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dammitjanetfromvegas's avatar

Have you ever woken up crying because you were crying in your dream?

Asked by dammitjanetfromvegas (4601points) May 15th, 2016

I’ve started dreaming about my mom recently. This is the first I have dreamt about her since she passed New Years Eve 2013. Some dreams are good, but last night’s dream was terrible. I was crying when I woke up. It’s an awful feeling. My depression since her death has finally become manageable, so the sad dreams are a surprise for me.

Anyway, has this happened to you before?

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11 Answers

Earthbound_Misfit's avatar

Oh yes. I think it’s your brains way of sorting out things we need to address. Perhaps we’re missing our mum. Or we’re cross about something. Or feeling hurt. It can leave you feeling quite bereft. Often I can think back and find something that might have triggered the dream. Sometimes, there’s no clear indicator. I hope you feel better now.

I sometimes have dreams that leave me cranky too. Usually with my poor husband! I don’t make him pay for things he does in my dreams :-)

Jeruba's avatar

Well, maybe one or twice; but what I can say for sure is that I have awakened laughing out loud because something in the dream was so funny that my laughter woke me up.

My husband says that hearing somebody do that is really weird.

cookieman's avatar

Not crying specifically, but I’ve had other actions or feelings carry over. Yelling or feeling a sense of dread, for example.

I am so sorry you went through that. I can imagine that would very scary and not a great way to wake up. ((HUGS))

DrasticDreamer's avatar

Yep. Happened to me quite a bit after my best friend killed himself. We’d be walking along, arms around each other, then he’d just go limp in the middle of it. Or I’d search the world for him, but not be able to find him. I got so overwhelmed by my dreams that I had one, final dream with him in it, and it was only him telling me goodbye because he didn’t want to see me so sad anymore. After that, they stopped entirely, no matter how much I tried to get myself to dream of him again. Since then, I’ve only had literally one or two, and he was only there briefly, to give me a hug and say he couldn’t stay because it wasn’t good for me.

My brain’s way of coping, I guess. But I really, really miss the few good dreams I’d have with him, like we were hanging out again. I knew he was still gone in them, but he was there and we were enjoying each other’s company. I still wish I could have more of those, but some other part of me knows that it’s just something I can’t handle, even over five years later.

I’m really sorry, though. I feel your pain and I’d give you a big old hug if I could. Ha. I’m emotional now. Wasn’t expecting that. ((HUGS))

Jak's avatar

Not that I remember but I’ve woken up singing before.

JLeslie's avatar

Not crying, but when something is happening in real life that is also in my dream, sometimes I think I dream it, because it’s really happening. Like I’m not sure if it’s the chicken or the egg. I’ve dreamt the radio is on in a dream, and when I actually wake up my radio is really on. It’s not just that I hear it, it’s actually integrated into the dream.

I think it can work both ways. The sleeping mind and the wakeful mind are still all your mind. We are supposed to be in a type of paralysis while we dream so we don’t walk or scream out, but that mechanism fails sometimes. I guess it can fail regarding crying.

Pachy's avatar

Yes, many times—and as recently as a few nights ago. In the dream I couldn’t find my cat Sy and I started crying. I woke up weeping. I had to go check on him before I coiuld go back to sleep (he was peacefully curled up in my easy chair).
.
I think the dream was about the sadness I’m feeling about several ill friends, and also it was the week of the anniversary of my mom’s passing.

filmfann's avatar

No, but a few years ago I woke up screaming, which I was doing in my dream.

LostInParadise's avatar

I don’t recall waking up crying, but I have had emotions carry over from dreams. There is this interesting twilight zone between sleep and wakefulness during which you come to the conclusion that what you are reacting to was just a dream.

I once saw a video on the Web of a dog that was running in its sleep. When it awoke, it looked around and seemed a bit confused. I am guessing that dogs cannot distinguish dreams from reality.

longgone's avatar

Yes. I remember this happening twice. Once, I was dreaming my dog was hit by a car. The other time, I dreamt about a friend who killed himself a few years ago. Similar to your situation, it happened while I was getting back to normal. Maybe this is the brain’s way of telling us not to rush the healing?

(Hugs.)

MrGrimm888's avatar

Personally I frequently carry emotions from my dreams to reality. I’ve been super pissed n ready to fight , horny , sad , scared to the point of checking around to see if someone is there…Sleep is one of the most confusing , amazing, terrifying, adventurous things about life to me. All creatures seem to sleep AND dream!

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