Lately my dreams are carrying over into reality. I'm waking up with everything from hand prints/physical markings to pillows that smell like things that occured in my dream. I wish I could just shrug it off, but my friends have made comments that let me know I'm not just bat-shit crazy; i.e. "Hey, you're laundry detergent smells like forrest," or "Nice shampoo- smells like ocean," etc.

I've had nightmares for as long as I can remember. In my own way, I've come to cope with these dreams to make them less tramatic. They've evolved and developed over time, so much so that now I classify them by who's in the dream or the point of view of the dream. But this is something entirely different. I'm finding it hard to sleep because I'm scared to.

The whole 'paranormal/ extrasensory' thing kind of weirds me out-- in theory I find it facinating, but the reality is not so fun. Even on a forum of strangers it's a bit of a stretch for me to say anything. I'm a bit desperate here. Any advice? Suggestions?

[IMG]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n95/ChelleKennedy/100_1421.jpg[/IMG]

It is as though within your dreams or nightmares you are punishing yourself for some perceived failure, and because of the intensity of your negative feelings you have unintentionally programmed your subconscious mind to produce the impression of someone strangling you while you are awake.

Constant recurring nightmares always suggest that something fairly urgent needs to be faced and dealt with, and I believe that if your nightmares have got to the point of manifesting in your waking life (it was your own subconscious mind that caused these hand prints to appear, and not some evil spirit or entity who is attacking you).

I feel that that this indicates that you need urgent help from either a psychologist or professional counsellor in order to progressively but at the same time safely bring these underlying issues closer to the surface, where they can be much more easily dealt with. It is obvious from what you have told us that although our minds have incredible self healing powers of their own, that in your case some assistance from a qualified professional will be needed, so that you can finally get an uninterrupted night's sleep free of these terrible nightmares.

I believe that the psychosomatic (mind-body) mechanism involved in producing those red marks on your throat is very similar to the one which produces stigmata in people who are obsessively focussed on the virtues of their suffering as a sign of their strong religious faith.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmata

eye_of_tiger

That's very interesting .....

between 5 and 10 years ago I would have a similar experience with body marks and smells. For me it was always burnt roses (that other people just thought of as "something burning")... and random pattern marks on me. I never figured out what they were and at some point they just stopped....


I know this doesn't really answer ur question but I just want you to know you're not alone(and I'm glad I'm not either). I hope we can both find answers, though our reasons could be completely different.

I never thought of my marks as stigmata. Though a couple times they did resemble a crucifixion it wasn't that of Jesus Christ. Most of the time it was bruises or intricate patterns made of lines or dots.