Maybe that's why nightmares have such a visceral response from us, despite the knowledge they aren't real.
Over on Reddit, user Woody4ever shares a story about what happens when you don't take nightmares seriously enough.
The story was shared to the "TIFU" subReddit. "TIFU" stands for "Today I [Messed] Up" and has users telling about how a small act or decision ended up going completely south.
And Woody4ever messed up by trying to console her husband while he was having a nightmare.
It's not a very long story, so they get right to the point.
"Woke up to him whimpering/ crying in his sleep. It was still dark out and I was so groggy that I lazily slung my hand over his face and tried shaking him awake while sleepily saying 'Babe, wake up'."
"I couldn't see so I just start feeling for his face to gently slap him awake."
However, they quickly realized this was the wrong move.
I've honestly never seen a situation escalate so quickly.
The simple act of trying to wake up your spouse can lead to a real bad reaction.
"In his nightmare haze, he screams and bites my hand. In my sleep haze, I was totally not expecting that shit and my brain immediately deduces my husband's been possessed so I start screaming."
"This caused him to start screaming more as he woke up. Lesson learned. Sleepy time means every man for himself apparently."
Screaming leading into other screaming. Recursive screaming. Just screams for days.
I'm honestly surprised they both came out okay. Seems like the husband was deep in something weird in that dream to make him bite the helping hand.
Speaking of, what was he dreaming about?
"He later told me his nightmare and it was truly f'd. He was dreaming he was having sex with me but then noticed it wasn't me, but some kind of creature."
"TL;DR: possible succubus scenario. Saved my husband's soul but got bit in the process. We're okay now."
Yikes.
If there's one thing we can count on it's the social dynamic between sleeping partners. And by "count on" I mean "cannot nail down at all."
Seriously, one moment you're praising them for saving you from a fiend, the next, you're complaining about their snoring.
"can't be letting those night demons steal your husband's man-water... sometimes you gotta take a bite on the hand." - Cracker77
"Lol, just doing my wifely duties nbd." - Woody4ever
"My ex-wife would punch me awake when I snored too loudly. I didn't blame her." - MaximumCameage
""Species" creature or "Predator" creature.... this is Reddit.. you gotta be specific." - rambler335
But sharing your stories on the internet leads to our favorite thing, and the thing that makes humanity better.
Commiserating.
Who knew so many people would have similar stories?
"One time my ex wife heard me groaning and gasping for air, so she tried to wake me up. She tells me she's never been so scared in her whole life because she thought I was dying. Truth is I was having a terrible nightmare were a grim reaper-esque creature was suffocating me. I, too, have never been so scared. The way she tells it from her end is quite frightening; even after violently shaking me to wake up I was unresponsive.
Nightmares are weird." - doubleohkevinnnn
"I did a thing like this. I awoke 100% sure a 18wheeler was going to obliterate us in bed. So I scooped up my wife and ran into the living room. Then, realizing it was a dream I took her back to bed and fell asleep. She told me of my antics the next day." - bobthepomato
"this reminds me of a dream where i got shot in the stomach and my guts were spilling out. GF sees me holding my stomach in my sleep and whimpering, and she starts to gently massage my stomach with her hand. meanwhile in my dream, a field medic has just walked up to me and begins to massage my guts, whispering"it's gonna be alright, baby."" - KidTrout
"I had a nightmare one night and my gf told me later that she had thought that holding on to me tightly was a good response. Wrong. It made me dream I was drowning in a sinking pool tarp. In my real life struggle to get free in the dream, I elbowed her in the eye." - Ghostdog2041
Luckily, Woody4ever's story ends with everyone okay. And honestly, a succubus trying to steal your soul kind of makes everything that happened afterward understandable.
There are less scary, but still frightening things that can happen in your dreams, especially when it's a recurring nightmare.
Just remember Woody4ever's advice.
"Sleepy time means every man for himself apparently."
Chris Martin and Johnny Buckland were on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last week, talking about their new album.
Martin however, went off on a tangent about an idea he had for A Quiet Place.
As Martin explained, after seeing the movie A Quiet Place, he had a joke. He sent a video of himself pretending to play the piano and mouthing words to a song to Emily Blunt and her husband, John Krasinski, who directed the film.
"So, I sent Emily Blunt and her husband this idea for the musical of 'A Quiet Place' and it was just me like that,"
It was the perfect idea for A Quiet Place musical.
The only problem is Martin never heard anything back from Krasinski or Blunt.
As Martin explained:
"I thought, 'Oh no, they must have thought I was taking the Mickey.' I wasn't. I loved the film!"
DeGeneres helpfully responded:
"Well, you'll hear back from them now!"
And she ensured it. The official Twitter account for the show tweeted out the clip and tagged Krasinski in the tweet.
Difficult to ignore that.
.@JohnKrasinski, did you get this message from Chris Martin? https://t.co/2iVw0o5SNi— Ellen DeGeneres (@Ellen DeGeneres) 1579127469.0
Krasinski certainly couldn't ignore being called out like that. He manned up and responded to the video.
He also decided to throw his wife under the bus.
@TheEllenShow I... did not get an email from Chris Martin. The man is a treasure. Are you kidding me!? Emily what have you done!?!?— John Krasinski (@John Krasinski) 1579145164.0
@johnkrasinski Well, blaming Emily seems like a great strategy.— Ellen DeGeneres (@Ellen DeGeneres) 1579191157.0
It's not very fair, considering Blunt doesn't use social media and can't so readily defend herself. Low blow, Jim.
On the other hand, people are very supportive of Martin referring to the Hollywood couple as "Emily Blunt and her husband."
@steeljammn @johnkrasinski @TheEllenShow That reference was the best! Must be a Brit thing?— Karess (@Karess) 1579150481.0
We can cut Krasinski a little slack. He's been busy producing A Quiet Place 2, due for release in March of this year.
The film once again stars Emily Blunt as Evelyn Abbott as she and her family face off against deadly creatures who violently attack any sound.
The monsters aren't entirely unlike Twitter users who see a famous actor trying to blame Emily Blunt because he happened to leave Chris Martin on read.
@johnkrasinski @TheEllenShow oh emily... 🤦♀️ https://t.co/mPV0w5fMBx— sag award winner jennifer aniston® (@sag award winner jennifer aniston®) 1579146635.0
@johnkrasinski @TheEllenShow Ooooooo....just threw her under the bus. I can't see this going well for you.— Maria Crisman (@Maria Crisman) 1579146826.0
😂😂😂😂😂 no wonder they ignore him. https://t.co/9nMMDVvIqo— Marie 🌊🦉❄☃️❄ (@Marie 🌊🦉❄☃️❄) 1579398351.0
Chris Martin and Johnny Buckland were on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote their new album, Everyday Life. According to Metacritic, the album has received generally favorable reviews, and debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart.
