Ever had sensory overload in a dream?

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Ennui0001
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07 Dec 2017, 11:12 am

Have you ever had sensory overload in a dream?
I'll try and keep it short because I know people find it boring when others talk about their dreams.
I've been looking for a rescue puppy off and on so that part of the dream is normal.

In the dream my husband takes me to pick up a puppy at a shelter. The woman who is filling out the adoption info is talking to me, there are a ton of dogs barking, there other other people around talking and I snap, stick my fingers in my ears, ask my husband to handle everything and go sit down on a low wall, with my eyes closed, fingers still in my ears.

Have you ever had this happen? The feeling was every bit as it is in real life, I can still dredge up a bit of it, like when you have any realistic dream. I feel a little like my brain betrayed me, won't even let me escape in my own dreams. And a dream that should've been about puppies no less!


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Embla
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07 Dec 2017, 2:49 pm

I can recall something similar.
This happened way before my diagnosis, at the time I thought what I was experiencing was panic attacks, but as it turns out it was more likely meltdowns.
I remember that dream very clearly (6 years later) and now that I read this post, it is very obvious that it was in fact a "meltdown-dream".
I fell asleep on my couch, and in the dream I woke up on the same couch, so I didn't realize that it was a dream. I opened the door and the light from outside seemed really bright(even though it was nighttime), and there were a lot of people standing outside. Then there was a lot of noise, which I can't remember much of, just that it was really loud. I fell to the floor and there were flashes of light everywhere and the noise got louder and louder. I just squeezed my head and screamed.
It was actually even more intense than my meltdowns in real life. It left me just as exhausted as a real meltdown would, and it took almost a week to get over it.



Dataunit
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07 Dec 2017, 3:10 pm

No, I can't ever recall having that. Then again, I'm the type of Aspie who has never had a meltdown (plenty of shutdowns, but no meltdowns) so sensory stuff is unlikely to affect me enough to come into my dreams.


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lostonearth35
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07 Dec 2017, 3:11 pm

A few times I've had dreams where people I don't know have come into my apartment and are crowded all around being noisy, wrecking the place, and being a general nuisance, and then I actually woke up screaming "QUIET!" or "SHUT UP!" and even punching the air. At least once I remember hitting the wall with my hand, and it hurt. Obviously.

My mom says my dad talks and grabs at things in his sleep as well, so I must get it from him. :)



DaughterOfAule
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09 Dec 2017, 9:31 am

I've had at least two that I can remember.
In the first one I was in the middle of people walking around. Suddenly everyone was getting closer to me until everyone was either bumping into me or purposely touching me. I mumbled "don't touch me". They didn't stop so I said it louder, and tried to shrug them off. It escalated until I was screaming it repeatedly while clawing my way through the crowd of people in full blown panic with tears streaming down my face. I felt so awful when I woke up I nearly cried for real.

In the second one, which I just had last week, I was walking down a sidewalk and somebody was talking to me. I was starting to get irritated due to the noise of the vehicles, the traffic lights were making clicking noises, dogs barking, the person talking, footsteps, etc. It built up and then just hit me, I screamed and covered my ears as tight as I could, crouched down and rocked. I scratched at my head while still covering my ears and made quiet screaming noises while gritting my teeth. When I snapped out of it I was curled up in a ball on the side walk and the person who had been talking to me was there and told me to take my time, that we could just sit on the sidewalk until I felt a bit better. It was actually nice lying curled up on the sidewalk. It was warm from the sun. (Though the dream did end as a nightmare because two muggers found us sitting on the side walk, they had a knife, and let's just say I'm thankful that I woke up and that it wasn't real.)

I usually have shutdowns or very private non-vocal meltdowns, so though the dreams were generally unpleasent, it was somewhat cathartic to be able to react the way things make me feel. I've always been too introverted for my own good, everything is forced inward until I implode.


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Ennui0001
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09 Dec 2017, 3:46 pm

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I'm glad to hear that it's not just me but, I'm also not glad to hear it's not just me. It sounds like you all have had some painful overload/meltdown dreams. For me it wasn't so much that the meltdown in the dream was bad, it was actually pretty mild. The thing that upset me was that it happened in a dream at all.

I really identify with the quietly imploding feeling, though I suspect that it's not actually as quiet as I think it is. It's been a very busy few weeks socially plus I'm having problems dealing with school work, partially because of the social overload, which makes me put everything off and that makes me feel worse. The day after my Thanksgiving house guests left I had such a huge crying meltdown that one of my dogs started crying and pawing at me (she's a shepherd and very in tune with my state of anxiety).

I think all of that plus other holidays coming up with more social engagements and people everywhere when I go out manifested in that dream meltdown. Plus I was just formally diagnosed in September and because of things like school, work, family, holidays, etc. I haven't had time (nor the will) to process it properly. Coming here to Wrong Planet helps and so does doing research on autism. I've also found that if I don't read fiction or play an immersive video game at least every other day I get overwhelmed much faster.


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There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
- Hamlet (Act 1 Scene 5), Hamlet to Horatio