Dreaming about your most feared illness

[RadioGaGa]

Hello everyone

Melanoma fear is now over and, as expected, the glioblastoma (brain tumour) fear has returned full force. I've been taking panic attacks falling asleep, and last night I actually dreamt I was diagnosed with one and telling people I had it (f*ck!)

Then tonight in work I was talking to a colleague about a medication when suddenly I felt slightly weird/dizzy. Like I might pass out. Also started to panic that I didn't know where I was (although I obviously did know where I was :roflmao:)

I then stood up and walked about and felt fine. Of course, at the back of my mind I'm a bit worried this was a seizure. Lasted maybe 20 seconds max.

I'm awaiting CBT at my GP surgery. They still haven't contacted me about it.

I just want to end this (nearly) seven year obsession with glioblastoma and live a normal life FFS. :weep:

Sorry I just needed a bit of rant.

Hope you're all well

[Worrywart84]

Although I know Googling is not great advice for a HAer, I just looked up glioblastoma and it seems pretty aggressive—I feel like you would definitely be dead with 7 years and no treatment, right?

Do you ever look at a former worry (melanoma in your case) and see how it played out and how much time you wasted fretting over it and it was nothing, and then apply it to your current worry and think “hey this might be the next thing and I will try to handle differently this time”. That’s what I am personally trying to do—I just got over a colon cancer scare and I am fighting a hard internal battle not to let my oral cancer scare simply take its place. I am trying to think hard that this will likely not be cancer either.

[NervUs]

That is so strange you mention this. I had a rabies dream last night. I am not currently fearing rabies but was in quite a state about 7 months ago. I truly have moved on...

but...

last night, I dreamed my husband and I were at a hotel. There was a hole in the mattress, and the cutest bat you've ever seen flew out, then a smaller version- a baby. Well, the baby scratched me 5 times, huge long scratches that even mu husband could see. I went to get shots but then realized they had forgotten to give me the immunoglobulin and I was telling my husband I really needed to go to the ER to get that. He was fighting with me that I didn't need it.

I woke up from the dream aware it was a dream, and I don't see it as anything more that that. I have no idea where it came from since, as I said, I am really not actively worried about rabies. But, it must still be there in my brain....maybe the recent rabies case in the news triggered something deep in my brain.

The same thing applies to you. When we spend so much time and energy investing in something, it penetrates our brain and is not easy to remove. It's not a sign; just an indicator of an unhealthy preoccupation taking up the space that could be used for much better ideas.

[MyNameIsTerry]

That is so strange you mention this. I had a rabies dream last night. I am not currently fearing rabies but was in quite a state about 7 months ago. I truly have moved on...

but...

last night, I dreamed my husband and I were at a hotel. There was a hole in the mattress, and the cutest bat you've ever seen flew out, then a smaller version- a baby. Well, the baby scratched me 5 times, huge long scratches that even mu husband could see. I went to get shots but then realized they had forgotten to give me the immunoglobulin and I was telling my husband I really needed to go to the ER to get that. He was fighting with me that I didn't need it.

I woke up from the dream aware it was a dream, and I don't see it as anything more that that. I have no idea where it came from since, as I said, I am really not actively worried about rabies. But, it must still be there in my brain....maybe the recent rabies case in the news triggered something deep in my brain.

The same thing applies to you. When we spend so much time and energy investing in something, it penetrates our brain and is not easy to remove. It's not a sign; just an indicator of an unhealthy preoccupation taking up the space that could be used for much better ideas.

Definitely this ^

If you spend all day on a subject your brain is going to be busy filing away bits of all that in your sleep.

But also subtle triggers can easily provoke a thought to the subconscious as NervUs is saying about her dream. Intrusive thoughts & mind pops work exactly in this way because until the programming is rewired it's still in there awaiting some association to pluck it out.

But it's still only asking the conscious mind what to do. You can start making it important again with negative thinking & behaviours or try to dismiss it as a garbage thought you are well over and stop it in it's tracks. I appreciate that can be hard though.

Think of it from an angle outside of your anxiety. How many dreams have I had about being some nutty axe murderer type. And my intrusive thoughts were often harm based. Yet I'm not someone who is violent, have no record, was brought up to be kind to others and respect them and have never done anything remotely connected with my intrusive thoughts.

I'm sure you would just tell me the thoughts are nonsense. They mean nothing about me. Well I hope anyway! :roflmao:

So, isn't it the same for yours?

[Tiatyrah]

I have had a dream last week where I was diagnosed with lymphoma and I was telling my parents the news.. Then the night after I dreamed about my mother having cancer and that she died because of it. The 2 worst nights ever! Woke up and felt weird the whole day,both days.

[Andy699]

I'm studying Psychology at University and it's strange but scientists still dont fully understand why we dream. There are a few theories though:
1. That dreams are kind of like a filing system, it's on brains going through the day and sorting it out and then storing it in memories.
2. That dreams are a representation of our subconscious. So it's basically stuff that's in our minds but we're not neccesarily conscious or aware of.
3. This is the one I agree with... Because the majority of dreams have negative emotions attached to them (fear, sadness etc) they are a way for our brains to do a 'practice run' of a bad scenario so that if it ever did occur in real life you're more mentally prepared to deal with it.