"That" dream

[IlDuche]

I used to get it frequently when I first started patrol, then they went away until after a particularly violent call that put me on DP for a while. The "100 lb trigger pull" dream, aka the "broken gun dream." IE: guy draws/shoots at you, and for the life of ya you can't pull the trigger because the pull is just too much. Or you pull and pull but nothing happens, gun won't cycle, just a paperweight.

Anyone else have these, and have any ideas on how to make them stop or at least not happen as often? I mean, not that I don't like waking up in a cold sweat and all, but the wife gets cranky when I flop over and hit her at 2 am.

[jaysen]

Wow, thought I was alone on this one... I haven't had one in a while but when I did they were pretty frequent...

I didn't change my routine before bed to actually notice what triggered them to stop but it's been a while.

Yes, I hate them too

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

[non sequitur]

Dream a lil dream

Solution: LUCID DREAMING... it takes practice and mental conditioning but it's very effective to combat nightmares!

[IrishJoe3]

Go shoot your duty gun, and shoot it a lot. Practice with it, manipulate it, go through shooting drills. It reassures my sub conscious that it does work and I can use it.
After that the dreams usually go away for me.

[9mmepiphany]

I've had them and there are always the jokes about it being related to performance anxiety. I did some study and research on the subject and found it pretty interesting.

It is about performance anxiety, but it isn't sexual...everything isn't about sex...it is about your ability to respond correctly the next time a similar incident occurs. It isn't about the gun at all and the desk duty only plays into it. No matter how much they say it is to give you a break from the stress, it is still perceived as a doubt that you did the right thing or that you will in the future...that is your perception and that brings on the dreams. It isn't about the gun, it is about you....going out to shoot your duty gun to assure yourself that it works is just a band-aid.

If you have Peer Support on your department I'd talk to one of them...it isn't that serious, but if you don't address it, it will manifest itself in other ways. If you don't have PS, you could look into your EAP (employee assistant program) and see what they offer. You can drop me a PM if you'd like more information, you wouldn't be the first

[Falconis]

Everyone in my academy had them while we were in the firearms training portion of it (months 2 to 5). Funny thing is that I knew my gun worked, I knew I could hit the target, I knew my bullets would go faster than 1 foot an hour .... didn't matter still had the dreams.

Everyone got over it and joked about it. It wasn't anything that held anyone up except the failures. I had a feeling they were on their way out anyways.

[TheExpertish]

I use to have them, but now that I'm out they're gone. It's part stress, partly your brain preparing you mentally for the worst. Use your vacation days, shoot often for fun, and just try to relieve stress as much as possible. The hardest part is asking for help when we need it because we all have the tough guy self image. Nothing wrong with that, but you just have to know your limitations. Like others have said, it's not serious but I know they suck. Different things work for different people so try to do whatever works for you as far as clearing your head. Trips to Yosemite with my family work for me.

[Watchur6]

WOW!! I thought I was the only one that had this. I've never talked about it but its the worst feeling. I continue to have them to this day.

[TheExpertish]

Thankfully this is something the TAC staff warned us about in the academy. They were big on what they called "Life Fitness", which didn't just concentrate on training and exercise, but taught us how to deal with stress of the job, difficult calls, and OIS.

[BigDogatPlay]

I don't have them anymore since I got out. Nor do I have the dream where I am in a foot chase trying to catch some guy and no matter how hard I run I can't catch him, like I am running in slow motion. Had them in the first years of my career with some frequency, but they dropped to only occasionally over time. Experience and confidence, I think, have something to do with them.

[biochembruin]

I use those dreams as a kind of mental training. I debrief the incident in my head when i wake up and file it away as another tactical experience. For the most part,when the gun doesn't go off i realize it's a dream, but it wasn't always like that.

[Notorious]

Every cop gets these dreams. You're not alone. There are many variations too.

The one I get is where I am hitting the guy with everything I got, every bullet center of mass, then, nothing. No effect whatsoever. The other one is the bullets come out but just drops right out of the barrel or flies like a spitball and drops in 5 feet.

I haven't had the one with the inoperable trigger or non functioning gun. Had the over where I couldn't run away fast enough from the perp I couldn't stop.

All terrifying but the frequency comes less and less as I worked and now they pretty much never happen unless something triggers it. Just a part of life in this business.

[415dog!]

A doc told us to visualize the same dream but overcome the obstacle. ie, reload, rack the slide or pull the trigger. Like someone mentioned use it as a training scenario

[dougtoni]

Wow, thought i was the only one who had those dreams. I use to get them wwhen i first started the department. For some reason they stoped years ago. I guess they go away with time.

[AragornElessar86]

Solution: LUCID DREAMING... it takes practice and mental conditioning but it's very effective to combat nightmares!

This^^

Now when I have nightmares I just turn the monsters/badguys etc. into playboy bunnies and we have a wild night.