Discombobulated Awakenings

Orenburg regional museum of finearts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

        The dream world can be confusing enough when we look back on it, but sometimes waking up is the most confusing state of all.   In our dreams the oddest of circumstances can seem perfectly normal.  Any sense of logic we might have in waking life is essentially disregarded much of the time in our dreams.  If we recall a dream, the situations experienced during our sleep may seem utterly absurd in retrospect and yet we will typically accept those experiences as logical and meaningful while we dream them.

        One of the most befuddling and even frightening feelings that humans can have is waking from a dream in a state of confusion not knowing where we are or what time it is or what day it is.  That feeling of  having lost something or have forgotten something can create a sense of apprehension and at times even panic.

        In my own experiences I have had a sense of panic sensing that something has happened such as having swallowed something or having an ailment.  At other times I might be convinced that someone or something is in the house or near my bed.  The dream sense pours into my sense of awakening in such a way that even though I have attained consciousness I might continue to think that what has happened in the dream is totally real.

         Dream deception is not uncommon in my experience.   When it occurs it usually happens before I've gone into a lengthy period of deep sleep either at night in the early stage of just having gone to sleep or even more often in the daytime when I've lain down for a nap.  I'll wake up from a vague sort of dream sleep completely disoriented for up to several seconds.  I might be confused about what time of day it is or even what day it is.  There have been instances when I will be unsure of where I am.  This can all be somewhat frightening and more than once the thought has crossed my mind that I was having a stroke or experiencing the onset of the early stages of Alzheimer's.   Hopefully though it's only the disorientation of waking from a dream.

         Here are some of the possible theories that I can come up with regarding this disoriented state when waking from the dream state:

• The subconscious dream mind has deceived the conscious into believing the dream state is real.

• The oddness of the dream state confuses our thinking as it carries into wakefulness.

• Our mind is fighting the conscious state in trying to return to the subconscious dream state in which it wishes to remain.

• Waking is such a shock to our mind that we experience a brief state of amnesia or confusion as our brain adjusts to consciousness.

• The mind is temporarily continuing to think in dream logic which is incompatible to the sensation of wakefulness.

         If you tend to have a sense of disorientation and confusion on waking from a dream, the next time it happens try to pay attention to how long you remain in this state and what it is that finally brings you out of the state.

          Do you ever experience disoriented awakenings?   Have you ever continued doing an act from a dream into the waking life and then realize you are doing something that makes little sense or you are thinking illogically?   What are some theories that you have concerning this state of being confused after waking up?

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A Scary Halloween Dream

Jack-o-lantern (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

       This past Sunday morning I had a very scary dream.  I dreamed that my Monday post  for my Tossing It Out blog had become infected with a virus from a website that was taking over my site with links attached to key words within my post.  I was not sure where the links would lead to and I was unwilling to click on them to find out. They seemed to appear randomly and each time I fixed one, another link appeared in its place.

      The night previous to the dream I had been finishing up "My Brain is a Blog", a satirical humor post with some serious controversy that was to be a sort of lead-in to Halloween and  my Battle of the Bands post for Friday November 1.   I had some concern as to how that post would be received since it was a rather peculiar one.  This concern was probably what caused my anxiety laden dream.   This is ironic considering that the subject matter of the blog post had to do with blogging taking over the brain of the blogger, but then again having a dream with this content might make perfect sense.  The dream may have been merely a subconscious recreation of my blog post infused with my sense of concern.

       The dream seemed very real and I was believing that what had happened in the dream was something that was actually happening to my blog.  Within the dream I pinpointed the source of the problem and decided to get rid of all of the nefarious links that had been placed by an evil program that I had tapped into the night before.  I also tried to figure out how to disable the program.  Each time I tried to fix the problem I would go back to check to see if everything was okay and at the bottom of my blog post I would see the message:

          "This blog has been infected."

      In the morning after waking and rising I went to my computer to just make sure there was not an actual problem with my blog.   All was well.   The dream seemed so real that I actually believed that what had happened in the dream was a true event.   It had all seemed so convincing.

      Thank goodness it had only been a dream.

Happy Halloween!

        Have you ever had a blog dream?    Does the intensity of a dream dilemma every carry over into the immediacy of awakening so that you have to check to see if something from the dream was true or not?   What real-life related fears enter into your dream life?   

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Dream Drug Withdrawal

English: Pineal Gland and Pituitary Body Location inside the Brain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         The previous two posts have dealt with disoriented awakenings and witnessing the confused awakening of another.  A dreamer often awakens into a dazed state of mind that takes a while to transition into a state of coherence, and even then the influence of the dream state may linger or even profoundly affect us for some period of time.

         This particular confused state could be attributed to various mental or even spiritual factors.   One might feel regret in leaving a dream that is beautiful or pleasant in some way and wish to cling to that dream experience.   In other cases, the dreaming may have been so vivid as to convincing the dreamer that it has all been very real--the awakening is the juncture of two ambiguous reality possibilities that must be sorted out before continuing into complete consciousness.  And there could be many other scenarios that could come into play.

          My conjecture in this current blog installment is that the dazed and confused state of the awakening dreamer's mind is due to a sort of dream drug withdrawal.  Dreaming may be a way of becoming naturally high.   This waking and feeling groggy and  disoriented may be much the same as one feels after heavy drinking or using certain mind altering drugs.  Are we "drugged" by our dreams?

         Since I am not a doctor, nor one who has done research in this field, nor any kind of expert in this field of oneirology (the scientific study of dreams), I can only base my reflections here on what I have read or heard from those who are acknowledged as experts.  I also make my own suppositions based on personal observations.  I offer these caveats so as not to mislead anyone in what I present here.

         According to some research the brain and body produces a strong psychedelic substance called dimethyltryptamine (DMT).  A release of this substance during sleep may be responsible for dream activity.  DMT is a naturally occurring substance throughout the plant and animal kingdom and research about its effects are ongoing.

          The Pineal gland produces Melatonin and Seratonin, which are two drugs that have been determined to be vital for sleep and apparently highly influential to dreaming.  In all, the brain seems be responsible for the production of as many as fifty drugs with many of those influencing dreaming.

           With all of these drugs in our system is it any wonder that we might wake up from a dream in a dazed and confused state?  Studies have indicated that an imbalance of any of these drugs can lead to mental illness, sleep disorders, and other malfunctioning of the mind and body.  Factors such as diet, physical exercise, mental stretching, and healthy surroundings can all play a role in proper balance of chemicals produced in the brain.

             Do you think the drugs of the brain play a role in muddling our thinking upon waking?   Have you taken any supplements or received treatment for an imbalance of any brain chemicals?   Have you ever experienced the use of a natural substance such as DMT administered other than from your own brain?


    

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Wait Just A Doggone Minute! Huh?

in between wakefulness & sleep (Photo credit: JAZEL KRISTIN)

          In my previous post I discussed how we can sometimes wake up from a dream feeling confused and disoriented.  The dreamer might take some time reentering the waking world not fully understanding surroundings or circumstances.   As the dreamer leaves the subconscious dream state he may cling to the dream as that which is familiar at that moment and be unwilling to accept the world of wakefulness.

          Likewise, someone who may be in the company of the waking dreamer may be equally startled or confused by the waker's behavior.  A sleep partner may be awakened by the waking dreamer's erratic actions or, if awake already, find the waking dreamer to be a curiosity and even at times frightening or amusing.  

         The waking dreamer may also rise in a semi-conscious state and enter into the presence of another or others who are awake.  This can be disconcerting, annoying, or funny depending on the circumstance.  The scream in the night that rouses others to the dreamer's bedside can also occur, especially in the case of children who have had nightmares.

          Stephen T. McCarthy's comment in the previous post sums it up nicely:  "Huh?"  Waking from the dream and taking that experience into the waking world can be very confusing to everyone involved.

           Here's a funny story that my mother used to tell about my father.  This occurred when I was a baby.  I was the first child in my family.   My parents, still in their twenties, were living in an apartment in Cleveland, Ohio.  In the first couple of years my mother's mother would sometimes come to stay with them to help my mother take care of me and to help out with the household chores.

             My mother always laughs when she tells about the night when she and her mother were sitting in the living room and suddenly my father ran out of the bedroom in his pajamas with a startled look on his face as he shouted, "Who poo-pooed in my hair?"

              He stood there in the hallway looking confused for a moment until he apparently came to his senses and turned around and went back to bed, leaving my mother and grandmother laughing until they were in tears.

              Obviously my father had been dreaming, but it was so real to him that he awoke believing the incident was real.   His confusion lasted long enough for him to leave his bed and query those in the living room.  That was a disoriented awakening.

              Have you ever had particularly funny or embarrassing dream disorientation experience?    Have you ever been present when a sleep partner or another sleeper nearby awoke in a confused state?   How long did the disorientation last and what was their reaction and your reaction?

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Disoriented Awakenings

Science Museum of MN - Social Science (Photo credit: massdistraction)

         You've been there I'm sure.  Perhaps it was a vivid dream. Or maybe you don't remember a dream.  Then you open your eyes.

         "Where am I?"  you may wonder.  You might stumble out of bed or the chair or wherever it was you fell asleep, thinking that some confusing activity is still happening or has happened.  You stop and try to remember, to figure out what has happened, decide what to do now.  

          Vaguely you regain your senses, still looking for something that is rapidly fading from your memory.  What was it?  Where is it?   Why are you looking for it?

           Coming back into the waking world you realize you have been dreaming.  The crossover into waking life has been awkward and at times even unwanted.

          "Why did I have to wake up?" you think.  "I want to go back to that dream."

            After you've stumbled across the brink of half-sleep and almost begrudgingly enter into the world of that which is real, you start trying to sort it all out.   Sometimes a song may be sounding its last vestiges in the recesses of your memory or it may be a consuming thought or an idea that had made complete sense a few moments ago and now is making less and less.  

            The dream is leaving.  Or you are leaving the dream.  Like emerging from the most wonderful infinite sea that part of you wants to sink into forever, you crawl onto the sad sandy shore realizing it is not your time yet.  You must come back.  You must awaken and face reality again.

            Have you been there?   Have you awakened from sleep or dreams and been totally confused?   What strange things have you done or experienced in those circumstances?

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