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Dreams intruding on reality
I have always had very vivid and memorable dreams, most of which are completely bizarre and all of which somehow seem to be more real than the waking world. This is all well and good and often a lot of fun, but sometimes I will dream about people I know doing strange things and find my attitude towards them completely changed when I wake up, or I will have an unsettling dream which will leave me with an underlying feeling of fear or sadness or anger all day. I try to tell myself it was just a dream and dismiss it, but the intensity of the feelings often linger all day, despite what I tell myself, so I'll spend the day feeling unnecessarily angry, upset, confused, disgusted, jealous, paranoid etc. etc.
Do you have any advice on techniques to dismiss these feelings? Like meditation or anything at all, to sort of cleanse your mind? It is actually quite a big problem because I have these dreams quite often and I'm sick of my moods being all over the place because of my dang subconscious.
Oh, and I am female, 19yrs old and usually pretty sensible!
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If these feelings are really having such on impact on your waking life, in my opinion, they have moved a bit beyond the 'let's meditate them away' phase and moved into the 'let's talk to a professional' stage.
My best advice to you, in the meantime, is to avoid obsessing at all costs. That means, when you are feeling a certain way, lets say angry with someone, don't think over and over again about the dream, and don't list the reasons you shouldn't be angry with them. Both of those things can reinforce the lingering emotions. Instead repeat something that doesn't address the dreams at all, like "Mary is my friend. I have no reason to be angry with her." Repeat it to yourself whenever the emotions from the dreams crop up, and continue to repeat it to yourself until the feelings passed. Even if you find yourself chanting it, that's okay.
Other then that, with dreams its a bit of trial and error. You might find taking a minute or two before you get out of bed to remind yourself what was a dream might help you banish these emotions (or it might make the obsessing worse, but it's worth a try.) I don't know very much about meditation but I would suggest try making a few small changes in your morning routine. You might stumble on something that helps you reset your emotions for the day, a 10 minute walk, reading a chapter of a book, or taking just a few minutes longer in the shower to relax.
But do think about seeing a professional. If your dreams are regularly interfering with your day to day function, it's time to get some help.
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