I don’t really dream. It’s extremely rare to the point where I’ll have a handful in a year and I don’t remember them. Waking up with an emotional reaction to an odd dream inspired by life events or entertainment… Then the details slip away from me and I can’t even talk to anyone about the experience.

What’s it like for you?
Do you enjoy, dislike or analyze your dreams?
Is it really a window to the subconscious for you?

  • ButteryMonkey@piefed.socialEnglish
    1·
    9 days ago

    I used to be like that, unable to dream/remember dreams. Turns out that was because I had nightmares and terrors and stress dreams and my brain simply didn’t want to remember them.

    I took a shaman drug (that I won’t mention, because I absolutely do not recommend it for anyone ever, and regret taking it myself) over the course of many months, and it absolutely gave me the permanent ability to dream and recall, and even consistently lucid dream (I don’t recall dreams every day, but at least once a week now). I now have a whole town that acts as a hub to get to all the places I’ve dreamed about more than once. It’s kinda fun.

    However, these dreams are massively emotionally taxing. I often encounter my mother (the point of the shaman drug is to interact with dead ancestors), so I’ve relegated her to a middle floor of “my house” so she’s easier to avoid… those experiences are… just so overwhelmingly taxing. They do help with some closure stuff even tho I know it’s just my brain making up both sides of things, but it’s draining all the same.

    • BurgerBaron@piefed.caEnglish
      1·
      9 days ago

      Had nightmares as a very young child and could dream visually back then. Only when dreaming. I have total Aphantasia, and no sense memory.

      I lost the ability to dream visually in my teens, so I don’t think it was a trauma response. I even remember my last vivid dream. Roller Coaster Tycoon inspired, so I can’t say it was unpleasant. My inability to remember dreams at the time followed soon after.

      I managed to lucid dream once in my 20’s and very briefly had a stunning visual dream when I concentrated quite hard and it was as if smacking an old CRT TV with faulty connections. The effort maintaining that woke me up pretty quick, but for a minute I was in between huge glacial ice walls in a row boat bobbing in mostly calm deep blue sea water with chunks of ice floating around and clear skies.

      That’s it though for visual dreaming.

      I can remember dreams now because I trained myself to by writing what I can remember down the minute a wake up. Over time I could remember for longer and longer after walking up. This would probably work for OP too if they were interested. Gotta stick to it though.

      Psychedelics don’t give me any closed eyes hallucinations and I need some pretty absurd doses of others or DMT to even see anything slightly weird open eyes. One of my motivations was to see if I could “unlock” the ability. Didn’t work for me :(

      • auraithx@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        0·
        9 days ago

        I’ve taken every exotic research chemical and psychedelic you can think of. I can confirm hallucinations work the same with aphantasia.

        Although I didn’t ‘trip’, which is the delusional state people get into when they take pills/mdma and stay up for a few days. Start talking to plastic bags, on the phone with their hand, etc. might just be me though.

              • auraithx@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                1·
                9 days ago

                Salvia if you’re brave. World might fold in on you briefly and it’s legal because nobody has fun on it lol. But it is strong as shit and will certain fuck up your perception for a few minutes.

                Most of the other legal things are pretty naff and will probably just make you feel a bit sick and fuzzy around the edges (morning glory seeds).

                Depending on how strict the laws are in your area there might be some loopholes for exotic psychs but probably not the best entry. Probably best just going looking for some mushrooms, they won’t show on a standard panel.