What do you think about when you are going to sleep?  Does it carry over into your dreams?

           I have tried to not think of anything before going to sleep for at least the past 15 years or so, it was the only way I could sleep. Thinking about things would always cause insomnia. Your question made me realize I am still doing that sometimes but occasionally I think about the future now. I never dream about anything I've thought about before bedtime.  My dreams are very short and almost always about transitioning topics, mostly peoples reaction to seeing me.


beth

My dreams tend to reflect my emotional state rather than what I'm actually thinking if that makes sense.

Sometimes my dreams need interpreting or at least some thought to determine why I'm dreaming that.

Shelley

My dreams tend to fall into two categories.

1.)  Nightmares  --  My head creates worst case scenario's involving past, present and future.  My life directly intrudes into the content of these.

2.)  Movies  --  I have these incredibly lucid storylines that unfold in my head, wherein, there is a basic plot, characters that develop over the course of the dream, and it is always in vivid colour.  And most importantly, neither I, nor anyone I know is in these dramas.

I never know what is going to happen, the plots don't seem to relate to anything in my life, and neither do the characters. In fact, I had one that was so entertaining last night, that I hated it when I woke up.  It's akin to being in the matrix.

If I could remember and record any of these things after I awake, I could write a novel.   

Dreams are quite interesting. There are "little dreams" which don't seem to have much meaning - just "brain wanderings" and then there are vivid dreams which seem to be a very important reflection of life. I have seen how my own vivid dreams have changed with the phases of my life.

In childhood, my vivid dreams were often about being lost and alone, isolated from my friends.

In adolescence, my dreams were most always about being trapped and trying to escape.

After transition, as a young woman trying to make my way in the world (with the knowledge of just how REAL sex discrimination is!) my vivid dreams were usually about encountering barriers and trying to overcome them, often leading other women in revolt against the status quo. Also, having discovered my own sexual freedom, free of previous restrictions, many of my dreams were about romantic encounters.

In later life, with career success and life in good order, and having been single again for many years I find my dreams are mainly nice dreams, "satisfaction dreams", with a scattering of romantic dreams again.

During those periods when I "return to the TS community" I find some of the old unsettling dreams creep back in. Not nice.....  :-[

My dreams don't have much of a pattern or theme... they're generally really random and weird... I know they were random last night, but I've forgotten them now.

QuoteWhat do you think about when you are going to sleep?

Another world where what I look like matches who I am.
Everything from stupid things like going shopping.
To complex things like my interactions with my parents.
Going to college all over again.
High School.
Dates
Interacting with other people.
The disadvantages I would face.
The differences in challenges.
How my relationships would be different
Children
...
everything, like I said... another world

QuoteDoes it carry over into your dreams?

Yes

Greetings,

I really love to dream.   I always try to recall my dreams when I first awake.  If it is a really nice dream I like to try to recall as much of it as possible.  I think about it during the day and try to make sense of it.   But sometimes I have those Alice in Wonderland type dreams that just seem a little weird and make no sense what-so-ever. 

Frequently my dreams reflect a part of my days activity.  I also frequently try to control my dreams by thinking of something I would like to dream about just before I go to sleep.  Occasionally this works but not often enough.

One recurring type dream I have is that of being someplace and not having something that I need.  Such as going to board a plane and finding out I don't have my ticket.  Or going to class and not having my homework completed.  These are really very unpleasant feelings when they happen in real life.  I have had the homework situation happen a lot when I was going to college.

I usually don't have nightmares that often.  I really hate to have dreams about disasters or anything where people get hurt.

I don't know exactly why we dream but it can be a very pleasant part of a nights sleep.

pleasant dreams everyone,


joanna

I've had some experience with lucid dreaming.  I used to have some success inducing it by giving myself a suggestion before going to sleep.  To my recollection, I haven't had many such dreams recently, nor do I even remember very many of my dreams these days.  But I've just had a thought that has rekindled my interest.

Transforming my dream-body from male (assuming it is male at that point) to female sounds fascinating, fun, and possibly even therapeutic.  I think I'll give it a whirl.

-Celia

Dreams are therapy. I had a recurring dream for years. I was being chased by a Tyranasaurus Rex over a great plane. Ahead was a jungle and I was certain if I just made it to that jungle I could escape. As I broke thru the seeming thicket the other side was a precipice overlooking an enormous lake. The Rex was right behind me and every time, I would jump from that precipice only to awaken at the moment just before hitting the water.

This dream haunted me for years. I would have it once or twice a month at least. When I came out I had the dream again only this time I was running toward the jungle as usual when I stopped turned and faced the T Rex but instead of the T Rex there was only a harmless lizard which scurried away in a panic. Since then I have never had the dream again.

I will leave it to ya'll to figure what that means, I already have a pretty good idea.

Cassie

I know where you are going with your thinking.

Your reality was chasing you!

Pre transition, I was always male in my dreams except when I had insecurity dreams - wasn't prepared for an exam or couldn't find a bathroom. Then I was female.

Since transition, I am trans in my dreams. Even when I have the (less frequent) insecurity dreams.

Dennis

Quote from: Cassandra on November 18, 2005, 11:47:30 PM
Dreams are therapy. I had a recurring dream for years. I was being chased by a Tyranasaurus Rex over a great plane...This dream haunted me for years. I would have it once or twice a month at least...I will leave it to ya'll to figure what that means, I already have a pretty good idea.Cassie

I had a recurring dream--nightmare really--in which I had murdered a woman and then lived with the constant fear of being found out.  This dream would run through the night unlike most dreams and would leave me depressed and anxious the next day.  It occurred with increasing frequency until I came out--it hasn't occurred since.  I don't think this dream requires much interpretation.

Dawn

I often have dreams where a long period of time pass in the dream (days, weeks and sometimes years) ... usually in great detail.  I also have terribly unusual and disturbing dreams sometimes having no logical connection to anything in my everyday life ... although sometimes the issues are blatantly obvious.

The other night I had a dream where my son and I are in a relatively crowded public place (as I am now ... still masculine looking, still have my mustache).  I realize after a short time that I am wearing my nightgown and my slipper socks and I start feeling very uncomfortable, but nobody around me (including my son) seem to notice, or they at least are not reacting to me. 

We step into some doctor's waiting room where the receptionist asked if I had an appointment.  I told her no, but asked if I could use the phone.  I called my wife, explained my situation and asked her to bring me a change of clothes.  Moments later she arrived, but the change of clothes she brought me was a dress and heels.  I changed clothes, but I still felt very self-conscious even though everyone else was acting like everything was normal ...

I awoke after a little bit and felt very anxious and nervous.  When I finally fell asleep again I had a really strange dream that I cannot even start to explain 

Hi Tiffanie,

I've had similar dreams in the past. These dreams usually involve close calls with people I have notyet come out to (I have to say unfortunately there is a few of these).

Shelley

I love dreams and dream analysis.  I've studied several different approaches to interpretation.  The thing that makes interpretation difficult is understanding that dream images mean different things to different people, and no one can tell you with absolute certainty what your dream means - except you.  Dream "Dictionaries" are meant to be guides, to get you thinking in different ways about what you remember, but nothing is to be taken as a definite answer.  If it feels right to you, then go with it.  If not, look for other meanings.

One of the most interesting things I learned is that everyone dreams in color, but that information is the part that is most quickly forgotten, leaving many people thinking that they dream in black and white.

Lately I haven't been all that good with remembering my dreams.  I used to keep a journal next to my bed so I could write everything down when I woke up.

What do I think about as I'm falling asleep?  If I'm totally exhausted, not much at all, just random musings that fly by for a few seconds. Sometimes I'll have a little chat with God, sometimes recount things that happened during the day that I have either done well or might have done differently.  Sometimes think of things that need doing, though that detracts from sleep rather than help bring it on.

More often than not, though, I end up having what I call 'super-hero fantasies'.  Not literally about super-heroes...kind of a weird thing and hard to explain, maybe because I don't fully understand it myself.  But I kinda' envision myself in a position where I'm somehow helping or supporting a loved one, usually emotionally, and usually in the face of some inner turmoil or outer adversity.  In that sense, the 'super-hero' is me. The 'loved one' might be someone close to me, or someone who I don't know well but who I am endeared to for some reason or another.  I feel kinda' vulnerable sharing that, as I rarely share such things, mainly because it's never come up in conversation.  And actually this began when I was very young, as young as age 7...only back then, I think I really was a super-hero, and a super-hero to my favorite super-heroes! (LOL, confuse anyone yet?)

Most of the time it doesn't seem that my drifting off to sleep thoughts carry over into my dreams, but occasionally if I've had a specific person in mind, they will be present in my dreams.  Hopefully most of us realize that the dreams we generally remember are those we have just prior to waking up.  I read something a long while ago that said the average dream is what, only a few minutes? So we must have dozens throughout the night. 

I don't really have nightmares, the last one I recall was some years ago.  I do have some dreams that leave me with an unsettled, uncomfortable feeling.  One such dream was one I had of a former high school teacher of mine who I had befriended after graduation.  Last time I saw him was summer of '97, and he never wrote as promised...so I had no way to find him, though I tried web searches and the like.  So in maybe '99 or 2000, I have this really haunting dream, and very surreal.  I was standing in the ruins of a destroyed building...the building had been contstructed of red brick and was partially still standing, but the rubble was more of a concrete block.  Robert, even though he was relatively close (maybe 50 yards) , seemed very far in the distance, and was beyond the bulk of the rubble...and in the background, the sky was dark and cloudy, but the clouds were moving swiftly, like they portray them in those apocolyptic-type movies....  The dream was so haunting, and I actually woke up teary-eyed. 

A lot of my dreams are odd, and the weirder they are, the more I enjoy them.   

Leigh, you never told us your answer to your own question...am I the only curious one here? 

Valerie


PS--I've dreamed in color for as long as I can remember!

My dreams are always in color... sometimes with more cohesion than others though.
Last nights dream was, I think, influenced by the general thoughts as I lay to sleep. (Let me tell you mixing the 3 MMORPGs I played together made for an interesting thing indeed.), but at other times the lesson dreams very much are not related to my sleepy thoughts.

So, perhaps you could say my dreams are possibly often influenced by my sleepy thoughts, but not all my dreams are my own ^*wink*.

Lately I have been dreaming about sex and having the op. The sex part is because i cannot have any due to depression from T and the op is probably to do with therapy due on Valentine's Day. I start off thinking about the op while I lay awake then drift off to sleep and dream about sex but the funny thing is there is noone there to have sex with, no face no body just sex then I wake up thinking of the op after about two to three hours of sleep then cant get back to sleep cause I am depressed. Could this be a sign?

Sara.

Quote from: Leigh on November 18, 2005, 12:24:25 AM
What do you think about when you are going to sleep?  Does it carry over into your dreams?

In dreams real life begins...for me. Before I could transform in a boy by magic medallion..now I'm ordinary transguy and those dreams prepare me better for real life...they give me self-confidence so more quickly react in life...
Yes,real life affects my dreams..same situations just in dreams I'm always prepared..