Lonely People Might Feel Lonely in their Dreams Too

You know sometimes the internet or should I say new studies on the Internet can do extremely well in making you question the life choices you've made. Why did I say this ? Well there is this article from Psypost.org titled, "Loneliness haunts us even in our dreams, new psychology research suggests."

The problem here is , now even my so called dreams aren’t safe from the dark cloud of loneliness. Yeah just what I needed, a reminder that I can’t even catch a break in my sleep! just great!!

Lets move on


Image by Leo from Pixabay


Yeah, the article starts by hitting us with the cold hard truth, which is loneliness doesn’t just make you feel lousy when you’re awake; it follows you into your dreams lol, like that one clingy ex who just can’t take a hint, you know those ones right ? Oh boy, now imagine my surprise when I learned that those weird, unsettling dreams I’ve been having might not just be random nonsense but actually a reflection of my waking life. Thanks very much brain.

Apparently, it suggests that lonely people are more likely to experience negative emotions in their dreams, which might include nightmares, sadness, or even straightup isolation. So, let me get this straight. If I’m lonely during the day, there’s a good chance I’ll be feeling it in my sleep too? Is there no escape? I was really hoping my dreams could at least give me a mini escape vacation from reality, but no such luck!

The researchers say this might be because dreams are a way for our minds to process our emotions and experiences. When we’re lonely, those feelings don’t just vanish when our heads hit the pillow. Instead, they bubble up in our dreams, you know that Wi-Fi signal that won’t let you disconnect, something like that. So, if you’re feeling isolated, you might end up dreaming about being stranded on a deserted island with nothing but a tall coconut tree for company. (Although, if some people have survived that , maybe I can too?)


Image by Leo from Pixabay


I continued reading just to see if there was any silver lining to this study. Maybe there’s some way to outsmart my brain and trick it into giving me dreams that are full of you know cute puppies and rainbows instead of an isolated island and empty rooms. But no, the researchers didn’t seem to have any quick fixes for this one. They just calmly explained that the best way to stop loneliness from creeping into your dreams is to deal with it in real life. Yeah sure, I’ll just go out and make a bunch of genuine friends overnight. You know, it very much possible to feel lonely even with lots of friends

So, here I am, thinking that I can just sleep away my problems, but no, even my subconscious is like, “Nope, we’re not done here yet!” It’s like having a nightmare where you keep trying to run away, but your legs won’t move fast enough. Except, in this case, it’s my own brain holding me back.

But the article did get me thinking you know, maybe, just maybe there’s a deeper lesson here. Perhaps, instead of trying to escape loneliness, I should be confronting it headon. Maybe those dreams are my brain’s way of telling me to stop ignoring the problem and start addressing it. Perhaps, just perhaps, it’s time to take a break from working, working, working, bingewatching TV shows and scrolling through endless memes and actually reach out to people. Even if it’s just a simple “Hey, how are you?” text, it could make a difference. And who knows? Maybe if I start feeling less lonely during the day, my dreams might just start to look a little brighter too.


Image by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay


In the end, while the thought of loneliness haunting my dreams isn’t exactly comforting, it’s a good reminder that our minds are constantly working to process our emotions. So, rather than seeing these dreams as a curse, maybe I should view them as a wakeup call (pun intended). It’s time to focus on building connections in the real world, so I can finally get some peaceful sleep and maybe you know vanquish some dream demons.

Thanks for reading


References




370
0
69.936 STEM

2 comments

Thanks for your contribution to the STEMsocial community. Feel free to join us on discord to get to know the rest of us!

Please consider delegating to the @stemsocial account (85% of the curation rewards are returned).

You may also include @stemsocial as a beneficiary of the rewards of this post to get a stronger support. 
 

0
0
0.000 STEM