back to life

For anyone sleep is very important for well being, but in illness good therapeutic sleep is essential for recovery. The most common symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome,(CFS), are fatigue and sleepiness especially during the day. But despite seeming to sleep a lot , a sufferer of CFS does not get therapeutic sleep and can suffer from insomnia.

During my illness I have found the fatigue and sleep problems very distressing. When I was able, I did a lot of research into ways of improving sleep at night and manage my fatigue and sleepiness during the day. Also quite a few years before I became ill I did a short course at Bristol University on sleep and dreams as I needed the information for an assignment for a nursing course, and I also found the subject fascinating.

Using my own experiences and the knowledge I have gained through this research, I am attempting to write an ebook on managing sleep problems associated with CFS and dream interpretation. I’m not sure if it’s a symptom of CFS or not but I have had some pretty wacky dreams. I have a couple of books on dream analysis and am forever trying to find the meaning in the  sometimes weird dreams I have. Although they are not as weird as my friend Deb who lives next door, she has some real humdingers!

There are 2 dreams that I have had on a regular basis over a number of years and more frequently in the last 6 months or so. Firstly I dream about being pregnant, during the dream I feel pregnant and all that goes with it. I usually wake up just as I’m going into labour and when I wake up I feel very disappointed when I discover I’m not pregnant. The other dream usually involves me looking for a toilet to use and I can’t seem to find a nice private one to use and end up in a grotty communal loo with no doors.

According to my books the toilet dream means I’m uncertain about my future and the outcome to a particular situation. The pregnancy dream suggests a fairly protracted waiting period for something or completion of a project.

When we sleep our subconscious mind tries to make sense of what we have been doing and thinking consciously during the day. So my strange dreams are reflecting what is going on in my life at the moment, trying to get back to work and normal life and being impatient about it.