Imagination needs examination?

The sunlight fades as the night falls in

The clouds overtake the sky, and darkness settles within.

No ray of hope nor sunshine

Says a distant voice “Are you fine?”

While blabbering this, Paul suddenly stood upright from the resting position. Ms. Jennifer approached a hand to calm him down. To her, Paul’s heavy perspiration and palpitations signalled something much beyond his current nightmares.

“Do you want to talk about what you saw Paul?” Breathing heavily, Paul started to recollect his vision and began to mention, “I called out to my best friend but there was no response. I shook him and gently nudged his shoulder. He didn’t move. Readily it dawned upon me that he wasn't sleeping. He laid there lifeless”. With a profound sense of loss, I tried again and whispered into his ear, “Hey George, wake up buddy!”. But it was no more than another vain attempt. “What happens next? “Come on you need to open up with your therapist,” said Ms. Jennifer. “The usual” Paul said with a sigh. “The people I love, leave me behind to feel the pain of their absence”. Ms. Jennifer curiously asked, “did you share this with anyone?” “No!” “The fear of losing the ones you open up to, makes you burry these thoughts inside you?”. Paul nodded.

“What do you think results in such nightmares?” Scarcely vocalizing his responses, Paul said, “My twisted imagination, at least that's what was told to me by my friend when I confided in him my feelings about my parent’s death last year.” Dropping his head into his palms, with tears rolling down his cheeks he requested “please help me out Doc. The anxiety the dreams bring with them, makes me fear sleeping. It hinders my daily routine by keeping me sleep-deprived”.

Ms. Jennifer made sure to create an environment of unconditional positive regard, and thoroughly and patiently heard Paul before sharing her comments. Convincingly, she argued that dreams are not predictions and shouldn't be taken at their face value. “Things we dream about are often symbolic of some other things. So, your dreams about the tragic death of your friend George may be a part of the bereavement process or a representation of a great change in your life”. “What are you getting at Doc?” “Paul, do you remember the story of Alice falling down the rabbit hole in Wonderland? Your dreams take you on a journey every night and to dream of a dear one’s death depends very much on how you experience it”.

“Let me try and rephrase, in my knowledge, you are suffering from PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Your covert and overt symptoms evidently direct me to the fact that you are still not over your parent’s death. You simply can't let it go. This has resulted in recurring nightmares, your increased heart rate and disruption in sleep pattern”. “Why me Doc?” Paul exclaimed.

“Bad dreams can be caused by anxiety stemming from various incidences. For instance, for some, it can be a traumatizing childhood experience. For you, it's your deceased parents. The news of losing someone precious makes you consider your own and everyone else’s mortality. You come to grips with the nature of time- to run out quickly. This is why you fear losing George. ”

With red eyes, swollen from crying, Paul asked, “what do I do now”? “ Realise the fact that death is inevitable. No matter how upsetting the thought is but living in denial of it is only going to make it difficult for you to accept it when faced with a real-time situation. Therefore, ACCEPT the law of nature, APPRECIATE what you have, and LET GO of the things beyond your control. If you do it, you'll come out stronger”.