Teeth is a favorite focal-point for anxious people. My very anxious friend, who took acutane when she was younger, is absolutely certain her teeth will fall out when she's 40 years old because her mother took acutane and all of her teeth fell out. The dentist apparently told her something about the roots drying up.
I have dreams in which my jaw widens to the point that it gets stuck-- and then keeps widening. I have dreams where all my teeth fall out and I have to perform an algorithm to put them back in the right order.
Probably because teeth are so exposed, so vulnerable, and are so critically important to social matters-- nevermind that I need them to eat.
I also can't look at pictures of teeth for more than 30 seconds without feeling disconcerted, even though I focus on people's mouths most during a conversation.
I've had similar dreams as well. They usually only happen when I'm extremely stressed. It's usually my teeth falling out, and oh is the sensation of loose teeth rolling around in my mouth both vivid and horrifying.
One time it was my tongue swelling up til I couldn't contain it in my mouth anymore, and another I was chewing bubblegum, but no matter how much gum I spit out, the gum kept growing until I was choking on it.
I also had a dream where my teeth fell out, I woke up, was relieved it was only a dream, and got up to go the bathroom. Everything was normal and exactly as it should have been. Even the bathroom light switch worked, which is usually one of those things people say is a dream-tell. Then my teeth started getting loose again, and I panicked and woke up a second time. I had been just been dreaming that I woke up the first time.
Wow, this is apparently so common. One of the worst dreams you could have. Although, I do like those dreams-within-dreams. They usually happen when I'm "resting my eyes for five minutes". I dream that I've awoken and am dutifully completing my tasks for the day. Do you get those?
I don't often get those, though I did once have a dream-within-a-dream combined with sleep paralysis that was like seven dreams deep.
I took a nap on the couch. Woke up on the couch, could not move. Woke up on the couch, could wiggle my fingers. Woke up on the couch, tried to roll over but woke up on the couch. Managed to roll off the couch onto the floor, but woke up on the couch. This continued til I managed to roll off and drag myself about a foot with my arms (my legs were still paralyzed), then I finally woke up on the couch, my whole body tingling, and wasn't sure I was really awake until I'd gotten up and gone about the rest of my day.
I dunno, maybe everything since then has been a dream and I never did wake up from that nap.
This dream-of-teeth-falling-out thing is intriguing. I've never experienced it and I dream pretty much every night, even during naps. Yet somehow it's a "type" of dream for many people.
Are you not an anxious person? It used to be more common when I was younger and less self-aware, when I didn't know how to deal with anxiety or even that I experienced it to a significant degree. They are rare dreams for me now but very vivid in a specific way (I feel them in my body). The body thing seems to be common for emotive dreams.
Most of my dreams on any given night involve some kind of "mission" in a realistically-rendered futuristic compound, without much of a body feeling unless I'm swimming or flying/falling. These dreams, I think, are a reflection of the way I think of my future-- kind of a way to resolve the map I have in my head of my trajectory.
Then I have dreams where it's very clearly about the past. Usually steeped in mood (not necessarily emotion) and a sense of a cohesive "theme", which really illustrates the fruits of introspective moments during waking time.
Then there are people who have dreams regularly filled with symbology, which is one of the common conceptions of what dreams are. Symbol dreams are rare for me, but I definitely pay attention when they happen.
Ultimately I think it comes down to abstractions. Maybe when you wake up in the morning try to figure out what your dreams were abstracting, and then you'll notice a pattern. There are abstractions within the abstractions too. Very very intriguing stuff, like you said. Dreams are more important than our culture allows for, I think.
Not sure if this is an old slavic wives tale or well known, but my mother always told me that dreaming about teeth was caused by worrying about money/finances.
I never had it (or didn’t notice) until I heard of it. Much like “exploding head syndrome”, it appears to be slightly contagious (suggestible). Even then, it wasn’t the usual “falling out”, but rather my jaw squeezing tighter and tighter, unable to open, until my teeth began to crack. I think I was really just grinding my teeth in my sleep after a night of drinking.
Can I suggest something? I'm no expert, but magnesium is often suggested for teeth grinding, and is great for me to get relaxed before bed. It's also an important electrolyte (often overlooked as such)-- part of what you need to replenish after a night of drinking. If you're interested, pick up some magnesium bisglycinate. This form is kind of expensive, but the most bio-available (and consequently doesn't cause too much, if any, gas or cramping... or shitting). It helps a lot with my anxiety.
Ironically, my diet was never healthier than when I was drinking too much, too often. I craved all the things that I was depleting, especially magnesium, and that my body needed to repair the damage I was doing to it. It actually taught me a lot about my body and what cravings for specific nutrients & minerals felt like. Nowadays I just drink a lot less!
I take kratom for anxiety—and because it significantly reduces my desire to drink—and I guess a lot of people take magnesium (in one of its many different preparations) both as an alleged potentiator of kratom and to relieve the common side effect of constipation. Fortunately, kratom doesn’t have an appreciable effect on my bowels in the doses I take, and my diet is fairly high in magnesium already by way of grains, greens, nuts, and beans.
> It actually taught me a lot about my body and what cravings for specific nutrients & minerals felt like. Nowadays I just drink a lot less!
That's great, actually! A lot of people don't know what specific cravings mean. Helps a lot with overall health because I know if I'm craving fried food I just need some good fats so I go and make something with avocado oil or what-have-you.
>I take kratom for anxiety
I've wondered about kratom before. How specifically does it help your anxiety, and how often do you take it? Does it impair any cognitive functions to any degree? (Could you take it before class or studying and still be able to focus well?)
It makes me less prone to runaway trains of thought, sub-panic attacks I guess you might call them. I can just chill and focus on what’s in front of me. It’s also great for relieving some chronic pain I have when ibuprofen doesn’t cut it; it’s maybe a step above naproxen, and I think the pain relief is part of the general stress reduction that I perceive as anxiety relief.
If I’m making capsules, it tends to last longer (4–5 hours, peak around 3 hours), so I may only take it once or twice a day as a general relief thing; if I mix it with a beverage (fruit smoothies in my case) and drink it, it comes on stronger but doesn’t last as long (3–4 hours, peak around 1–2 hours), which is better for PRN relief, but if I do that then I might end up taking it thrice or, uh, fource a day, which feels like too much, so I try to avoid that. It’s also good to take periodic breaks to avoid building tolerance.
Typically I take larger doses (6–10g) of “down” red varieties (Maeng Da, Thai, Borneo, Bali) for anxiety, pain, and sleep; smaller doses (3–5g) of “up” green/white varieties (Jong Kong, Thai) for stimulation, as a less anxiety-inducing alternative to caffeine. The difference between “strains” is noticeable but usually not that significant in my experience; dosage is typically more important. I recommend avoiding extracts—they can be more addictive as they can be 10–50× more potent than regular leaf powder (1–2% mitragynine/7-OH-mitragynine), and I find them less pleasant anyway.
It doesn’t cause any cognitive impairment that I’ve observed. For some reason it especially makes me want to write, which is great for documenting my code and figuring out a problem, but it doesn’t provide any real cognitive boost either. Taking a low dose before class might make you more energetic and social, but overall I don’t think it’d help or harm your focus much. Personally, when taking an “up” dose, I’d rather clean or go for a walk than go to class/work. Different people react differently, of course.
If you take too much, it’ll make you woozy, sleepy, and nauseated, which as you can imagine isn’t great for getting things done. If that happens, you pretty much need to drink water, eat food, lie down, close your eyes, wait for it to pass—or barf if you need to. Most people only take too much kratom once, hah—it’s highly unpleasant.
Kratom is not a wonder-drug—all it really does in my experience is take you from “not fine” to just “fine”. If you’re just looking to get “high”, kratom is not for you. It is habit-forming and can be addictive with frequent high doses or especially when taking extracts. Side effects may include constipation, more frequent urination, irritability, and (rarely) reduced testosterone in males. Withdrawal symptoms may include sweating, runny nose, diarrhea, dilated pupils, and elevated testosterone. Most people don’t experience most of these side effects or withdrawal symptoms, though.
Finally, and most importantly, kratom is under-researched and caveat emptor. There have been no confirmed cases of kratom alone causing death, but as a precaution it should not be taken in conjunction with other drugs or medications, and should only be purchased from reputable sellers; if you’re buying it in a smoke shop, make sure it’s a known, reputable brand in properly sealed packaging. My hope is that it will remain legal and be regulated for quality and purity in the future.
Interesting. More social sounds good. More writing is good. I'll probably try it and see how it affects me. The up variety will probably be better for me, since caffeine doesn't affect my anxiety if I have a single cup of coffee a day, and if I take downers I definitely feel relaxed but in a way that eventually causes some melancholy and sadness about the lack of work I feel like doing.
I'm always trying to find a way to feel relaxed without taking something that significantly affects other functions. A glass of wine on the beach is great. Two glasses and I can't sleep or do anything meaningful. Pot makes me full-on panic-- yes I've tried CBD oil, and it causes panic attacks of a lesser intensity.
Breathing exercises sometimes work, and maybe I haven't practiced enough (hey! good point, me), but it's not reliable enough so that I can do it anywhere (especially being so busy) and find relief.
There's always this underlying, gnawing anxiety. It's usually low-level enough that I can manage unless something unexpected happens-- which is often. In that case I have a few different things to manage but all of them result in someone being disappointed.
> but rather my jaw squeezing tighter and tighter, unable to open, until my teeth began to crack.
I used to have this dream every now and then. It was awful, but I could never be sure if I actually clamped my mouth shut or just dreamed I did. Thankfully it's not happened for years, so perhaps was related to stress.
I have these dreams sometimes and it is a terrible feeling. I also dream of getting shot, which is a similar sensation. You feel broken and wake up happy that you are not.
I have the dream where all my teeth fall out in my mouth, one by one, until they are filling my mouth and I'm so desperate to keep them inside my mouth that I start to choke on them...
I had these dreams 4 or 5 times during a depressive period of my life. I never knew how common this dream was until I saw in Reddit from others. In my dreams, I would spit them out one by one and soon all my teeth would be in my hands. And I would wake up scared. I don't remember having them before that period. I haven't had them for the last 3-4 years once I came out of that phase.
For me, the jaw is my focal-point. I seem to tense my jaw when i feel anxious and not even notice it. Nowadays it can feel pretty bad after chewing for too long or just opening and closing my mouth. I'm just glad I don't have any nervous tics relating to teeth.
Hey, I don't know if that's a common symptom! My friend did some research and she said she found a few accounts of that happening, but I don't even think it's on the list of side-effects they give you. Keep that in mind!
I took it. I'm 41 and all my teeth are fine. I have one filling, for a cavity that my dentist claimed was caused by a sealant that didn't fall off when it should have.
i have dreams of casually plucking out my teeth like i might pluck out a long, out of place hair. those are fine to dream but a little unsettling upon waking.
I have dreams in which my jaw widens to the point that it gets stuck-- and then keeps widening. I have dreams where all my teeth fall out and I have to perform an algorithm to put them back in the right order.
Probably because teeth are so exposed, so vulnerable, and are so critically important to social matters-- nevermind that I need them to eat.
I also can't look at pictures of teeth for more than 30 seconds without feeling disconcerted, even though I focus on people's mouths most during a conversation.