I just woke up (before my alarm, which is unfortunate) from a really nasty dream.


It was one of those where it was set in a fairly believable setting with the characters in it all being people I know; nothing outrageous to tip me off that it's a dream. But this was that kind where you wake up and the emotions from the dream are still with you, even long after you realize it was "just a dream" and that the situation (or at least people's reactions within it) really was quite illogical.


I started wondering why certain dreams contain emotions that won't loosen their grip on you once you awake; whereas sometimes I could have a nightmare about something far crazier and scarier (think horror movie) and be fine as soon as I wake up. I think for this one there were enough elements in it directly related to the past few days that, rather than being able to think it away on the basis of being illogical, it just seems like a possibility twisted and extrapolated from what really happened but blown slightly out of proportion. Also, I know it wasn't random, but was dredged up from fears/concerns/insecurities about things that I only had a marginal awareness of. This makes it much harder to write off b/c a little voice says, "what if the elements are true? What if that is all true, just not the ridiculous way it happened? What if people really think that? What if you really are that way?" I wonder if that's the dividing line btwn dreams you can shrug off and forget and those that latch on with their claws and won't let go: The extent to which they search out your deeper fears and insecurities and bring them to the forefront.

I think I've found a new reason not to sleep in.