i don't dream

i cannot remember the last time i had a dream or a nightmare... i have had dreams before but that was a long time ago... is this normal... lately i haven't been under any stress, although i kinda should be but it seems as if i just don't care about anything anymore.

You may be having dreams but not remembering them, which usually isn't abnormal. But you also mentioned that while you aren't under stress, you "kinda" should be, and that you don't seem to be interested in anything. That suggests that you may be depressed, since lack of reaction to things and lack of interest in things can both be signs of depression. You might want to start by talking to someone sympathetic about how you feel, which may make you feel better. If you've been feeling this way for a while, or you feel extremely depressed, or you continue to feel this way, you should think about getting professional help. You wouldn't necessarily need medication, and if it was prescribed, it might make you feel better *without* affecting your ability to work, interact with people, etc. Contrary to a lot of myths, anti-depressants are not "happy pills"; they just make you not depressed. Getting help if you need it does not mean that you are weak or "crazy"; it's just sensible. I hope that you feel better soon.

Well, without mentioning anything Anonymous did, I can give you some tips to help you remember your dreams.

I'm positive it's been posted on ATS/BTS a lot; keep a notebook and pencil near your bed so when you wake up, if you have any dreams you can jot them down in it.
If you try and wait you'll forget the dream very quickly. Happens to me a lot.

--

Oh, and I can't really say for certain whether this is normal or not, but I have trouble remembering dreams so I'll go ahead and guess it is.

-Will

[edit on 21-5-2008 by Basilis]

reply to post by purplemonkey


Do you do any drugs? I know when i'm on a certain green substance i will not remember my dreams but when i don't they come at me like crazy. And if not, if you want to remember your dreams try some meditating before going to bed, only takes 10-20 minutes and you can try a clinical ( non spiritual ) kind of meditating. My dreams always seem to stick more vividly in my mind when i calm my mind before sleeping.

BTW, the not caring bit of your OP. Do you still enjoy the nice things in life and shrug of the bad things or is everything the same for you? Anyway, good luck with it because dreaming can be very fun if you get the hang of it.

the substance harman mentioned could lead to both, if so, lay off a bit. if not, set your alarm half an hour earlier than normal and it should wake you in the middle of a dream. if you still get nothing try light exercize a half hour before you go to bed, dunno if it'll do any good for your dreams but it'll help the apathy and it can hardly hurt

thanks for the reply guys!

im not on drugs lol, and i don't drink alcohol or smoke

i don't think i am depressed although sometimes i question the 'point of life', but i am usually pretty happy. i just don't care what happens because it always seems to work out for the best... maybe im just lazy

ill give meditation a shot... and ill keep a note pad next to my bed..

thanks again

The likelihood is that you are just not remembering your dreams.

However, if you've noticed a tendency to sleep a lot in addition to your apathetic mood, there's a very slim possibility it could be some sort of sleep disorder that's affecting either your deep non-REM sleep or your REM-sleep. (Note: When I say "a lot," I mean a lot. Like your body wants 16+ hours on a regular basis type "a lot.") I developed something like this a few years back. Turns out the apathy I was feeling was mostly an expression of fatigue.

If it doesn't seem to be a physiological issue, and you do want to remember your dreams, remember that we tend to remember our dreams best when we wake up in the middle of REM sleep, so you could try setting an alarm at different times a little later or earlier than usual and seeing if you can catch yourself in the REM part of your sleep cycle.