Cant tell Dreams from Reality

[beebs]

I have literally no idea where this should go, but i guess its medical related so ill post here.

Basically i have major problems with telling dreams from reality, i think so anyway. Things have "happend" and ive paniced for days about them and taken drastic action about them, belieing they have happend, and some have turned out to be dreams ive had. And some i still dont know if they happend.

And it happens a lot, a few times a week.

It happend last night, im locked in my bedroom. Im scared to go downstairs, i think my mum found out about my self-harm last night, but i have no idea if this happend or not.

Please does anyone have any idea what this could be? Do I have some sort of illness? I know you cant tell me a definate answer, I just want to know if it sounds like anything?

[Stronger]

Sometimes dreams seems so real that they feel real, has your mom said anything to you about it? or sho any signs? And by self-harm what do you mean? I've never heard of any illness that would cause it but I'm no doctor.

[Electra Heart]

I have the same problem... I'm just kinda waiting for someone to post so I can listen to them xD

[thomasgj]

it could just be axiety?
sometimes dreams incorporate real-life thoughts or fears, and since the dream hits so close to reality it seems real.

i could be wrong i'm just giving the best answer i can :)

[trooneh]

From my understanding, vivid dreams that you can't distinguish from reality are a symptom of psychiatric disorders, not necessarily a neurological disorder. I would recommend you see a professional, possibly your pediatrician for a referral about it. For the short term, until you can do so, I am wondering: when you pinch yourself, does it hurt when you're dreaming? I know that's a vague and unclear way of asking this, but the old adage that you should pinch yourself to see if you're dreaming might apply here as a way of grounding yourself in reality. I would see a professional soon, and in the meantime try to find methods to ground yourself in order to be aware whether it's reality or not. Vivid dreams are not uncommon, but being so frequent and so vivid seems to be more uncommon.

[ImCoolBeans]

From my understanding, vivid dreams that you can't distinguish from reality are a symptom of psychiatric disorders, not necessarily a neurological disorder. I would recommend you see a professional, possibly your pediatrician for a referral about it. For the short term, until you can do so, I am wondering: when you pinch yourself, does it hurt when you're dreaming? I know that's a vague and unclear way of asking this, but the old adage that you should pinch yourself to see if you're dreaming might apply here as a way of grounding yourself in reality. I would see a professional soon, and in the meantime try to find methods to ground yourself in order to be aware whether it's reality or not. Vivid dreams are not uncommon, but being so frequent and so vivid seems to be more uncommon.

Other ways of grounding yourself can include closely keeping track of time, pinching your nose shut and try to blow air out -- sometimes in a dream if you do that you'll still be able to blow out. Also try to find distinct signs or things around you. If everything is perfectly in order you most likely are not dreaming, but if for some reason you can't read a sign, words change or are just plain blurry you are most likely dreaming.

[KidImage]

Aren't these called lucid dreams? I have had a couple, you can control anything an do anything. Just try to pinch yourself if you don't feel it then your sleeping?

[Syvelocin]

I learned this one thing from some site talking about learning how to lucid dream. Basically, throughout the day look at your hands, palms up, and ask yourself if you're dreaming. Typically when you do this in a dream, your hands may look weird or you'll have more or less fingers than you do. Make this a habit to do througout the day, and then attempt to the best of your ability to continue the habit when you are dreaming. If you can't control what you do in your dreams at least making that a habit may eventually incorporate into your dreams. The key really is just to make sure you know the difference. You could even attempt to learn lucid dreaming which would help the problem greatly. You'd be able to completely change your dream. The first step I'm told is to be able to conscious of whether you are awake or asleep. Then you can control what you do in your dream if you can't already, change small things in the dream, and then change the dream entirely.

[DejaVu]

I sometimes have such dreams, and it takes a hell of a lot of thinking to clarify if they were real or not.

[botwa]

it's a huge problem for me.
I just try to think again what I have said and done during the day and remember. sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't

[confused65]

this happens to me a lot. wherever i am and im tired ill start dreaming + i think its real but its not then usually a few days later, some part (usually a big part of my dream) will happen in real life and i cant control it