cancer dream caused 9 months of extreme anxiety

Posted , 2 users are following.

It wasnt really a dream...let me explin: So back in march I woke up in the middle of the night from a sharp pain in the side of my left breast, my eyes were still closed and I started rubbing the area of pain, as I was my mind told myself I had breast cancer and then my eyes shot open and wast freaked out beyond belief. Since then i have had constant heart pounding anxiety, I even went to a doctor and they looked at me like I was crazy (I was 19 at the time) and they did an exam and said I was fine, but I am still worried it is there or it will be there in the future....

I know a few things that might have caused this though, I found out my friends mom had breast cancer the day before this "dream" and I was PMSing so that mightve explained the pain, although I still get it when I am not on my period or PMSing.

I know it is silly but I really over think things, I have never had a dream freak me out this much, should I be worried at ALL?

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2 Replies

  • Posted

    No - you shouldn't be worried by a dream. I've always had vivid dreams, including having terrible illnesses, accidents, and even dying on several occasions, and none of them ever came true. Well, I guess one or two of them might eventually come true as I'm 74 now, but I'm talking about dreams that started in childhood!

    As a former nurse, I strongly suspect that the occasional recurrence of this pain is simply down to anxiety. However, if you can raise the money to have a mammogram done privately (I'm assuming the doctor didn't order that) it might put your mind at rest. In fact, breast cancer only very rarely causes pain in the early stages. It usually only starts hurting in the later stages, when a massive lump starts pressing on nerves. Anything of this nature would, of course, have been picked up by your doctor, and you'd probably be able to feel it yourself too.

    Just one other thought occurs to me. You say the pain occasionally comes back, but you don't state under what circumstances. Is it always when you wake suddenly? This is actually important, as it may be that you're suffering from sleep paralysis without realising it. I've had sleep paralysis for 50 years now, and it's often accompanied by tactile (touch) hallucinations, which can be very painful. The bit about your eyes still being closed is something of a giveaway. The fact that you say you were able to rub your breast doesn't mean anything, as sleep paralysis can also cause hallucinations of movement - up to and including getting out of bed, then waking up and finding you're still there. Sleep paralysis is completely harmless, even if it can be unpleasant.

    • Posted

      Thank you for the reply, you helped me calm down a lot today so thank you very much.

      no my doctor did not order a mammogram for me, she didnt seem concerned and i dont think it would be easy to get one for numerous reasons. She did feel the area of concern and advised me to not feel around because of my anxiety.

      as for the pain, I thought it was my hormones that caused it or my PMS, i talked to my mom earlier today about it and she told me she has an almost identical pain, it runs from the side of her left breast near her nipple and it is sharp and comes on every few month but stays for a while, she couldnt remember what her doctor told her it was but i think it had to do with a nerve that runs near the armpit.

      and i do get sleep paralysis often, i just never had it include pain, movement and creepy cancer thoughts before.... i tend to over think things i guess.

      thank you again for your reply, you really helped me calm down.

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