Having problems with dream recall

Hello everyone!

So, I started my dream journal about 5 months ago and I was truly amazed by the initial results. After being able to recall maybe one or two dreams per week I started remembering at least one everyday (with some exceptions).

However, this process hasn't been one of continuous improvement... actually there are periods where I might not remember a dream in 3 days straight and I am currently on one of those.

Its quite frustrating and I even have the sensation that I've had a few lucids which I can't remember which is awful!

My questions are... has anyone experienced something similar? how can I improve my dream recall?

Thanks in advance!

Yes. Last month almost every day I was remembering my dreams., I did not remember only 4 days.

This month... I already did not remember 2 days! That is sad, :(

Hey,

Its normal. As a matter of fact, progress in any part of human life is almost never continuous. Ever tried training to run a marathon or some similar athletic feat? Its the same there. There's good days, there's bad days, there's sudden improvement, and there's days where you just need to take a break, rest, recover, and restart fresh a little later.

The latter is especially true if the act of trying to recall dreams has become frustrating or fraught with anxiety 'that you may not remember anything'. There's a risk that your own negative expectations/fears will begin to sabotage your efforts. Often, taking a break (or at least just a break from worrying about it) and letting the anxiety/stress fall away can re-trigger your dream recall.

As for some general tips concerning dream recall:

- Try to write down what you can, even if its just an image, a feeling, or a vague direction ("I think I dreamed about a cat but it could also have been a dog"). Any effort you make is practice for your mind.

- Don't get up too fast or start thinking about the day to come. Give your recall some time. It happens to me quite often that I'd get up, try as I might to recall anything, fail, but just empty my mind for a few minutes, and suddenly five minutes later, when I'm not even thinking about dreams anymore, recall will kick in. The longer you can put off thinking about your day, the more chance that something will trigger.

- Become familiar with your dreams, especially the reccuring dream elements. Simply thinking about these may trigger a dream memory by association.

And ofcourse, look around these forums. There's lots of excellent advice :)

Good luck!

-Redrivertears-

Thanks to both! Glad to know this is common!

Redrivetears, I actually remembered 3 dreams from tonight :)

The part about staying calm for the first few minutes of the day is key I think and I believe thats what I had stopped doing. I work many hours a day and its easy to get caught up in the routine and forget about anything else, but I can definitely spare a few minutes! Today I woke up calmly and the 3 dreams came to me crystal clear, I have vague sensations about one more as well.

The tip about writing any sensation or feeling or just about anything sounds good, I will try that one as well

Anyways, thank you very much for the advice, see you both around in the forums

well i used to remember around 1 dream fragemnt per month but soon as i started dj i remembered around 3-4 within 2 weeks i think and i was amazed. but it seems to be droping slowly and im still not too happy with my recall atm. but dj has definiely helped me

3 more today... one of them was actually Lucid :)

It was very short but awesome!

Cheers! Happy to hear your recall is going well again.

-Redrivertears-

Have a look at my dream recall tips

Recall goes up and down naturally, don't sweat the low times, and just keep up your day practice. Stressing/being anxious about it can help prolong low recall, so stay positive and *know* that your recall will return.

Pay attention to life, as much as possible, always strive for more mindfulness: we remember that to which we pay attention, and our dream selves mirror our wakings selves. So paying attention to life and being mindful leads directly to better dream recall (and promotes lucidity!).