ANA Discussion Forum
Watch and Wait => For those in the 'watch and wait' status => Topic started by: Ethan.S on July 01, 2008, 11:57:48 pm
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Alright this is kind of random, but suddenly struck me the other night when I woke up. I frequently have dreams of falling, with the sensation of it being very vivid, and I've been wondering if there is a connection to loss of balance. I remember having them as a kid, up to now so at least 12 years. Any of you guys noticed this as well? I mean everyone has had a falling dream, but frequent reoccurring.
Ethan
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No, I have not had any dreams like this.
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Ethan:
Interesting observation. Although it seems quite possible that vivid dreams of falling might have a physical connection to balance nerve damage, I never experienced this. I understand that most dreams are generated by mental and emotional processes (memory, fear, anxiety) but we know that physical issues can occasionally affect dreams, as in the need to urinate manifesting in dreams of waterfalls and such. Even so, I doubt you'll ever find a direct connection as dreams are ethereal, making them somewhat impossible to define precisely or to find a distinct reason for a specific, recurring dream.
If other AN patients report similar dreams on a large scale (not just a few people) that would validate your suspicion that your AN is impacting what you're dreaming about. Frankly, I have my doubts...but it's worth questioning, as you have.
Jim
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Hi Ethan,
I think Jim might be right when he says most dreams are generated by mental and emotional processes (memory, fear, anxiety). In my case, as a child I had frequent dreams about being able to fly. Sometimes upon awakening, I actually thought I could fly. However, I never jumped off of a tall building to check it out! As an adult I have had periods of time where I had these flying dream. I guess these dreams can be interpreted in many ways. Just check out the books on dreams in the bookstore. But, I think ultimately in the end only you can interpret your own dreams. I also think sometimes dreams are just dreams with no real meaning attached. I think my flying dreams come up when I am anxious. However, I have been terribly anxious about this AN, but I haven't had any flying dreams. But, now I will probably have one tonight since I just now mentioned this on your post! I think these AN do a mental job on all of us, and we can see some weird things coming about as a result. For instance, I have now become a compulsive radio volume watcher. I listen to the same CD in my car over and over and note that when it is on 9 it is my "normal" listening mode, and when I want to "get down" it goes to 10. This has become my unofficial hearing test! I have other weird stuff I do as well--putting my finger in one ear and then the other to check the hearing level, switching the phone from ear to ear to compare, etc. New things to keep my OCD in overdrive. Oh, one of my frequent dreams is that I wake up and my AN has grown 1 cm overnight--maybe that is really a nightmare!
Hang in there Ethan. You are not crazy, and you never know, you might be on to something!!!
Nancy
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I listen to the same CD in my car over and over and note that when it is on 9 it is my "normal" listening mode, and when I want to "get down" it goes to 10.
Can it go to 11? :D
Steve
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Hi Steve,
When I turn it to 11 sometimes it makes my ear hurt. Or at least on that particular song that I listen to over and over (which is the song I use for my unofficial hearing test). Same way with the TV. I go up and down on the volume because some things I can hear good and some I can't hear so good, and then sometimes the sound just hurts my ear altogether. For this reason I control the remote. My husband just puts up with the ups and downs on the volume. Maybe this is because I only have hearing loss in the high frequency range--and, it's only 35 on the hearing test which is in the mild range, right?
Nancy