Waking up from nightmare and dread going back to sleep.

I have that feeling sometimes too, and the deep dark hole has sound muffling on the sides. I don't have dreams about digging myself out of the ground, your experiences sound like that Michael Jackson Thriller video! Have you seen that video lately? I love Michael Jackson's Thriller, the dancing of those zombies digging their way out of the graves is incredible

@ryman You are waking up from nightmares where you are climbing out of a dark hole and you dread going back to sleep because you do not want to experience the nightmare again.

You'll notice that I added your question to the Sleep Health group along with the Mental Health group. I also changed the title of your post so that appropriate members may be able to better recognize the content and then respond. Members like @johnbishop @parus @olivia22819 @contentandwell @mkqq @0616 @lydiaburger @danab @marjou @wa34937 @jal333 have experience with this topic and may be able to help answer your question.

I have also linked a previous discussion related to dreams below. You may want to scroll through to look at previous suggestions.
- Anxiety and Depression Group: Are bad dreams and nightmares a sign of depression and anxiety? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/anxiety-9/
- Sleep Health: Sleeping Well During Anxious Times: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/sleeping-well-during-anxious-times/

The topics of dreams, nightmares, and sleep can be looked at from a sleep health perspective or medical perspective and they can be looked at as a mental health psychological perspective

I'm wondering if you've considered a sleep study or a therapist to help rule out possible causes of the nightmares and work towards having better sleep?

Hello @ryman - When I was young I did have one reoccurring nightmare of being in a movie theater walking downhill to the front row, tripping and then going through a window at the bottom only to find out it was on high building and I was falling. I always woke up and it wasn't too long after that I recognized that I was having a dream and relaxed and woke up before I got to the window at the bottom...It was weird though. Mayo Clinic does have some information on their website which gives an explanation that might help.

- Nightmare disorder- Diagnosis & treatment: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nightmare-disorder/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353520

@erikas I have problems sleeping but have not had problems such as @ryman has. Occasionally I have a nightmare but doesn't everyone?
JK

@ryman Melatonin in higher doses like more than 6 mgs would give me horrific nightmares. Are you on medication that might be the source?

@ryman I have dreams that stay with me when I wake up, often very detailed ones, in color and sound. From what I read, when you are climbing out of a deep dark hole, perhaps your sleep level is very deep, and your brain has quieted down and had restorative sleep. Many have a difficult time bringing themselves back to present. Rather than dreading going to sleep, perhaps you could see this as a chance for your body to really rest. If you have underlying health conditions, or are going through stressful times, look at this as an opportunity to relax, and you may find it not as fearful as you do now.

Do you think that is worth a try? I would love to hear from you again.
Ginger

@ryman Hi and welcome, I've had my fair share of dreams.that concerned me but there are 2 times that I had fears of sleeping. When I was having more heart arrythmias than normal they always seemed.to happen about midnight so it became this thing to stay up to avoid being woke up. But also I believe when we are under stress we can cause ourselves into a health condition with our fears. Now the second time.i want to mention was a real issue where I had what they thought was a stroke. I had this weird dream during that time where it seemed I was trying to reach abovenme.but couldn't move. I heard voices and was asking for there help to reach up to something but not sure what. Well the voices we're probably the stroke team around me I was in the hospital at Mayo at the time. When i came too and cancious again at first I didn't even recognize my wife. It was short lived and found out later it was less than a half hour total. So it wasn't a stroke but I became allergt to a medication and once stopped never had another issue like that. So I hope that may help to realize others have had unusual dreams. So I would mention this to your doctor's and maybe it could be a medication. Even tho you may have been on it for a while the one that caused mine I had been taking for many years but it was a higher dose that caused the problem.
Have an Blessed Day
Dana