False Memories

**Robot_Butler** · 08-09-2012 06:59 PM

Last night, I had a boring dream about going to dinner, and then driving back to my apartment. Standard driving dream with an unresponsive car.

The scary part happened after I woke up. I was laying in bed, thinking about the dream. I was thinking about how much I miss living downtown. I loved that apartment and all the fun times I had in it. I remember how excited I was when I first moved in. I was thinking about how much more fun it would be to live there now that so many new restaurants and bars have opened up.

I never lived in an apartment downtown. I realized this a few minutes later, and it felt like I had to fight off these fake memories. It was a real mental struggle to convince myself it was not real. It is scary, because none of these memories were from the dream, directly. They all appeared after I woke up. I invented this whole back story for the dream, and was totally convinced it was real.

**Starlia** · 08-09-2012 07:14 PM

I would love to hear how to determine false memories. I have many memories of being hit and punched as a child but my entire family don't remember any of it happening to me and tell me my memories are false. Caused much trouble and pain. I wonder if hypnotherapy can help. By going back to my child hood.

**Azubiu** · 08-10-2012 12:13 AM

I'd imagine this is the same concept of having "Deja vu" in dreams. Where you're in a building you've never even seen before, but you remember being there. I always thought that "false memory" was created from a forgotten dream. As if you had already experienced, in your case "moving in for the first time" in another dream, but never remembered it. Or even in the same dream, but you don't remember dreaming of it, you just remember that you were there earlier. It would seem as this memory was all made up, but you've just brung back a memory from a dream you never remember having. Sorry if that doesn't make sense, it's hard to explain

**Solar** · 08-10-2012 02:23 AM

What I think would be interesting is if you found this apartment and see if any more memories come out of it...

**Starlia** · 08-10-2012 08:07 AM

just telling yourself a sentance like when i was younger i was lost in the mall enough times will create a false memory maybe this is similar.

**Beefer** · 08-10-2012 10:41 PM

I have sometimes false memories inside my dreams. Like today I was in that big house with my friend and I asked him if he remembered the last time we were there , even though such a thing never happened even in my dreams (at least not that I remember so

).

**Robot_Butler** · 08-10-2012 11:20 PM

Originally Posted by Azubiu

As if you had already experienced, in your case "moving in for the first time" in another dream, but never remembered it. Or even in the same dream, but you don't remember dreaming of it...

That is interesting. I think it is a possibility.

Conversely, maybe I was still lightly dreaming after I woke up. Maybe I slipped into one of those light NREM dreams where your thoughts wander and seem to spark little narratives. It felt like I was remembering, but maybe I was really dreaming it up as I went along.

**Krinks** · 08-11-2012 07:36 AM

I've had this happen only once, where I had a dream about an old high school friend of mine. She and I were very close all through school, and lost touch when we went to university. Years later, we got back in touch through Facebook, and met up for dinner a few times. She's married to a nice guy and has two great kids, and I'm married myself now. I once had a dream that we were at her house talking, and ended up having sex together. It was the kind of sex that close friends have, that doesn't lead to anything else, but brings them closer as friends. When I woke up, I was convinced that this had actually happened at some point in the past and had to consciously remind myself that she and I never slept together. It's an odd feeling, and I don't remember any other time when this has happened to me. It's interesting to know I'm not the only one!

**Ewan** · 08-12-2012 01:53 PM

I think false memories occur mostly when you keep telling yourself it happened or you become really immersed in it.

**Coolb3rt** · 08-13-2012 01:12 AM

That sounds pretty cool, I've had some things like that happen before, not that much but somewhat like that.
I always (always) have dreams that I feel like i've done it before. Happens probably almost every night, at one point in the dream I am like, I am doing this again so I am going to do it differently this time. But it ends up that I never did it before.
Anyways, I think if you try to remember specific memories and then see how they compare to your actual memories or things that have been happening in real life lately you could figure out why you thought you lived there. One time I thought that I had a friend I never had in real life. Sucks because we were such good friends.. at least I think we were.. It was all a false memory so I can't be sure hehe