Covid Dreams

I'm willing to bet I'm not the only person who's dreams have been hijacked. I don't believe I have had a night of restful innocent sleep in over 2 months, my dreamland constantly recycles the loss of freedom in this new era with ever more stranger dream images. I'm sure we could all combine our dreams into some dystopian dream movie.

As I was talking about my endless restless nights with my wife,  Cynthia, I began to wonder about previous generations. I'm sure that we are not the first to have our blissful sleep disrupted. I even recall several weeks of nightmares after 911. But, I bet my disrupted sleep doesn't compare to when my grandparents woke up on December 7, 1941 to find that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. The life disruption of sending children off to war, nightly black out curtains, rationed food and fuel, must have created intense material for the dream world. The loss of freedom and complete life disruption lasted over 4 years and I imagine many people didn't have restful sleep for years.

I then thought about people who were taken from their homes, loaded in cattle cars, giving up all of their possessions to be transferred to concentration camps. I wonder if their minds could ever comprehend the losses they endured. Did their minds ever relax? Or was the night time just as terrifying as the day?

I completely understand the incredible good fortune of my life, I was raised in a stable, warm, loving household, I have pursued my dream career, I am surrounded by a wonderful spouse and children. I have a beautiful home and good friends. In many ways I am ashamed of this subconscious mind presenting these nightly terrors. I have dealt with greater challenges in my life. During my residency I worked 100 hour or more weeks, cracking chests, doing CPR, placing lines, repairing wounds, in battlefield conditions in inner city Detroit in the midst of the crack cocaine wars and the AID's crisis. This hardly compares, yet nightly my mind returns to it's own battles.

I hope this insanity ends soon, but I fear this is only the beginning of a marathon. I write this hoping for my mind to settle down but more to share with those who read this. If you are having Covid dreams you're not alone and hopefully sweet dreams are nearby.