If History Repeats Itself, the 2020s Will Be a Great Decade

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~ written by Cody Collins The 1920s, 50s and 90s; what do these three decades have in common? They were all periods of prosperity in the U.S. that came after a major global downfall. Can we throw 2020 in there too? With the events that have unfolded from COVID-19, and the world coming to a halt, it seems like life will never be normal. But in time, life will go back to “normal,” even if it is a new normal. In “recent” history there have been several examples of crises affecting most of the world. And COVID-19 is no different. But in those instances of crisis, prosperity followed, especially for the U.S. Take a deep breath, if history repeats itself , everything will be alright. The 1920s: Pandemic, Great Depression And War Everyone knows of the Roaring Twenties. The 1920s were filled with glitter and extravagance. The turmoil before this prosperity was two-fold though. Many hoped WWI would be the war to end all wars. That is how devastating and involved it was compared to wars past.
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I had a NIGHTMARE... was it a divination? 🤷🏽‍♂️

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So a few days back, I had this nightmare a few hours into my sleep. It was hard to separate reality from dreaming. There was this dark feeling like someone was watching and something was coming. I was half awake and tried to get up but I couldn't; I couldn't speak, couldn't move either. After a while, I managed to force myself to move and that was it... I was up.

   That was my experience, one among several that I have experienced as an adult; not frequent but eventful. It's hard to picture lots of adults experiencing this... It's normally the kids who fuss about it. And if an adult says something about it, usually it is used to depict a bad experience or situation they've found themselves in. But the truth is, between 2-8% of the adult population is actually plagued with nightmares.
   
What nightmares are? 


Now, contrary to popular opinion, not all nightmares are actually nightmares. According to WebMD, nightmares are vividly realistic, disturbing dreams that rattle you awake from a deep sleep. They are well known to strike fear into you and make your heartbeat pretty fast, a fast rush of scary 👻. They occur mostly in the early morning hours. But what people don't know about is Night terror. Although it causes the same effects, it's slightly different.
   Night terrors occur in the first few hours after falling asleep, and they are experienced as feelings, not dreams so people don't really know why they're upbeat in a scary fashion after waking up. Now thinking about it again, I probably had a night terror 🤭. 

Causes
   So what could be the cause of these nightmares? There are lots of factors that could add up to you having a bad night, it could also be a combination of two or more factors. Some of the common ones are listed below:

• Increase in metabolism due to late-night snacks
• Sleep deprivation
• Sleep disorder
• Withdrawal from certain medications, substances & alcohol
• Use of antidepressants, blood pressure drugs, or any medication that acts on the brain... Tranquilizers maybe?
• Psychological disorders such as severe anxiety and depression or even PTSD.

    In general, I believe nightmares happen when your body is stressed and is not in the right state; also when your mental health is compromised in any way. 

What do they mean?
     It is a popular belief to link nightmares and dreams to some sort of divination, a foretell of something that would happen. I'm going to talk about a few of them and I am sure I'd get a few 'I've had that' from some of you. Please indicate in the comment if you resonate with any one of them.

1. Invasion
      You dream that someone is breaking into your home, bedroom, or office. According to analysts, this could tell that your personal space is being invaded either physically, emotionally, or spiritually. It could also mean you're having a bacterial/ viral infection.

2. You can't move
       This one happens when your mind wakes up before your body does; they are out of sync for a few seconds and we dream we are paralyzed... Kinda similar to the experience I had. 

3. You can't breath
       This one here, for us in Nigeria, would mean that someone is pressing you spiritually and a popular phrase 'your village people have come for you' will be used. But trying to be more positive and less diabolical about it, it would mean that you just feel restricted, not getting enough personal space to yourself

4. Death
        A common one, I'd say. You died or someone else died in the dream would probably sum it up. It sometimes literally means that something like that is about to happen to some degree. But it's not like that for most cases and being more positive it could mean you're letting go of old ways or bad behavior, maybe a friend. It also helps us reassess our life as we are confronted with fears about our mortality... Something like 'Damn I could die any day, I need to get my shit together' 😅

5. You're being chased
        This was my brother's signature nightmare growing up. He used to be chased by everything and anything. Well, he got the nightmares and I used to wet the bed, that was the deal the universe gave us. 🤝 😂
Back to our subject of discussion, running away from something scary in a dream could mean that you're running away from stepping up to something; maybe a decision, a fact, or a situation. The fix though is simple here, you just need to wake up to your fears and face reality, your life... with much courage.


So what do we do about it?
    Well, there are several things that you can try but the idea is just for you to eliminate any form of stress and get your body into its default natural, healthy state. 
The first would be to reduce any form of mental related medication to help reduce its frequency at least, especially if you have anxiety or PTSD problems. Finding a way to treat those disorders permanently would also help. Other methods would be to have a healthy regular sleeping routine. Also, engage in regular exercise or meditation sessions that'd help reduce stress. 
      Again avoid alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine which could well stay in your body for over 12 hours and cause sleep deprivation. 

Lending a shoulder 


 One other thing, I'd like to end this wonderful article about nightmare on is, about helping a suffering friend who is having nightmares. The truth is, we all go through things beyond our control, and in those times, we may need a shoulder to cry.... a little nudge, or just a listening ear. Show empathy by being there and listening, talking about your experiences if you've had similar... But never look down on them. Don't be judgemental to them for being weak, remember, it could be you.

 Thanks for reading till the end, you're really a real champ 👍🏾. Please drop a comment about something you resonated with, your experience, or just your suggestion. 

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