Nightmares

Are you on Wellbutrin? My Dr. told me when taken at night it has been known to cause horrible, horrible nightmares...she advised me to take it in the morning.

Can nightmares be one of the symptoms related to being bipolar….yes, but it is not an indicator that you have the illness. Many people have nightmares and they are the brains way of trying to sort out things. You are going through a fear of death….did someone close to you recently passed away?

I think the most common is when we are either learning to drive or just started to drive…the dream of the car going off the cliff or bursting into flames seems to be the norm until we finally get comfortable with driving.

Back to your question of…is nightmares a sign of bipolarism….the answer is no. It’s a sign of being normal.

This is no fun - sorry to hear it. :( I've also had far more dreams and nightmares the past 6 months, tho' I've always been a vivid dreamer.

For me, I think it's all related to being dx'd this winter and beginning treatment: a) getting better sleep now than the previous two years, b) finally seeing a therapist and dealing with my parents' deaths and other emotional healing, and perhaps c) the med I'm on might contribute.

I find that sometimes there is a theme in a dream(s) that points to something I'm dealing with (or should be dealing with) at some level. But only the dreamer can really know what that might be.

They might be a helpful tool, in the end, or they may just be nightmares. But by all means, let your doc know, since they are so disturbing to you. (Also, writing them down immediately afterwards helps takes some of the power out of them, and/or helps you see possible themes in them later - during daylight hours.)

I know they can feel so real, and that feeling often persists into daytime, but they should pass. Best of luck to you.

Ice Queen...Certain nightmares can be frightening - everyone has them from time to time.  It's human nature.

I've had some of the same kind you have had - dreaming about death and being chased by monsters.  For me, it was partly because I was overtired, and partly because of stress and frustration over things I hoped to accomplish but could not.  Don't know if this could be the case for you.

Try not to let them get to you.  Use some simple techniques that will promote a calming sleep and you should be fine.  Best of luck. 

Judy