Can a human brain inflict trauma on itself?

Chessie

Chessie

Community Member
MBTI
INfJ
I ask this because my dear room-mate, who has never been raped or had any particular violence done against her had this REALLY severe nightmare. Like, massive, ugly terrible dream and she's been acting...squirrely. She described it to me and it's content was disturbing and unpleasant but she seems to find no comfort in the idea that it was just a dream.

I want to know if the human brain is actually capable of scarring itself from constructed ideas. Antel has always been a bit of a hysteric but that's nothing unusual for her. This seems to have upset her on a deeper level.
 
I think she would already need to have something wrong for her body to naturally harm her seeing as the bodies natural state is self-perseverance.

It almost sounds like a suppressed memory to me though, she can't find a memory or outside stimuli to have the dream it'self then it may be something she's forgotten.
 
I once gave myself a mini psychotic episode when I tried contemplating infinity as a child. Sounds hilarious to me now but at the time I was so deeply disturbed I couldn't sleep that night and was messed up bad the day after, being all OCD and twitching.
I got over it though, and I NEVER THINK ABOUT IT anymore.
 
Having disturbing and/or violent dreams can be a symptom of severe depression.
 
Or having read HP Lovecraft right before bed for the past month as well as watching Slenderman videos -- yet ANOTHER thing I had to stop doing before bed.
 
DoveAlexa said:
Or having read HP Lovecraft right before bed for the past month as well as watching Slenderman videos -- yet ANOTHER thing I had to stop doing before bed.
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LOL yeah in elementary school I used to scare myself really bad reading ghost stories before I went to bed.
 
It's such a bad idea but why do we get the urge to read them at only that time?
 
All of my dreams could be considered psychotic. I do not experience normal dreams. If I do, they happen maybe once or twice a year, if that, and I have very vivid and intense dreams EVERY night.

Sometimes I will wake up the next day and feel all of the emotions I had felt in my dreams as if they had actually happened to me, and those feelings will stay with me sometimes for hours or even days at a time.

I do think it's possible for the brain to do a certain amount of damage but I don't think it would happen randomly or without cause. Your friend may have a deeper issue going on that maybe she has forgotten or is completely unaware of. If these dreams don't happen again I wouldn't worry about it, but if they become regular she may want to get an evaluation from a professional.
 
I also know certain medications can give you horrible nightmares. I was on one like that.
 
DoveAlexa said:
I also know certain medications can give you horrible nightmares. I was on one like that.
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Allergies can as well.


The brain is possible to do such, there have been people who thought traumatic things happend to them that never actually happened.
 
It could be stress or anxiety manifesting itself through her dream as well. When we're asleep our "defense" is down, and we have very little control over what our mind does and/or explores.
 
DoveAlexa said:
I once gave myself a mini psychotic episode when I tried contemplating infinity as a child. Sounds hilarious to me now but at the time I was so deeply disturbed I couldn't sleep that night and was messed up bad the day after, being all OCD and twitching.
I got over it though, and I NEVER THINK ABOUT IT anymore.
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Hey! That happened to me when I was six or seven. It gave me nightmares for days.
 
I have found that many of my own nightmares tend to be very explicit and vivid in nature, and are linked to events that have happened to me in the past.
As Barnabas said, suppressed memories and suppressed emotions.
Selective amnesia is one of the traits that people that have experienced trauma tend to have, it takes a similar event to trigger the memory. Such as something that is mentioned on TV, novels that have the lead character going through similar events, or knowing someone close to them that have recently gone through the same trauma, even bringing up a subject that can be loosely connected to the events can cause people to feel uncomfortable.

If it is really bothering her then she probably needs to see a doctor and get a referral done.
 
All of you have valid points. But it seems to me that each person experiences their dreams much as they do life - very uniquely to that individual.
I've had some extremely violent dreams as well as the ones where I am terrified and once - I know it was a message from - well - somewhere. And I've never had violence done to me by another human. Ever. So - the suppressed memory concept may be valid but only from a previous life perspective. I suspect most will not entertain that idea.

One dream I had was so vivid and terrifying - that I took action IRL. I had always been afraid of guns my whole life. Dad had me be his assistant in all sorts of endeavors on the farm that involved shooting a gun. Scared though I was, I always stepped up and did what he needed me to do - though I hated it and dreaded it. Killing with a gun was wrong - somehow...

This dream had me in a very dangerous situation in which I knew I was about to be killed by someone stalking me. I could hear his steps as he approached each concrete bay - looking for me.... Cowering in the darkness with abject terror - my mind told me that if I had a gun and knew how to shoot it - I would have survived this event.
The very next day I called my bf cop girlfriend and told her that I wanted to purchase a gun and learn how to shoot it. She dropped the phone and then said WHAT!!! She and her husband had me test fire a variety of hand guns and I chose one.
So - in the end I faced my fear and revulsion of guns, took a chl course and learned how to protect myself. That whole experience expanded my worldview.

If the dream is disturbing to her, Chessie, encourage her to talk about it while you listen. All you have to do is listen to it. Encourage her to not look for meaning, but - just look at it. Then - Take a break from it for now. Her mind is working things out. Tell her the answer will come - in time. Don't fret.
 
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