Helpless dreams

[A7xSchecter6661]

Does anyone else have helpless dreams?

I always have. You want to punch something/someone but the hands move at a pathetic speed. Or something along those lines.

Now keep in mind dreams are obviously not controllable and not meant to be possible or accurate by any means.

Just the other night I had a dream I was out in the woods with my favorite little .410 shotgun. Don't know why I like it so much but it's definitely my favorite gun. Anyways I happened to come across a coyote (don't remember if there was more than one which in real life there would be) that was ready for a fight and as it was charging at me I was taking the shots. Keep in mind the dream happened in basically slow motion. I took the shots with the single shot .410 aim, dead on and miss. Click, pop, load, cock, pow miss! I could not hit the damn thing for the life of me and I know in person I could. The last shot I remember taking I was probably 8 feet from it and still missed it with the little shotgun shells. Was I shooting blanks?

Does anyone else ever have these helpless dreams that you just can't win at? They are humorous but they really annoy me...

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[GrandZJ]

I can relate. I have frequent nightmares due to my medication and the recurring theme is me being helpless. Whether it's my gun not working in a critical time, my knife not cutting, being overrun and not able to save myself or my girlfriend..frankly it's exhausting. It doesn't help that they get influenced by whatever movie I watch before going to sleep (which is usually horror or sci-fi).

[Alex_C]

I used to have the "pillow fists" dream a lot. Throw a punch and the target laughs it off. Highly frustrating. I think it stems from a fear of weakness and/or being unable to protect yourself or your loved ones. I say that because I havn't had it since I got my CPL and started carrying!

Once I had the sleep paralysis/"alien abduction" thing. Still not sure if it's actually a dream or simply semi-awake but paralysed. Freaky as hell though, all these shadows and shapes playing around the bed and looming over you and you can't do jack about it. The bedroom was clearly visable too (full moon that night), and I could see everything that was in my field of view with no problems, even the objects that were not normally there other nights but were for that night only which leads me to believe it wasn't an image based on memory. I don't believe it was "alien abduction" or anything of the sort, most sleep experts put that down to sleep paralysis which produces the same effects I experienced that night.

[A7xSchecter6661]

I can relate. I have frequent nightmares due to my medication and the recurring theme is me being helpless. Whether it's my gun not working in a critical time, my knife not cutting, being overrun and not able to save myself or my girlfriend..frankly it's exhausting. It doesn't help that they get influenced by whatever movie I watch before going to sleep (which is usually horror or sci-fi).

You might want to watch something different then! What medication throws your dreams off wack if you don't mind me asking? My trouble is I hardly ever remember dreams if I have them. I know our minds are always running a million miles an hour so I have to be dreaming. But I don't feel I can't remember them, it's that I feel I don't have them because I can usually tell when I am dreaming. Sleeping to me just feels like dead space with no entertainment. At least I am not conscious enough to be bored!

[AngryBadger417]

I used to have the "pillow fists" dream a lot. Throw a punch and the target laughs it off. Highly frustrating. I think it stems from a fear of weakness and/or being unable to protect yourself or your loved ones. I say that because I havn't had it since I got my CPL and started carrying!

Once I had the sleep paralysis/"alien abduction" thing. Still not sure if it's actually a dream or simply semi-awake but paralysed. Freaky as hell though, all these shadows and shapes playing around the bed and looming over you and you can't do jack about it. The bedroom was clearly visable too (full moon that night), and I could see everything that was in my field of view with no problems, even the objects that were not normally there other nights but were for that night only which leads me to believe it wasn't an image based on memory. I don't believe it was "alien abduction" or anything of the sort, most sleep experts put that down to sleep paralysis which produces the same effects I experienced that night.

Oh good lord I have had this happen all the time, but when it happened to me I would get this rushing on my head the first time it happened I thought I was having an aneurysm or something, I thought I was dying. (Scariest 20 minutes of my life)




I still suffer from nightmares almost every night, usually the same type of deal as the OP, can't kill something that is hurting a loved one or km trying to run and help someone and for the life of my I can't run any faster than a slow walk. I would like to know what causes these dreams? My twin brother and I have had similar nightmares since we were 14, his eventually stopped but I still only get a good nights sleep 2 days put of the week.

[limatunes]

Ever hear of Lucid Dreaming? Look it up. Your dreams are, indeed, controllable. That being said, it is not easy. I've only experienced one lucid dream in my whole life. It was pretty awesome though.

But, yeah, we all have inadequacy dreams.

I must say, however, that I have become quite the bass ass in my sleep. :)

[1MoreGoodGuy]

Finally, a thread about a topic that I can consider myself an expert on.

I've had night terrors ever since I can remember and my earliest memory is from when I was 2 years old.

When I was young, most of the dreams were about trying to get to the center of a white room where I am suppose to shut off some kind of machine which is shooting (what I can now describe as) laser beams at me. I also would sleepwalk while having these nightmares. The sleepwalking stopped when I was around 8 to 10 years old. I never could reach the machine...I got very close once but as usual, I got shot by the laser beam...at which point I would wakeup screaming.

In my pre-teen/early teen years I had nightmares about being chased by someone or something...they were usually trying to shoot me or they were trying to hit me with knives or darts or swords or something like that...then I wake up screaming. In one dream I was hiding in a tree and the guy who was chasing me shot me with a shotgun and I fell out of the tree. Then he pressed the gun to the back of my head and shot me. I heard the bang, everything turned red and I felt warm blood running down my face and then I woke up screaming.

Late teens is when the sleep paralysis and alien abduction type dreams started...typical freaky grey alien stuff. I've tried so hard to punch the snot out of them but I can't move...I struggle to scream...I wake up screaming and cursing. I still have these dreams.

When I got my first apartment, the home invasion dreams started. The intruder is always a man whose face I can never see. Sometime he is outside lurking in the bushes or hiding behind a tree...I know someone is there but I can't see him...then he steps out from cover and I am so terrified that I can not move or speak...it seems like it takes me forever to start screaming...it takes every ounce of energy to scream one word...I wake up screaming. Other times, I am battling with him at one of the doors to the house...I'm trying to push the door closed and he is trying to push the door open...he is very strong...I lose...he gets his hands on me...I wake up screaming. In other dreams I confront him after he has entered the house...we fight...he is still very strong...sometime I lose quickly...other times I put up a pretty good fight before I lose...once he gets control and I know I've lost...you guessed it, I wake up screaming.

I think you can say that I have some experience on this topic.

[ANGLICO]

I'm going to sound like a jerk when I post this. Please bust my chesnuts as you see fit.

I often have many conversations about 'dreams' and my 'dream ability' to act and survive, with my espousa.

My first 'overt' ops dream, where I was in control and killed was many years ago (product of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children = USMC).

After MFF (for those of you Brothers who know the MFF acronym, I salute you!), I never had a 'falling out of the bed' dream. Awesome!

Quite frankly, I think that dreams are just a reverbation of your situational stress, situation or abilities.

I enjoy the 'waken' hours much better.

Semper Fi to all you Bros, and Woman Warriors that still have that kind of flash back thingy going on.

[Alex_C]

Ever hear of Lucid Dreaming?

Yep, I've experienced those a few times. Pretty awesome.

The levitation/jumping sensation happens to me a lot too.

[OldVet]

A shrink could do a case study on my dreams. They run the full gamult from flapping arms and flying to something's after me. Sometimes the Boss moves to the other bedroom to avoid getting punched. She doesn't care for the 1:00 am headlock. Realistic, in full color, and utterly bizare!

[svgheartland]

Back when I was writing computer code I would set up menus for the user applications. Then I started dreaming with menus and it was pretty slick. I could dive into various dream themes. I've also experienced the helpless types but there are times I realize in the middle of a horrible dream that "hey, this is just a dream". I can't control it but it's easier to ride out til it's over.

[limatunes]

My biggest fear when it comes to self defense is that I will freeze and won't act. I've been trying for a long time to both mentally and physically prepare myself so that is not an option. I don't know if it's a good sign or not but the few dreams I have regarding being attacked or anything in my dreams have resulted in me going absolutely crazy. I not only act, in some cases I overact. Very seldom do I end up using a gun either. Sometimes there is a lot of blood. I find my subconscious is very creative in finding areas to target on the human body.

These days I rarely dream about being attacked or self defense or guns but when I do I am always left standing if the fight finishes at all before I wake up.

[varob]

You guys should cut back on your sodium intake.

[A7xSchecter6661]

A shrink could do a case study on my dreams. They run the full gamult from flapping arms and flying to something's after me. Sometimes the Boss moves to the other bedroom to avoid getting punched. She doesn't care for the 1:00 am headlock. Realistic, in full color, and utterly bizare!

LMAO, best response yet!

[high pockets]

You guys should cut back on your sodium intake.

^^^^^^ this ^^^^^