Recurring nightmares...

[portroyal]

Usually, I'd pay no mind to frightening dreams, but before now I'd never had recurring dreams before, let alone had a few trivial dreams come true.

Sorry that this post is so long, I just had to get it all out...

I've been reading that quite a lot of people dream little things that happen...for me it's just insignificant occurences, and I do not remember the dream until something clicks and I remember it happening in the dream.
i.e. a friend I have not heard from in a long time contacting me out of the blue, somebody saying something meaningless to me but significant enough for me to make the connection when it happens a few days later. I have only had this start happening recently.

The only dreams I've had that have come true so far that seemed to mean anything was a recurring kind, different settings each time but the same feel and situation...a person from my past who I had severed contact with years ago kept trying to contact me, or I would bump into this person, always with a sense of irritation and/or slight panic. This person would follow me and continue trying to weave themselves into my life again. The person was not threatening but it was something I did not want, and despite the normal settings of the dream, the feeling was a pretty grim one. These dreams were spaced over a few months, then one day after the most recent I thought to myself that this person was going to try to contact me. Sure enough, a day or so later this person did, in the exact same way they did through dream (email) wording it pretty much dead on to what they had in the dream.
I took it as a simple sign that I obviously would be better off not replying to this person and took caution but it unsettled me.

Spaced out also for a few months now, give or take a few, I have had terrible nightmares with intense panic filtering through them. I cannot explain but half the time it is the sudden feeling of dread like I have just realised something terrible all of a sudden that is more frightening than the actual events.
The first, I was shot by a man outside of a supermarket near where I live. I did not feel anything, but I could not see anymore. I just lay there knowing I had been shot, unsure where, but this dream was not very vivid.
I had a few more afterwards, also quite hazy, about running through a field near a school, it was apparent in the dream that there was some sort of school shooting happening, and some kids were shooting towards those of us running through this field.
Now the more intense ones I have had recently involved me first standing outside of the same supermarket from my first dream, and it became known somehow to me, though I did not see anything, that some teenagers in masks were shooting people in the neighbourhood. They were apparently confusing people by dropping some kind of smoke bombs as I could see the white smoke. It was thick and strange. I did glimpse one of the boys at one point but do not recall it well. I remember that a friend of mine and I escaped and ran the 15 minutes back to my house where it was thought of as safe. It seemed to skip forward then and it was a scene very vivid and very normal, of my sister and maybe a few friends hanging out in my living room. It was definitely early evening, still light, a summer night. There was something mentioned about it being smoggy outside, and everything seemed normal until I looked out the window and a huge panic arose in me as I realized the 'smog' was the thick white smoke the gunmen had been letting off. As I realised this there was chaos around me, the dream becomes a little confused as I try to think of it at that point, but the next thing I remember is it was known that the gunmen were around the house somewhere. I was climbing through the bathroom window which leads into the fenced front yard, and as I was opening our gate, one of the gunmen said "You'll have to stop right there" or something of the sort. I remember turning and facing him but do not remember a face or mask or anything. And before I could even brace myself to the bullet, he had shot me right in the head. Now this is the strangest thing...I blacked out in my dream for a few seconds, or however long, I just remember everything going black. Then, I stood up, looking around, the gunman was gone but I knew I was dead. Id never died in a dream before it was a very strange occurance. The only difference was the sky was a strange colour, an extremely bright blue, and everything had taken on a very fake clay like appearance. I turned around at this point, my Father was now in the picture and looking down at something. When I turned, the sight shocked me. It was me, looking rather obviously dead, hole in head and pale and blah blah blah...It was ****ed up, basically. The rest of the dream I was alone, wandering around my prior life and nobody could see me but one of my cats. As cliche as it sounds, I felt people walk through me. It was all very odd. The rest is a haze, but at the end I recall my boss speaking to me clearly, seeing me, and me realizing I was not dead at all.

The other intense one was I was at work, it has no shootings in it but had the same distinct feeling though I cant explain it... (I work a night shift after closing doing stock at a supermarket), there was more dread and panic in this one but I do not exactly know why. The store was pitch black, but it was known that there were people lying in the aisles. Something about me having to do the shift no one else wanted to do and attend to the 'sick people' or something. Its very hard to make sense of...I didnt see anything, I only remember panicking the whole time, trying to sleep at some point...Afterwards I was up at the front of the store and there was lighting. My boss told me something like 'sorry but everyone has to do this sometime'...I was then back in the darkness, panicking again. The scene shifted and I was in my old bedroom suddenly but apparently still running from something, still afraid of something I couldnt put my finger on. It ended with me running down one of the aisles which was now lit up, and was not an aisle but a street, like in a movie set with artificial lighting, but at the end of the street there was a large red double gate and what looked like the forest near where I live at the end of it. All I knew is I had to get out through the gate...as I was moving towards it, a really typical crazed looking old woman, frizzy white hair, white night gown, you get the picture, really cliche...was standing by her front gate, looking over it, and she asked me vaguely "are we allowed out now?" and as I slowed to look at her, the strangest loudest most sinister sound became apparent...it was a mixture of growling, or low howling or just something terrible that I could never explain and I ran towards the forest as it echoed all around me. I got to the forest and I was panting, and despite the fact that I could hear the horrific sound echoing all around, I began to feel relieved, and then I woke up.

The most recent, just as terrifying as the previous, was last night. Absolutely nothing happened but the feeling was terrible.
I thought I was awake, as it was a normal setting and felt very real.
All that happened was my partner rolled over and said had heard gunshots. In the dream I had a feeling of being half asleep, and like I had woken to their voice. I grew extremely frightened, and my partner started freaking out, saying there was talk of this happening and they were getting closer and it's pretty much over. Something strange like that anyway. We just lay there with this knowledge. When I woke up for real it took me awhile to convince myself I had been dreaming, as I couldnt shake the feeling and the scene was exactly the same.
Ive had more but I think Ive taken up enough space...

The thing is, no matter what the scene is for these dreams of being shot or shot at, it's always like an underlying knowledge that it's some kind of school shooting even when there is no school or anything like it. The killers are always young boys. What the hell could this mean? It's started to creep me out with my work place being a regular setting that merges with dreams of mass shootings.

I'm probably just a nutcase, ha, with an overactive imagination. But I'd like opinions please? Also on the mildly psychic dreams...I don't want to have them but they keep happening. I'm kind of scared of dreaming something terrible and it coming true.

[Wolfjk]

Hi,

(I work a night shift after closing doing stock at a supermarket)

It is not natural to work at night. When you work shifts, your body clock is out of synk with the wake in daytime and sleep at night. Your digestive system is upset. You may not be aware of it, however it can cause bad dreams. And ulcers!
Regarding your dreams-they are either trying to keep you asleep or wake you up!
Cheers Wolfjk

[portroyal]

Originally Posted by Wolfjk

Hi,

It is not natural to work at night. When you work shifts, your body clock is out of synk with the wake in daytime and sleep at night. Your digestive system is upset. You may not be aware of it, however it can cause bad dreams. And ulcers!
Regarding your dreams-they are either trying to keep you asleep or wake you up!
Cheers Wolfjk

Right. Well I only work until midnight which is fairly reasonable, and I have never been one to go to bed before then. I've suddenly stopped having these panicked dreams. Now there are unsettling themes but they are met with a lucidity and I am calm throughout them. Odd.

[Zuludawn]

This may definitely be caused by your work hours.