linked had a military theme (did the first one? I thought it did anyway) - were you ever in the armed forces? If so it could be repressed aggression and fear that you pushed down into the subconscious then. Or do you drink a lot of coffee or something caffeinated? Too much can cause aggressive dreams. I just did a quick search for "what can cause intense violent dreams?" and one possible cause is PTSD. It might not be military-related but other things can cause it. Here's the first link that turned up: http://www.aafp.org/afp/2000/0401/p2037.html

I'm also sure there are body-related issues that can cause it. From time to time I've had similar dreams that I'm sure were spawned by ongoing muscle pain or something similar.

**Avian** · 11-06-2014 04:46 PM

Well I am 15, (huge amounts of chemical imbalance/hormones), I have never served in any armed forces, and my diet is fairly healthy. I usually don't consume anything caffeinated except maybe a glass or two of soda. I tend to eat a lot of sugar, but not a crazy amount. I know last year I got some pretty bad depression and I just wanted to die for like 5 months. I don't want to sound melodramatic but that could have caused some sort of PTSD or a similar issue. But again, these dreams don't make me feel traumatized... they make me feel violent. My best guess is that it is a lot of testosterone or some kind of hormone change that is causing me to feel aggressive. I just know that, like many teens, my brain chemistry is way off and it causes some mental problems.