when i was about 5 i started having dreams that involved rather severe phsyical effects.. always the same.. i'd fall asleep and it would seem as if i'd waken and was looking around.. and thena shadow figure would appear.. "the shadowman" i later dubbed him.. and he would look upon me for a moment or so smiling i thought for some reason..and then vanish.. and i would find myself inable to move..anything..including my lungs.. so i'd lay there sufficating until i "willed" myself out of it.. usally resulted in muslce spasms and what my mother described as a scream but muffled as if being strangled.. and after waking i'd have extreme headaches dehyrdationand a considerable drop in tempature..they faded out around age 13 where i startedto have the more short..past- future type dreams. they that happened .. things that were completely unimportant that happened soon after.. and then vivid blood death dreams twisted in ammoung the real.. and it continued like taht everynight until severalmonths ago i'm now 21.. and the shadow man has returned..same dream.. same effects..save one experience.. in which he attempted to communicate with me i think which i don't feel like retyping but if your taht interested ...
http://opendiary.com/entryview.asp?authorcode=B193659&entry=20040&mode=

you cna read a journal entry about it.. anyway.. thoughts?

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angelchild,
Very deep dreams, and very dark.
Most often these dreams address serious emotional conflicts that are left unresolved. Because they did start at age 5 I suggest we begin there in trying to understand them.
Normally I will provide an interpretation to a dream and then work from there. But in this case I want to ask a few questions first to help clarify the possibilities. If you will indulge me we may be able to discover what this 'shadow man' is all about.

What do you remember if your early childhood? And what type of home life did you have growing up? were there any traumatic experiences, physical or mental abuse? And did you have any medical treatment for your muscle spasms? If you will provide answers to these questions I will begin to break this dream down so to discover the message behind it. All dreams have a message, a message about you and for you.

Gerard

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previous to 5..uhem i remember little in great detail..glitchy would be the best description. my parents split when i was 4 months old..both we're alchoholics and rather stubborn.. my mother a skitzophrenic superstious yet caring woman and my father a hard nosed ethical nam vet. i stayed in a custidy battle up until about 12. I passed hands .. a lot.. and i moved a lot.. and I wouldn't describe my childhood as bad.. more enlightening without the convience of sheltering the real world needs to not break fantasies later in life. i did not seek medical treatment.. the basic assumption was it was in reactiont to the dreams..many children have night terrors. I was however.. in the interest of court leverage subjected to a variety of psychologists.. all which found nothing.. because i refused to speak to them.

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angelchild,
Your childhood may explain much of the negative feelings and emotions you possess, and invade your dreams. And although night terrors are not unusual for a child, to hold onto them into later life often suggests something is out of balance. The two possibilities I think of are traumatic experiences in early life or a physical imbalance that needs correction. Genetics {affects in the womb} may play a role. If both parents were alcholic, perhaps other drugs were used also.

Your dreams are very dark. This can suggest the possibility of deep trauma. Is there anything in your early life that you may have blocked out, repressed? Tell me more about your 'shadow man'. In dreams a shadow aspect is almost always the same gender as the dreamer. That can change if an experience involving someone of the opposite sex plays a role in your psychic development. Something has entered your psyche and it is most likely associated with experiences from childhood.

But I get the impression there is something more at work here. Why did you not talk to psychologists? Is there something, albeit still unconscious, you are trying to hide? Can we eliminate the possibility of a childhood experience that still remains unresolved? Is your boogie man, your 'shadow man' someone real?

I've read some of your posts at your blog site. You have an amazing talent for poetry. Often dark entities within the psyche will produce an ability to express oneself in such a manner. If we can identify your shadow man, perhaps we can open up new possibilities in your life that will bring sunshine into it.

In Jungian dream psychology the ultimate truth, the true self is the creative Self. You may be on a teeter totter to realizing your greatest potential. We may need only to identify this shadow man to change directions toward those ends.

Gerard

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My memory before 4th grade or so is literally erased..i only remember very small glimpses i peice together time lines of occurance between what people tell me.. and dreams that i'm quite sure are memory.. the problem with that is..how can i garantee my mind is not adlibbing? i can't. I didn't speak to the psychitrists because they were not out to help me.. they were out to help their pocket books. the shadow man has no defining features.. he is void blank black space shaped in the form of a human.. i'm unsure to why i automaticlly gave him a masculine gender but i would'nt call hima boogie man i was never afraid of him.. i was afraid of not being strong enough. i honestly believe if i was inable to wake.. i would die. I don't think he is a real person tho.. people have things associated with them..appearances feelings (yes i am a believer in auras).. i always remmeber people no matter what age i met them i just..normally only remember knowing them and not how i know them. thank you btw..not that my confidence in my writing needs any more stroking lol

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angelchild,
OK. We are entering the realm of Jungian processes of the dream world. Your shadow, if only an automatic response given a gender, may indeed be a real shadow. And the void could very well be those memories that have been erased. If so we are entering into the possibilities of trauma early in life that are not remembered. That may take some effort to uncover since you do have a problem with trusting psychiatrists. You may have to do this all on your own.

If you are interested in doing so, and ultimately putting an end to these shadow dreams, I suggest you start by reading the pages I have created at Myths-Dreams-Symbols. Start with the page on the shadow. This information is not tom foolery, it is science. You have an intelligent mind and I believe you can discern what these pages have to offer. Unless you are willing to trust a psychologist the only alternative is self examination. Are you up to it? Let that poetic mind of yours open up to new realizations that can provide new directions for you. It is your choice.

I can present possibilities to what your shadow is about. And I am sure they will be within the confines of being true. But framing exactly what that shadow is can only be determined by you. And the goal is for you to discover for yourself what these dream shadows are about. Healing can take place only when you confront the shadow.
Are you up to the task or will you be just another victim? I believe you are capable, and ready for the challenge.

Gerard

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hmm interesting.. thank you. i posted this dream on several types of sites and i've gotten every response.. my favorite is the belief that the shadow man is a demon of sort feeding on my physical engery. the only flaw i see in this shadow theory of psychology is im well aware of the darker side of my persona and "her" and i get along just fine. the idea of it being a representation of my lost memory seemed logical and wasn't something i'd considered.. but why would it materlize so early? i'm sure i remembered then. thanks again for your take, i'm hoping that a variety of opinions will help me find a subjetive way to make my dreams a bit less like nightmares.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 21 alaska

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Angelchild,
Again, if you will read the pages I have created at MDS on Jungian dream psychology I believe you will discover much about yourself and your dreams. Jung, a one time student and protege of Sigmund Freud, has laid out a course to understanding dreams by analyzing one's own life, a self psychology. It is a science and not some far fetched theory on how dreams function. The shadow, the anima/animus, the Self and the mana personalities are aspects we all possess. Retrieving, and reflecting on the whole life of a dreamer can and will produce those hidden, repressed issues that the conscious mind often does not wish to deal with. It is all stored in the unconscious and through our dreams we have access to it all. It is merely a matter of translating the symbolic language to literal facts in the dreamer's life. And as I stated in my last post, and re-affirmed in your last post by your words, I believe you possess the intellect to understand Jung {Jung is very deep and takes some effort to comprehend} and find answers on your own {I used Jung's Individuation Process in my self discovery and now know the reasons for many of my actions when I was younger man}.

One last observation about your shadow man. If it is something that has been repressed, it may involve an actual male figure in your life. Children's night terrors usually disappear as the child ages unless there are other factors {such as emotional or physical abuse}. You may want to concentrate on those earliest years of your life and see if you can bring back lost memories. Don't force them, let them come naturally {to avoid false memories}.

I hope you find the answers. If you have future dreams you feel important then please post them for inspection. I and other forum contributors are ready to help in any way we can.

Gerard

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