I really want to know if this bad dream phase is or can be associated with ADD/ADHD at all.

I have, just recently, been experiencing some really intense, sad dreams that stay with me when I awaken as if they are true memories instead of dreams. I also had a close friend of mine that has experienced the same type of thing and he says it has been happening for quite some time for him. He also has ADD/ADHD.

Can you relate and what experiences have you had?

I have become sincerely intrigued by this experience.( call me crazy or .. em ADD..lol):D

I dream all the time and I really love them as there is no control over where they go or what there about

the stranger the better (once I wake up and relize it was a dream)

some are very very intense

I know I have some real strange dreams too. I think also it can be due to meds. Dreams are things we are afraid to bring to the conscious at least for me...I just had one about a dance teacher of mine and she diied in 1986. well her birthday is on the 5th of Feb. it was just strange. auntchris

Charisma,

If your bad dreams are a new phase then I wouldn't attribute them to ADD, since you've always had ADD, but not always the bad dreams. You think? I dunno, just a guess.
I've been haunted by phases of bad dreams all my life. You know those ones where you have the same exact terrifying dream over and over for weeks, months, or even years?
I had one that never changed, and started before I went to kindergarten and lasted into my 30's.
I've had ones that recur throughout my life, but take on slight differences in the 'setting'.
With me the often recurring bad dreams are always about the same thing.
For a short while I had nightmares about my father, but my mother explained that it was because my dad and i were stuck in an argument for days (i wanted to marry, he said no) that I had those nightmares about him, because i didn't know how to deal with my anger towards him. When she told me that, those bad dreams stopped.
Mother's always have nightmares when their children are babies, about their baby dying. Seems to come with the territory of being a new mother.
Guilt can give you nightmares too, about whatever it is you feel guilty about.
I think nightmares are caused from your mind trying to work out your emotions that you don't know how to handle.
Did I help? I hope so.
~Susan

I don't think dreaming, in itself is unique to those with ADHD. However, I experience waking life with an intensity that most other people don't feel which leads to the idea that I probably dream with that same intensity and, yes, the feelings in my dreams carry over into my awake state.

Not all dreams, mind you, only those where I am truly emotionally "loaded" - be it good or bad. Those kinds of "super-charged" dreams also tend to occur when my waking life is full of turmoil, too.

Kim

I have to say that I have the strangest dreams and most people I tell them to agree. In my dreams I am often lost, going somewhere,the way to get there is always physically exhausting and in reality would never happen. I wake up every morning exhausted and feel like I didn't sleep at all. I wish I could learn to relax in my dreams so I can get a goodnight's sleep.

Mary

I have to say that I have the strangest dreams and most people I tell them to agree. In my dreams I am often lost, going somewhere,the way to get there is always physically exhausting and in reality would never happen. I wake up every morning exhausted and feel like I didn't sleep at all. I wish I could learn to relax in my dreams so I can get a goodnight's sleep.

MaryI know this is really old.. but have you had any update to comment on?


I have been away for quite sometime. I found that I have been having the same type of dream come up when life is not so and another when I feel I have some control in my life for the better. It is another totally different dream. It is one where I find myself surrounded by tornados and I am on the top of a high cliff or ... Well, it looks like a rock that just broke apart in every area but where I stand and it is very hight up as if it were a skyscraper.

For some other odd reason always with a dress on that flows in one direction..

Wierd. I haven't really taken the time I should to research about dreams alone but I will soon.

Any thoughts..

Thanks all, Charisma.

I have mostly really really strange dreams.
Some are good, lots arent
I can predict when im going to have a good dream and when im going to have a bad one and im usually accurate.
When im in a real fog or something has overwhelmed me watch out, but on the odd days where nothing has really gone wrong and my head is a bit clear, they are usually ok.
Always jumbled though, there is no such thing as a normal, plausable dream for me.
My most commonly repeated dreams are either being chased by a serial killer or a bear and having a lot of people die.
Sounds morbid but I am a talented dreamer and deep down i know im dreaming even while im doing it and im also used to these so its not so bad for me anymore.

When I started Strattera I had the wildest dreams ever. In a strange way I miss the intensity of those dreams. Went off straterra and now my dreams are regular again.

Ever since I can remember I have had intense,real seeming nightmares.I too have had a dream follow me from childhood.Over and over.
Mine are something or someone hurting my loved ones.
Most of the time its monsters.LOL!!!!

I always dream in color, and I thought everyone did, also, until I was told that most do not...
I have strange dreams periodically, and they involve different realms of thought...
The last one I had I woke myself screaming..and it was nothing you would imagine..
Not anything monster-ish, or evil-ish...
In the dream, I had gotten into my car, and a man materialized in the back seat.
He was in back of the passenger seat, mind you, not my side of the car.
All he did was rest his head on the headrest and stare out the windshield. He didn't talk..nor did he do anything threatening. Just stare out the windshield.
The reason I screamed was due to the surprise of him being there and that was what woke me up..
I actually tried to go back to sleep to figure out what it's symbolism meant..but I found myself back in the same area...with him just staring out the front not saying anything...
I suppose that was the dream/nightmare in its entirety.
I've always had unique dreams my entire life.
If I'm not talking with people in them I'm not sleeping yet :0)
Nova

wow .. lots of interesting experiences.. and Nova, the color... Well, I oddly remember that all the tornados were gray and the sky was gray... Actually, I believe everything except me was black and white and I have on some very old fashioned dress or skirt that flows up in one direction and it was also in color.. I was in color and I would look down to the dress and that would wake me up.. as if I couldn't look down past it.. Not sure. It is a dream I always have. Sometimes it even gets more intense and there are faces or just bodies/shadows of people in my dreams.

I am having some doozies of dreams for the last 2 nights but they are more like nightmares because they are so violent or I wake up in cold sweats because it is going to get violent :eek:

One where I was defending someone that I trusted and believed in and I was holding him and out of the blue he turns into a monster and kills me..I can actually remember...total darkness and my last thoughts were never seeing light ever again. :faint:



Then I just had another tonight, where a group of people were having a party around the corner from me and cops broke it up but instead of going home they all tried to get in my house and some already snuck in and I threw them out and lock the doors...I try to call the cops but the phone doesn't work..and all of a sudden here they come through the windows with sticks ready to bash my brains in. I tried to scream but couldn't...but then that when thankfully I woke up....but God damn it felt so real I dont think I will be going to bed tonight .

I had a screwed up life, I cant deny that...so no wonder I have screwed up nightmares. :(

http://www.spiritcommunity.com/dreams/dream_dictionary.php


THIS SITE HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD OF WHAT MY DREAMS MEAN...check it out

Monster
dream interpretation
meaning of dream
Dreaming about monsters and demons is very common. They may represent negative forces inside of yourself and in your life. Most of the monsters are representing your own negative characteristics and tendencies. The monster in your dreams could be your fear, bad temper, negativity, smoking habit, or anything else that is hurtful and needs to be changed. The way that you deal with the monster in your dream is generally symbolic of the way you are dealing with the corresponding negativity in your daily life. If you wake up from this dream and are very frightened, just remember that your mind created those images and that their purpose is to teach you something about yourself.


Violence
dream interpretation
meaning of dream
Research shows that most dreams are unpleasant. Violent dreams are relatively common and may be a reflection of the confusion and conflict that the dreamer experiences in daily life. Dreams with violent themes suggest that the dreamer has unconscious negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, and anger. If you are not dealing with these feeling consciously, your dreams are compensating and bringing into awareness the need for honest reflection and emotional balance in daily life.


Death
dream interpretation
meaning of dream
Dreaming about death is very common and it can be interpreted in many different ways. Death is usually a symbol of some type of closure or end. It implies an end to one thing and a beginning of another. Death dreams usually have positive symbolism. If you are the dead person in your dream, it could imply that you would like to leave all of your worries and struggles behind and begin anew
In a lot of ways that's me to a T!

I do this w/e I remember what I dreamed... Most of the times the ones I remember are about storms, like Tornadoes and the like. I can't count the number of times I've had tornado chasing dreams... and yeah, they're really a hoot emotionally, because I've had family members get killed in those dreams lol, I woke up and I was still upset about it.

Sometimes I have dreams about my father who passed away in 2002...dreaming he is still alive and when I wake up and realize he is gone..I get ****ed off and cry..those one are pretty much self explanitory, I do miss him. But looking at the dictionary...

Some people believe that in dreams they meet up with the deceased on the inner planes and engage in "real" interactions with them. It is normal to miss and long for the people that we loved and that have left the physical body. Therefore, it is not surprising that they will pop up in your dreams from time to time. A personal belief system plays a large role when obtaining a satisfying interpretation for dreams in which the dead talk to the living.

This has happened to me in several dreams where I know Dad was sending me a message. Weird but comforting.

I have always had vivid, color 'movie like' dreams. Quite often they make me feel tired in the morning as I feel I have lived what I just dreamed. Never thought it may be my ADD but now I am not so sure.

The bad thing is I have a lot of gory, scary or bad situation type of dreams and I hate those because I am always trying to figure out what the deal is with whatever is going on in the dream. The good thing is I occasionally get an intuitive dream that proves helpful but sometimes that can be a little scary because it always seems to sort of weird out anyone If I told about my dream beforehand. It would be nice to have idealistic dreams to share like everyone else, but I just don't get those.

I know this is really old.. but have you had any update to comment on?


I have been away for quite sometime. I found that I have been having the same type of dream come up when life is not so and another when I feel I have some control in my life for the better. It is another totally different dream. It is one where I find myself surrounded by tornados and I am on the top of a high cliff or ... Well, it looks like a rock that just broke apart in every area but where I stand and it is very hight up as if it were a skyscraper.

For some other odd reason always with a dress on that flows in one direction..

Wierd. I haven't really taken the time I should to research about dreams alone but I will soon.

Any thoughts..

Thanks all, Charisma.




I have pretty severe anxiety, and depression. It hasn't always been bad, but I have had horrifying dreams that are recurring throughout my life. They started when I was a child. The settings do change, but there are spells where it is the same dream. The common thread: They are always about being chased by someone. Either someone (usually a man) is after me trying to kill me, or they are trying to break into my house to kill me-(which is a common one), or most recently I've had dreams about men after me trying to rape and kill me. I have woken up drenched in sweat, and sometimes so scared I've had to wake my fiance' so he could hold and protect me. This obviously means something.