Why Do You Resent What Happened in Your Dreams?
If you’ve ever woken up from an unpleasant dream, upset about someone you know, you are not alone. It happens to everyone, and there is a fairly simple explanation as to why it happens.
A few weeks ago, I had a dream in which a group of angry guys shot and killed my brand new super-beautiful dream car while I was in it. Then my father showed up and I told him about it. The dad of my dreams not only did not care about the car or my safety, but also advised me to just get over it. I woke up that morning angry with my father and felt that way for the rest of the day, even though he wasn’t really doing anything.
So what gives? Well, part of the equation is our dream memory, or lack thereof. We only remember a few of our dreams. Alexis Konason, a clinical psychologist, explains in Science of Us that most of the dreams we remember are “emotionally shocking or difficult, filled with anxiety, fear, guilt, shame, helplessness, or confusion.” In fact, these charged emotions stay with us because we remember them the most. Everything seems real in dreams, so it’s hard to just let go, especially when most of these vivid dreams happen in the early morning, right before we wake up.
Another aspect is your stress level and what is happening in your life. Sleep specialist and psychologist Michael Breus explains that constantly thinking about a very stressful situation can show up in your dreams because that’s where your brain is trying to figure out. This dream may not be a real stressful situation in your life, but it will increase the likelihood that it will happen.
Unfortunately, the best thing you can do is try not to blame people for your dreams until you feel better. One study published in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Science suggests that the effects of anxious dreams usually last for at least a day or longer. So, feel what you need to feel, buttry not to drag on Phoebe Buffay .