Dreaming . . .

I go through periods where I have very vivid dreams. I will wake up and remember complex plotlines, multiple characters, and millions of little details. I still talk about some of my favorites even years later, dreams that played like movies in my head, and stayed with me long after waking.

Lately, I've been passing into another period of vivid dreaming, and a lot of them haven't been very nice. When I'm stressed, I tend to have nightmares. Vivid nightmares are the worst; I wake upset, and even once I realize the things I saw aren't real. The emotions certainly are. Last night's was a doozy: I was trying to escape from my grandmother's house and I couldn't find the way out. This wouldn't have been such a big deal, but naturally there was someone out there who wanted to hurt me, and they were coming to the house. There was a horrible anxiety in the dream; I could feel time slipping away, knowing at any moment someone could show up who meant me harm. I just kept finding room after room, upstairs, downstairs, and couldn't seem to get out. When I woke, I still felt afraid.

Here's hoping the next few months get a little less stressful, so my dreams can quiet down.