Nightmares
I don't get nightmares much any more but I used to have several that seem a bit archetypal when I was under 10. Things that were abstract; morphing colors like you get when you close and press on your eyes featured prominently in some, and the sense I got was that the abstractness was all there was. I sort of forgot the waking world, and felt trapped. The stressfull element was the feeling that I had to do something, maintain some kind of mental hold on something, or I wouldn't be able to get back to real life.
At some point, this kind of thing stopped being a nightmare, and became rather very fascinating. That's right about when I stopped having them, and since then I have had very little of any sort of nightmare. I feel kind of like it is the fact that the dream doesn't scare me that makes me not have it anymore.
Some other fun nightmares.... I saw starwars at an early age, early enough that I didn't remember the movie and it wasn't until I saw it again at an older age that I actually was aware of the movie. But elements of it seemed to populate a number of my nightmares; a kind of nameless darkness that I believe was influenced by Darth Vader. A sort of fountaining abstract lightshow of points like sparks or stars (maybe influenced by the hyperdrive sequence, or even the sparks flying up from the ewok's bonfire, or both to some degree), which was either similar to or an element of the abstract nightmare described above.
One where I just went up an ornate wooden staircase, and at the top I saw a slender white cat. The moment that it's gaze caught mine was sudden and terrifying. I don't know why, couldn't figure out why even right after the dream ended and I woke up. But in that instant it was was like this feeling of utter despair.
This kind of thing, just like the abstract stuff, this inexplicable intensity of emotion, also became more interesting than unpleasant to me despite the fear or whatever other negative feeling it might be, and also ceased to appear in my dreams.
At some point, this kind of thing stopped being a nightmare, and became rather very fascinating. That's right about when I stopped having them, and since then I have had very little of any sort of nightmare. I feel kind of like it is the fact that the dream doesn't scare me that makes me not have it anymore.
Some other fun nightmares.... I saw starwars at an early age, early enough that I didn't remember the movie and it wasn't until I saw it again at an older age that I actually was aware of the movie. But elements of it seemed to populate a number of my nightmares; a kind of nameless darkness that I believe was influenced by Darth Vader. A sort of fountaining abstract lightshow of points like sparks or stars (maybe influenced by the hyperdrive sequence, or even the sparks flying up from the ewok's bonfire, or both to some degree), which was either similar to or an element of the abstract nightmare described above.
One where I just went up an ornate wooden staircase, and at the top I saw a slender white cat. The moment that it's gaze caught mine was sudden and terrifying. I don't know why, couldn't figure out why even right after the dream ended and I woke up. But in that instant it was was like this feeling of utter despair.
This kind of thing, just like the abstract stuff, this inexplicable intensity of emotion, also became more interesting than unpleasant to me despite the fear or whatever other negative feeling it might be, and also ceased to appear in my dreams.