The night before last I had some not so sweet dreams. And a couple other people I talked to (who are sugar detoxing) also had some pretty whacked out stress dreams. Dreams of being out of control, being persecuted, feeling like our personal safety was at risk. Wowza. Could it be related to removing sugar from our diets? Is this change in eating habits so stressful, that my psyche feels threatened?
My dream was that I was alone in an apartment or hotel room and police officers came to the door and wanted to arrest me for not paying my income taxes. I protested! When they came into the apartment, there was a handgun (presumably mine) and a half empty bottle of booze on the table. I pleaded that the gun wasn't loaded, and the bottle belonged to someone else. They said they didn't believe me, and that I would have to be drugged with a truth serum. They gave me magic mushrooms to eat, and said that I would be questioned once I ate them. I obediently took the shrooms and started to chew them, and about halfway through, I said "wait, is this right? Shouldn't I have a lawyer? Am I going to remember any of this?" At that point in the dream, I was chewing and chewing, and as the mushroom took effect, I settled into a very deep state of relaxation, of surrender, completely out of my own control. And that's actually when I woke up and realized I was gnashing my teeth in real life.
Whoa...... what's underlying all of this? Feeling totally out of control? Not being believed? Allowing others to make me do something detrimental to my well-being? I think it was my sugar addiction expressing those feelings about itself. (It's no longer in control- I no longer believe that I need to eat sugar to have energy, and I am acting in a way that is detrimental to the continuation of the addiction.)
I was discussing it with a friend this morning, and we were talking about how sugar subconsciously gives us a sense of security. Feeling sad? Eat something sweet, you'll feel better. It's true. Our bodies are actually hard-wired to enjoy the sweet taste. Our first food is breast milk, which was sweet, nourishing, nurturing, and provided us with not only complete sustenance, but also the security of being close to our mother- of feeling safe and loved. So, it's not really surprising that we crave sweets when we're feeling lonely or depressed or unloved. And, it's not much of a leap to deduce that taking sweets out of the dietary equation might (at some level) leave us feeling insecure, stressed, or even unworthy. Believe me, I'm very happy to work this out in the dream state rather than in my waking life. Because overall, when I'm detoxing, while it can be stressful, I know that I am doing something good for my body, and I feel more of a sense of self-control than when I am submitting to a craving for a chocolate chip cookie. I'll put up with a few weird dreams, rather than feeling stressed out about it during the day when I have much more important things to do!
So, if you're detoxing with me, and you'd like to share any of your dream experiences, feel free to do so in the comments below or on Facebook. (I don't know if there's a way to be anonymous in the Blogger comments, but you could make up a fake profile name if you don't want your name to be revealed to whomever might be reading these posts!)
Nighty Night,
Cheryl
My dream was that I was alone in an apartment or hotel room and police officers came to the door and wanted to arrest me for not paying my income taxes. I protested! When they came into the apartment, there was a handgun (presumably mine) and a half empty bottle of booze on the table. I pleaded that the gun wasn't loaded, and the bottle belonged to someone else. They said they didn't believe me, and that I would have to be drugged with a truth serum. They gave me magic mushrooms to eat, and said that I would be questioned once I ate them. I obediently took the shrooms and started to chew them, and about halfway through, I said "wait, is this right? Shouldn't I have a lawyer? Am I going to remember any of this?" At that point in the dream, I was chewing and chewing, and as the mushroom took effect, I settled into a very deep state of relaxation, of surrender, completely out of my own control. And that's actually when I woke up and realized I was gnashing my teeth in real life.Whoa...... what's underlying all of this? Feeling totally out of control? Not being believed? Allowing others to make me do something detrimental to my well-being? I think it was my sugar addiction expressing those feelings about itself. (It's no longer in control- I no longer believe that I need to eat sugar to have energy, and I am acting in a way that is detrimental to the continuation of the addiction.)
I was discussing it with a friend this morning, and we were talking about how sugar subconsciously gives us a sense of security. Feeling sad? Eat something sweet, you'll feel better. It's true. Our bodies are actually hard-wired to enjoy the sweet taste. Our first food is breast milk, which was sweet, nourishing, nurturing, and provided us with not only complete sustenance, but also the security of being close to our mother- of feeling safe and loved. So, it's not really surprising that we crave sweets when we're feeling lonely or depressed or unloved. And, it's not much of a leap to deduce that taking sweets out of the dietary equation might (at some level) leave us feeling insecure, stressed, or even unworthy. Believe me, I'm very happy to work this out in the dream state rather than in my waking life. Because overall, when I'm detoxing, while it can be stressful, I know that I am doing something good for my body, and I feel more of a sense of self-control than when I am submitting to a craving for a chocolate chip cookie. I'll put up with a few weird dreams, rather than feeling stressed out about it during the day when I have much more important things to do!
So, if you're detoxing with me, and you'd like to share any of your dream experiences, feel free to do so in the comments below or on Facebook. (I don't know if there's a way to be anonymous in the Blogger comments, but you could make up a fake profile name if you don't want your name to be revealed to whomever might be reading these posts!)
Nighty Night,
Cheryl
may you have good dreams tonight and a sugarless tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Argo! My dreams last night were pretty benign. One notable aspect was that I was getting rid of clutter.
ReplyDelete