Thread: Why do I love my apocalyptic dreams?

I dream every night and sleep talk a lot so basically I'm extremely tired when waking up the next day as I never really get to sleep through the night. However, when I have these apocalyptic dreams once in a while I wake up happy and relaxed. I always remember being happy in these dreams even though the world is coming to an end, zombies are chasing me etc etc.. I sometimes die in these dreams but it doesn't really bother me at all as if that's just how it goes. I've had these dreams my entire grown up life and maybe even longer. I'm a normal functioning guy (well, besides the sleep talking anyway!) with a university degree and a happy little family so nothing special about me

I've been looking up interpretations regarding apocalyptic dreams but none of them describes anything about being happy about these type of dreams. What do you guys think?

Maybe you like them because they are exciting, full of action, intense, you get to do and see things that may be dangerous, but you know you will not be harmed. At least that's a reason why I love dreams about apocalypse, volcano eruptions, tsunamis, floods, end of the world and post apocalypse dreams. I always wake up rested and rejuvenated from them.

I've had a few apocalyptic dreams where I felt similar: It seemed kind of exciting and fun to explore and witness firsthand (immersed within, yet not directly involved or impacted) crazy, chaotic, scary hypothetical scenarios. I figure it's the same as the feeling people get when watching similarly-themed movies for enjoyment.

Sounds to me like you might have a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea where you are stuck in the hypnagogic transition and never reaching the REM sleep phase, which is required for a restful night of sleep. The hypnagogic state is the liminal period between wakefulness and sleep as you start to doze off; hypnopompic is just before you wake up. It is hypothesized that time dilation occurs during this brief window and a dream of seemingly several minutes could take place in an actual second or less. Others contend that time is not linear and the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously and can be accessed during these two openings. If you check out amazon you can find several books on the subject. So, in theory, these apocalyptic visions may actually be future events that you have tapped into, and can make you famous if you can somehow avert World War III.

On a serious note, I would be interested in knowing if these dreams differ or are recurring, and maybe an example or two, if you are so willing. This way we can determine if you are predicting your own demise, or hell on earth for the rest of us.

I saw an interesting theory about things like this. They say that the reason people are fascinated by apocalyptic events and the reason that our minds like exploring these scenarios in media, and in your case, dreams is because in an apocalyptic scenario the trappings of society break down and humans revert to their base instincts. It's like playing Minecraft. The reason its fun is because there's no rules or boundaries, just a world of resources and dangers for you to navigate and shape. For most of human history, this was life; gathering resources, building shelters, warding of dangers and our brains have developed to reward us for successfully doing so.

Likewise your mind could be more interested in what is lost. This could indicate that the trappings and pressures of society are getting to you and if such an apocalypse were to occur, you would feel liberated. No more grumpy boss at your jobs or long nights of doing homework at school, or no more of that troublesome relationship with your family member(s).

Though the fact that you don't get troubled by the zombies and life and death situations could have two meanings. Either you're so frustrated with your current state that you would happily be fighting for your life at the hands of zombies than being trapped in your life now. Or, you're at some low level of lucidity and for some reason have a feeling that it doesn't really matter that your whole world has just ended and you're about to be captured and studied by the alien overlords that have destroyed the planet. Or it could be a combination of these two feelings.

Though, I leave you with the disclaimer that I leave with all dream interpretation. The best person to figure this out is you since you know how your mind works better than anyone.