Nicotine Dreams: Hypnagogia and Fear

This post is part of a series of articles that reflect on nicotine induced dreams. During 2012 whilst attempting to quit smoking, I was using patches as part of a Nicotine Replacement Therapy program. I became very aware of heightened recall of dreams I experienced whilst wearing a nicotine patch and began to document them accordingly. This is one such dream.

I awoke with no real recall of my dream as such, more just a noteworthy experience on waking.

I was lying on my back and the room was pitch black, and I could hear breathing, shuffling, like a small animal against my right arm. It was slowly moving alongside me up towards my face. I couldn’t see that the bedroom door was open, but I could sense it; and I felt there was an evil presence here.

My mind was racing, envisioning a malevolent shadowy figure stood at the foot of my bed. My heart was pounding, racing to the point I felt it was going to explode out of my chest. All I could think was that there was a knife beside my bed that I could use for defence, if only I could reach it. But I was paralysed?

I physically kept attempting to move, but all I could do was look around, the rest of my body was paralysed, not with fear, but with disassociation. I could hear the creature on the bed sniffing, sort of resembling a dog when it’s trying to follow a scent. The figure was still stood watching. I was lay there exposed and vulnerable.

And then it passed. The sounds and feelings of being watched relented. I sat upright aware that the room was empty of life besides myself. And everything was silent and still; as it should be.

And this was my first recalled experience of hypnagogia.