Harley said:
This forum puts the weirdest posts in my feed, I swear.
It’s real.
I’ll reply seriously… my therapist told me dreams are just dreams and thoughts are just thoughts. Let it go. You aren’t a bad person for having out-of-character dreams; they are just dreams. If you wouldn’t say that to someone in person, let it go and move on.
@Vesper
On a similar note, something I read hypothesized that dreams are your brain’s way of testing situations before deciding whether or not to pursue them in waking life. OP’s horrified reaction is a good sign; his brain is playing around, and his ‘WTF?!’ reaction indicates that that word is definitely not part of his vocabulary.
@Frost
I think testing situations is part of it, but I have dreams about being eaten alive by aliens, and I don’t think that counts.
@Kelly
> As I stared across at the still-standing Twin Towers, I was filled with anxiety and power over tossing it over the edge. I recoiled physically. I would never! But I totally could!
The call of the void.
@Frost
OP’s reaction isn’t good if it’s affecting his day-to-day life. There’s such a thing as being overly neurotic.
@Vesper
Yeah, it’s not like he’s dreaming of murdering someone 
.
Kip said:
@Vesper
Yeah, it’s not like he’s dreaming of murdering someone
Is there something wrong with dreaming about murdering someone?
@Vesper
Sometimes a dream is just a dream.
@Vesper
I agree that ‘you are not a bad person’ for having this dream! However, many dreams are very important. They offer insight into our subconscious, which influences our lives. I’m surprised your therapist said that.
@Keir
I was having extreme thoughts due to something traumatic happening. They were a reaction, but I became obsessed with them. Ultimately, I decided to work through them and let them die because the thoughts were disturbing. This happened when I was a kid, and I didn’t tell anyone for many reasons until I told my therapist. You can have disturbing thoughts from your unconscious and consciously not act on them. People aren’t simple enough for the unconscious to reflect the whole person. You can’t know your entire subconscious anyway. My therapist probably sensed that whatever was bubbling beneath hadn’t won because that isn’t the person I am or want to be, even if part of me wanted it. I’m not sure if you’re a therapist or sleep doctor since you sound confident, but I believe it’s okay to let some thoughts and dreams go if you feel bad for having them if you wouldn’t act on them in real life. This post may be serious or not, but I wanted to address it seriously in case it was real because I was tormented.
@Vesper
Thanks for your response. I agree that we can have disturbing thoughts in reaction to our dreams. I’m not a doctor or therapist; I just learned from some (not all!) dreams to understand my innermost feelings at the time and why I might be having those thoughts and feelings. I try to learn more about myself every day!
I agree—people can have conflicting desires, and we can’t know our whole subconscious! I’m glad your therapist guided you—I’ve had plenty of guidance that was super helpful when I needed it. Please forgive anything I said that felt out of line. May we all find peace in our lifetimes.
@Keir
What I meant is that disturbing dreams and thoughts can stem from traumatic experiences. We take in what happens around us. Just because you think or dream ugly things due to ugly events doesn’t make you ugly. I just didn’t like reading that our dreams are very important because some aren’t, and what people dream isn’t fully up to them since experiences are out of their control. So I think saying dreams are very important for a person isn’t entirely true; it might be better not to push that onto people. But it’s all good; I respect your opinion.
If it helps, I used to have recurring dreams about Bernie Sanders back when he was running for president in 2020. The plot would change, but he would always express disappointment in me for not doing enough for the campaign.
@Keegan
I am once again asking if I can infiltrate your dreams to shame you for not contributing to my campaign enough. -Dream Bernie Sanders.
@Keegan
While it’s funny, this might have broken me.
Zayden said:
@Keegan
While it’s funny, this might have broken me.
That’s really sad.
@Keegan
“I am once again asking you to contribute to my campaign.”
@Keegan
Bart: ‘Help me, George Washington? Wow, even your dreams are square!’