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Showing posts with the label SLEEP

Bedtime Confessions

You were three years old and it was bedtime. It was not just a huge disruption for you, but even more so for your parents. The ritual might have gone like this: Warm milk hot bath tooth brushing pony ride to the bedroom story time special stuffed animals light on in the closet tucking in the edges of the sheets and blankets kiss to the forehead door left open. You're an adult now, right? Bedtime fears are for babies! It's time for a little confessional. Which have you done as an adult? try not to let your hand or leg hang off the side of the bed see a shape in the dark and turn away, afraid to keep looking remove clothing you have hanging over something because it looks like a person leave the TV on timer while falling asleep wake from a nightmare and get up and leave the room so you don't fall asleep again and finish it sleep hugging a pillow can't fall asleep because you're finally alone with your thoughts with no distractions for the first time in the entire da...

Apocalyptic Nightmares: Disturbed Sleep

People often bring up the subject of nightmares with me. Perhaps it’s the psychic side of me or the fact that I’ve counseled folks with anxiety issues for over 20 years, but somehow folks feel comfortable bringing up their inner fears. On my own time, in the past few years I’ve noticed repeated post-apocalypse nightmares in my dream-state themes. They weren’t something I ever dreamed up before, but something born in the post 9-11 time period with Bush’s color-coded terror alerts and duct tape and plastic, anthrax and airport shut downs when people sneak past security. Many people have expressed to me having similar themed dreams. I’m guessing during WWII there were similar nightmares of bombs dropping, invasions, et cetera. The content of the dreams can reflect people you ran into that day, movies you watched before bedtime, and running background anxieties. The sleep state offers you time to work out things, problem solve and release fears and gain mastery. The theme of the apocalypse...