The Dream That Opened My Eyes

I was sitting with my siblings when a delivery guy came in with a parcel.
“It’s for you,” he said.

I didn’t order anything, so I sent my younger sister to sign. He refused:
“Only you can sign for this.”

I went outside and checked: it was a long white chair. I told him I didn’t order it. Then he showed me a “photo” of the order — two images of me in a white dress.

It wasn’t me. It was an illusion.

That’s when I knew this wasn’t a normal delivery — something was off.

He tried to force me to pay. I fled. But the nightmare kept shifting:

  • One minute, I was running from huge figures.
  • The next, I was having dinner in another dimension where I wasn’t even welcome.
  • Then I was on a bridge in chaos, cars flipping like an action movie.

Each scene felt real, but something was broken in the flow.
That’s when it hit me: these nightmares were dividing my consciousness into different realities.

And this is exactly how mental health breaks down if nightmares aren’t decoded with wisdom.

When Nightmares and Mental Health Collide

We often talk about mental health in terms of stress, trauma, or hormones. But there’s another overlooked side:
What happens when nightmares and visions aren’t understood properly?

A nightmare can carry hidden meaning, but without spiritual grounding and intellectual maturity, it can overwhelm the mind. Instead of being a blessing, it slowly begins to fracture mental health.

A Girl’s Story: From Nightmares to a Breakdown

She was in school when it began — nightmares, strange visions, and dreams she couldn’t explain. While others dismissed them as imagination, she sensed something bigger.

But no one around her taught her how to decode and discern these dreams. No one showed her how to anchor them in God’s Word, or how to process them with wisdom, patience, and calm.

So she did what she thought was right: she shared them randomly, acted them out, sometimes exaggerated without knowing. To others, she seemed “extra” — drawing attention instead of finding clarity.

Over time, the nightmares wore her down. What started as genuine spiritual experiences became misunderstood behaviors. Years later, she was found picking up garbage on the roadside, labelled “mad,” and sent home.

Not because the nightmares were fake, but because she lacked the foundation to carry them.

How Nightmares Quietly Break Down Mental Health

Without proper discernment, nightmares can gradually eat away at stability:

1. Nightmares Divide Your Focus

You wake up from a nightmare and all day your mind feels split. You want to do your chores or focus on schoolwork, but you keep replaying dream fragments in your head. You feel pressure and anxiety, as if you’re living in two realities at once.

Decode it: Write the nightmare down. Ask yourself: “Is this dream trying to distract me, or is it showing me an area where I lack peace?”

2. Nightmares Overwhelm Your Emotions

A dream about failure or shame leaves you guilty all day. Even though nothing happened in real life, the emotions from the nightmare make you snap at people, lose patience, or spiral into self-doubt.

Decode it: Notice if the feelings linger longer than the details. If the shame stays but clarity doesn’t, it’s a planted illusion — not a guiding vision.

3. Nightmares Blur Reality

You dream of betrayal and then wake up suspicious of friends or family, even without proof. The nightmare seeds mistrust that bleeds into real relationships.

Decode it: Ask: “Does this nightmare align with truth, or is it pulling me away from love, trust, and reason?” If it pushes paranoia, it’s distortion — not revelation.

4. Nightmares Distort How Society Sees You

You share every dream literally, and people start labeling you as unstable. What you don’t manage with wisdom, others call madness.

Decode it: Some dreams aren’t for display. Journaling, prayer, and reflection keep your mental health safe while you wait for clarity.

Signs of a Fake Dream (Raw Truth)

So, how do you know when a nightmare is engineered to mess with your mind and not a true revelation?

  • The Proximity Rule – Fake dreams plant you in the middle of a scene. One moment you’re nowhere, the next it’s like a skirt, a face, or a situation is shoved into your eye. Ask yourself: “When did I even get here? How did I arrive at this place?” If you can’t trace it, it’s likely staged.
  • Overly Dramatic Scenes – Car chases, chaos, shame, or death. They play like a blockbuster movie trailer — staged for shock, not guidance.
  • Glitches and Inconsistencies – Doors turn into walls. Faces change. Locations switch instantly. Real visions flow; fake dreams glitch.
  • Stale Images – Sometimes it feels like static slides, as if someone is forcing a slideshow into your mind. Don’t you see? It’s deliberate — they want you to watch, not discover the truth.
  • Strange Coloring or Fake Textures – Odd skin tones, glowing faces, half-formed limbs. It feels “off,” like a broken rendering.
  • Always Humiliating or Draining – If you always wake up fearful, ashamed, or exhausted, the nightmare wasn’t building you — it was draining you.

👉 Spotting these signs is the first step in decoding nightmares and protecting your mental health.

Why Wisdom and the Word of God Are Crucial

Not every nightmare is meaningless, but not every dream is meant to be acted on. Scripture says to “test the spirits.”

Check if the Nightmare Aligns with Truth

Example: You dream about preaching. Instead of rushing to call yourself a prophet, you go to scripture and learn that ministry requires spiritual authority, covering, and growth.

Seek Wise Counsel Before Reacting

Example: A teenager dreams about marriage. Instead of panicking or rushing, they seek counsel and are reminded that timing, maturity, and preparation matter.

Build Capacity in Both Intellect and Faith

Example: If you dream of battles, you don’t dramatize it online. You study scripture on principalities and powers, learn spiritual warfare, and prepare through prayer. This is decoding with maturity.

Protecting Your Mental Health from Nightmares

Here are practical steps to protect your mind when nightmares strike:

1. Stay Grounded in the Word of God

Example: If you dream of healing the sick, grounding yourself in scripture shows you that healing requires authority, impartation, and service — not hype.

2. Build Intellectual Discipline

Example: Journaling nightmares helps you see patterns. With patience and logic, you separate stress-dreams from real insight.

3. Don’t Exaggerate or Dramatize

Example: Instead of standing in class declaring your dream of being a world leader, you quietly pray, take notes, and let maturity shape the vision.

4. Guard Your Mind Daily

Example: After a disturbing nightmare, you don’t let fear run your day. You pray, declare peace, maybe exercise, and refocus your energy. This keeps the dream from poisoning your mental health.

Final Word

Nightmares can shake your mind, but they don’t have to destroy your mental health.

Dreams can either build you up or break you down. The difference lies in how you decode, discern, and interpret them.

The girl’s story shows us this truth: nightmares don’t destroy mental health — lack of grounding does.