Do You Dream Disabled???
24 Feb 2011:
I have been thinking about dreaming lately. Some say that dreams are a result of your subconscious mind exploring something that you are unsure of or scared to do. It could be a fear that you have and your subconscious is telling you to overcome.
There are many different types of dreams, some people are able to control their dreams, this is called lucid dreaming, and is where you are able to change your dream, so that it ends up the way that you want it to.
Then there are recurring dreams, ones that may have been with you since childhood. These can be dreamt over and over again, like a movie or television show. Again, it may be the result of an underlying fear or hidden memory.
There are also nightmares, which can be quite frightening and realistic. These can cause you to wake suddenly, while sweating and breathing heavily, sometimes, not being able to distinguish between dream and reality.
Whilst doing some research, I've come across a lot of different dream forums, which include lengthy discussions and arguments about why we dream about what we dream of...
There were a few questions from forum members who were asking if people with a vision impairment dream. The most common answer I was able to find is, yes, they do dream, but there was some debate about how they dream. Some believed that if a person was born vision impaired, then they can only dream using some of their other senses, such as sound, smell and sometimes touch. It was also said, that if a person became blind later on in life, then they would only dream of people that they knew at the time of and up until losing their sight. With new people in their life appearing as figures with blurry features where their face would be, as if it was how they imagined the person to look. I'm not blind, so I cannot say whether or not any of these answers are correct, but if you are, or you know someone who is vision impaired, please share any dream experiences with me, as I find it a very interesting topic that I am extremely curious about.
As a person born with a physical disability, most people would probably assume that when I appear in my own dreams, I would dream of being in my wheelchair. But most of the time, I actually dream of being a lot taller than I am and being able to walk, without a disability at all.
So that has gotten me thinking if anyone else who has a physical disability dreams the same as me... If you have an arm or leg amputation, do you dream that your arm or leg is still attached? I am aware that everyone is different, so I would love to hear some other experiences that you have to compare them and see if this is a common occurrence amongst people with a physical disability.
There are many dream myths around too, some believe that we cannot dream in colour or if we do, it means something specific.
There's also the one about falling, that if you hit the ground in your dream, then you will die in real life... I read that this isn't true by the way.
Then there's the feeling of needing to urinate, some people think that if you go to the toilet in your dream, then you are wetting yourself in your sleep. I think this depends on age, mental capacity and if you've had too many alcoholic drinks or not. I know I've dreamt of going to the toilet in my dream and have woken up a short time later, still busting to go, so I think that was more of a warning to get up before it's too late.
Please share your thoughts on this subject, disabled or able-d, I'd love to hear what you have to say as I think dreams are a fascinating topic!