Reacurring dreams

[Phili]

Do any of you suffer from reacurring dreams?  I am being bombarded with them and they follow a theme of animal neglect.

 

here is an example, tonight’s dream.

 

 

I have three parrots, two are in one cage and are black and though I call them parrots they look more like stubb crows, the other is clearly a parrot and bright yellow, he is called Charlie. The other two have no names and I barely look at them. I feed and water both but dote on Charlie, cuddling and talking to him. The other two birds then become sick. I put them in a small wooden cupboard and for some reason I put Charlie in there too. A few days later I remember them and when I open the cupboard Charlie is very sick and the other two have melted. Before I open the cupboard  I am watching my brother outside, he is talking to an elderly lady who has dogs and some other kind of bird. I run outside crying with the cages, though I am afraid to go out. The street has a lane heading north east that is always heavily seen during the dream, from my window. There is something on the corner, like an iron lamp about waist hight but I never get a good look at it. Despite living in a town the lane I run down, that lane, is rural. The vet is very close. The outside is blue, the vet is male, young and dark haired and the inside of the building is very cold. He looks at the birds. He says that they are suffering from extreme dehydration, I realise it is because of heat and steam in the cupboard. He saves Charlie by reviving him but the other two are dead and you can see the bones on their legs. I keep repeating that it’s my fault, it’s my fault, he asks me at some point for an ice pack for himself but I cannot find it in the freezer. The vet tries to comfort me but I keep sobbing and repeating that it’s my fault. I take Charlie home. My mum thinks it’s a good idea to post about the parrots dying online to get likes to make me feel better but I say they are only likeing it because they don’t know what I have done, that it’s my fault. My mum asks if I want another parrot but I say I am incapable of giving love to more than one pet. I just keep repeating that it’s  my fault. 

 

All of my dreams follow a similer pattern, it is almost always parrots, on occasion there will be fish or dogs as well. Never cats. I realise I have forgotten about them and am scared to look or forget them again, things like that. These dreams are almost nightly and have been since last summer and it’s driving me nuts, it is very upsetting and I carry the guilt all day.

Edited March 28, 2018 by Phili

[Lost_in_a_Dark_Maze]

Yes! I also have recurring dreams about animal neglect - in my case it's my pet guinea pigs who died more than ten years ago. (Coincidentally, my OCD flared up very badly after their death.) In the dreams I'll suddenly remember them and that I haven't fed them or anything in ages. When I go to them they'll either be dead or very sick. I know what you mean about the guilt. It's horrible isn't it?

As well as the recurring dreams, I have a lot of vivid dreams generally. Mostly bad and very exhausting, that stay with me all day.

[ecomum]

I've had these dreams too. I have loads of pets in shed and realise I've forgotten to feed them. I wonder if it's a common theme like teeth falling out but it plays on our minds more if we have ocd. 

[Isthisreality]

Stop confessing to everyone around you. Especially your mom, no offence but she is probably  not trained in how to get people to recover from OCD. 

I have had bad dreams in periods when my OCD have been very strong or  when i am trying to not engage in it. Stop taking responsibility for what you are dreaming!

[Phili]

5 hours ago, Isthisreality said:

Stop confessing to everyone around you. Especially your mom, no offence but she is probably  not trained in how to get people to recover from OCD. 

I have had bad dreams in periods when my OCD have been very strong or  when i am trying to not engage in it. Stop taking responsibility for what you are dreaming!

My Mum was part of my dream, in waking life she has passed away.

The dreams disturb me

[snowbear]

30 minutes ago, Phili said:

The dreams disturb me

Because of the meaning you give them.

Shrug them off as 'mental belly fluff' and there's no reason for you to find them disturbing. Dreams don't mean anything. They're just your brain doing the equivalent of shredding some old paperwork to make room in the filing cabinet for tomorrow's experiences.  

[PolarBear]

20 hours ago, snowbear said:

Because of the meaning you give them.

Shrug them off as 'mental belly fluff' and there's no reason for you to find them disturbing. Dreams don't mean anything. They're just your brain doing the equivalent of shredding some old paperwork to make room in the filing cabinet for tomorrow's experiences.  

Haha. Love that analogy.