Nightmares waking me up

The dreams have been going on since elementary school. They just wake me up a lot more than usual. I used to be able to change my dreams and now I cant. I also feel pain if I'm shot or hurt in general. I used to have dreams about hiding or running , falling, circuses, now it's involving arson, kids being shot, bloody noses. All of which involves my family. Car dreams when my first car had issues. Something traumatic did happen but I don't dream about that and I was dreaming before it. I used to be able to tell my whole dream but my boyfriend I have now doesn't get up at night like I do so I just try to forget it and go back to sleep. But continue the dream or have different ones all night

I've always been a vivid dreamer too and like you, I could change my dreams when I was younger. And yes, I can feel terrible pain in my dreams too. But I think that's normal for anyone who actually remembers their dreams. As you probably know, sleep researchers have established that everyone dreams, but only a small proportion of people seem able to recall them. Dreams can include elements of any of your senses. I sometimes get strong smells and tastes - often revolting in the latter case, though I occasionally dream I'm eating delicious foods.

First of all, try not to worry about it. I used to find that the more scared I got of my dreams the worse they got. Easier said than done, I know, but you need to try and break the cycle.

Also, try to work out whether there are any triggers that make dreams worse. Getting too hot in the night is one of my triggers. Did anything change in your life around the time the dreams started waking you more than usual? Could be a major life change or even something simple as moving your bed or getting a new mattress. And have you been under any kind of stress lately? Some medications can cause vivid dreams too.

I'd be interested to know what the lesion in your brain is. (I'm a former neuro nurse.) Is it by any chance in one of your temporal lobes? That's the part of the brain that seems to be quite heavily implicated in dreaming and other phenomena associated with REM sleep.

The good news was that my dreams got less scary as I got into middle age. My dream recall is not as good now either, though I think it's still better than most people's. Unfortunately, however, I also lost the ability to change them, at least for the most part. I'm sad about that, as I had some great dreams when I was in the driving seat!

I'd say that unless you suspect there's a worsening of your brain lesion, in which case you should see your neurologist asap, this is probably not something you should worry about too much.

My dreams tend to change with different foods and mainly medications or just anything new I put in my body. The dreams never stop and they wake me up. I am disoriented and my face goes numb. The neurologist is testing me for ms and lupus I am getting another mri soon in September I have lesions on my c spine. I was falling asleep while driving as well because I have trouble sleeping in the Am regardless how tired I am. I had an accident. But I don't think I have cataplexy I told that er neurologist that I work overnight too. But the sleep diary made me realize I do fall asleep quickly when nothing's on my mind and I hardly can fall asleep for a nap but sometimes have dosed off for ha

f hour and awkakened from dreams. I don't sleep through the night. Could something else be wrong. I also get the shocks in my brain or whatever it is that make me stop in my tracks mainly when something looks awkward or out of place to me.