Can't Sleep, Can't Rest, Can't Close My Eyes!!!

[juroara]

The last week and half have been horrible for me!! I started a new job recently, a really cruddy minimum wage job at some theatre.The job is easy, but long, boring and at times too stressfull for the little money I get with it! over a week ago I was taking a nap, after a long day at work. I close my eyes and I can feel myself drifting off. HI images start to form and soon enough, it takes the form of man. I try to focus on him, remembering that you can WILD during nap times too! Theres a counter in front of me. And then the man asks me "How much is a popcorn??" I snap awake! I couldn't nap or rest. Every time I closed my eyes I was back at work!!! That night I did some breathing excersices and counting to calm myself. Then I decided to give WILD another go. The HIs start to form. People start to appear, and then they start asking. "Can I have a large popcorn please?" "Give me extra butter!!" "A large soda" "I asked for no ice!" "Gimme me a big fat pickle" ......Not again........ It only lasts for a couple of seconds before I start to think "No im not at work!!! Nooo! I dont wanna be here!" Sometimes I snap out of instantly the moment I realize I left work long ago, other times I have to feel the bed with my hands. Anyways, its been happening for several nights now - the images of work keep infecting my HIs! I really wanna try a WILD, but how can I now? From what I understood im not supposed to control the HIs, just let them flow. The moment I see..work...I get so stressed out I dont wanna continue the WILD. But then when I dont continue the WILD, I just fall asleep naturally. And what do you think the first dream of my night is like ME BACK AT WORK! And the dream is such..a deep sleep sorta dream im hardly lucid, hardly aware. The dream is fuzzy, hardly solid. Its only solid enough to give me the message "ITS 3 AM AND YOU'RE STILL AT WORK!" I also had trouble falling asleep naturally last week. One day I went to bed around 1am. And I tossed and turned until the sun came up. And the next night was even worse. I didn't fall asleep at all! I saw the sun come up again, and I felt so drained and exhausted, like I could pass out in bed. You'd think that feeling of passing out would let me fall asleep? No, I still didn't fall asleep, I was still awake hours later when my alarm rang. Time to go to work............. so what can I do if this happens again? I dont do well without sleep! And what can I do about the hypnotic imagery of work? I tried to imagine a forest last night to avoid them, but popcorn started to appear in my forest............. is trying to induce a lucid dream a good or a bad idea when you can't sleep, will it help or make it worse? Are WILDs and VILDs affected by your natural sleep rate, or even Self Suggesting? Such as, it can take me two hours most nights to fall asleep. I dont know what to do. I came here becuase I was having a lucid dream dry spell and decided "I should learn how to induce one!!" instead of letting them naturally happen. But is that possible..if..Im having sleeping problems??

[Awhislyle]

Well, if trying to WILD is stopping you from sleeping, them don't try to wild. If your imagination is keeping you up even when you are trying to sleep normally too, then just try to relax and forget about it. Maybe try to do a relaxation technique during the day or before you go to sleep. Stop worrying about work and let the stress leave your body. I don't know too much about this, but that's what I would try.

[carlhungis]

You may want to look into a sleep aid. Melatonin will put me to sleep, even if I am stressing out. Once you get used to your job, you won't be as stressed and you should start sleeping normally.

[Umbrella]

The fact that you're dreaming and seeing HI of your work all the time indicates that your mind is somehow fixed on your job. If you know why that is, you might be able to find a solution to your problem. After all, we dream about that which stuck with us during the day, and if that is always your job, then that suggests it may be stressing you out a lot. Obviously, I don't know about your specific situation, but based on this, finding a new job doesn't sound like a bad idea. Of course that's easier said than done, and you're looking for a solution that has to do with the dreams. I personally think having a lucid dream would help, because if you could manage to get lucid in a work dream, you might be able to get some insight on why you're always dreaming of work and what can be done about it. However, as said before, I don't think you should try to have WILDs if they make it harder for you to go to sleep. Instead, try being as relaxed as possible when you go to sleep (you might want to try the 61 point relaxation technique or something similar) and hope to have a regular DILD (you might want to tell yourself to do a reality check when feeling stressed out at work to this end).

[carlhungis]

Yeah, you could try to use it to your advantage. Everytime someone orders a popcorn you could do a reality check. You would probably get fired, but hey.... I'm just sayin'

[juroara]

thanks for the advice guys, I am planning to get a new job soon @_@ so I think that will help too

[Bosco]

no you see what you do is you go with it and WILD into a lucid dream at your job then when someone asks for something be like " hell no, go fuck yourself" and then walk out and continue wiht a cool dream

[Amethyst Star]

Well, I think a big thing is to get your mind on something else. I would recommend a book or movie or something that allows you to "escape" from reality. Also, if work is stressing you out, you could try writing down whatever you worry about or dwell on and what you have to remember to do the next day; then don't think about it. It's on paper, so it no longer needs to be in the forefront of your mind. I've had that happen before. You could also just take a vacation. But then again, if you're getting a new job then you don't really have to worry about that

[juroara]

thank you everyone, its been helpful! still struggling though! yesturday I worked from 2pm to roughly 10:30pm. which I hated in that it took up my entire afternoon and evening. So I go to sleep, and I have the intention of having a WILD! I know..I know..I'm being told not to do WILDs before I go to sleep - but after last night I'll be trying it again! I focus on my breathing. I tell myself my worries are in my hand, I let them go. And I focus to turn off the dialogue in my head, which wasn't easy since there was an annoying song stuck up in there. Oh wait..! Thats not a song Its the movie commericals that are always playing at work and the sounds of the game room! And in less than a minute the first ghostly and dark images of work come up. Theyre not solid, but they're there. I try to just observe the HIs..but I started to feel myself losing consciousness, and every time I do I'm behind the register again. No! I tell myself "I'm not here. This is nothing. Illusions". I snap out of it but the HIs are still coming. I try to change the HIs without being an actual character in it. The popper is popping popcorn? I imagine frogs coming out! Someone wants a soda...ooooopss..the soda machine has gone crazy and is squirting everywhere. Magicaly flying popcorn machines? Managers turning into animals? A forest growing out of the register! It went on..and on..and on..and on......and for the longest time I was practically battling the hypnotic imagery. And sometimes I would have to think "I'm not here. This is nothing. illusions" or else I would take part of the HI and lose consciousness. The HIs of the forest were nice and peaceful, but there was one insistant customer. I made his head fall off and still he was asking for popcorn! I was so focusd on the HIs I wasn't expecting what happened next. My hand moved! But it felt like someone else moved it. My hearing turned off, it felt like someone put plugs in them, and my whole body felt numb and fuzzy like it was filled with carbonated water. And the sensations grew more intense, and I felt like my body could float away or sink deep into the ground. And the moment I remembered I was attempting a WILD, I got..just...a LITTLE excited. And it stopped. Everything stopped. The HIs, the sensations. Everything. I was staring at total blackness behind my eyes. No sounds. Nothing. And since my mind is always on fire with some sorta thought - this was very strange!! Did I WILD? No. I did a reality check afterwards. I was still very much in my room. OH WELL! I try the WILD one more time! The HIs waste no time coming back. And the HIs of work grew weaker and weaker and weaker, until finally they disappear completely. The HIs of the forest were dominant. It only took a couple of minutes for the sensations of floating away to come back. And I felt a heavy weight being placed on top of my entire body. But then my cat jumps on my head I push her off, my hands feel like fluff and I can't even feel her fur ************************************************* I have mixed feelings about the whole ordeal! I didn't have a WILD. I lost sleep attempting it. And falling back to sleep naturally wasn't all that easy afterwards. But at the same time, after my two WILD attemps the HIs of work and all thoughts about work were completely GONE. What I like most about the WILD is not becomming apart of the HI. But...I still had dreams last night about OTHER things that are stressing me out. @___@ Should I stop the WILDs on the account I still lose sleep and its yet to work?? Or do I continue the WILD attempts on the account that without it, I lose rest and that one day I might actually have a WILD???

[AdAstra]

I sympathize. When I have a lot on my mind, I often can't lose conciousness. I'll lay in bed awake all night. One night, while tossing and turning, I decided to just get up. I was quite surprised to see that I wasn't in my bedroom. I wasn't in my bed. I had fallen asleep, but my mind wouldn't turn off and I was dreaming that I was trying to fall asleep. I didn't know what to do. I was tired, I didn't feel like flying or dreaming at all, I wanted to just sleep. Even though I was asleep, I woke up just as exhausted as if I had been unable to sleep. This went on for days, even after I realized that I was able to fall asleep, just not get any rest. I'm not saying this is happening to you, but it could be. For me, things like this usually don't just go away. I hope you are able to find a nicer job soon.