The Dreams of a Man Asleep for Three Weeks

The article ends with:<p>&gt; Only now I can wake up any time I want.<p>The author talks about dreams, but dreams are just one aspect of the ICU mental experience. The line between dreams, hallucinations, and memories can collapse.<p>Delirium in intensive care units is extremely common, affecting up to 80% of some patient populations. It is the result of a combination of highly vulnerable patients, extremely stressful situations, abnormal biochemistry, and powerful pharmaceuticals. It is poorly understood.<p>This delirium can pose danger to staff and patient in hospital, and can have lasting cognitive impact on patients once they leave. PTSD-like symptoms are not uncommon and are certainly under-treated. Given how common delirium in ICUs is, most facilities have limited or no psychiatric staffing for ICU mental health support.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov&#x2F;pmc&#x2F;articles&#x2F;PMC2391269&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov&#x2F;pmc&#x2F;articles&#x2F;PMC2391269&#x2F;</a><p>I spent three days in a coma as a result of hepatic encephalopathy, among other episodes related to end stage liver disease. Some day I&#x27;ll write more about the experience. Incredibly vivid dreams are just one piece of it.

This was a really enjoyable read - thank you for posting. I&#x27;ve always had difficulty remembering my dreams after waking, so I&#x27;m almost jealous of the amount of detail and realism he was able to retain, but then again, I guess 3 weeks of nothing but dreaming would do that

I get it, I’m cynical. But am I the only one that wonders how much of this is true, and how much “poetic license”?

I rarely read articles that long, but I found this one fascinating.<p>I can believe it, since I (both unfortunately and fortunately) have the most vivid, realistic, extremely detailed (and sometimes weird and frightening) dreams. Dreams that I can remember after years. Sometimes they change the course of days decisions, even life decisions.<p>I can remember almost every detail, except for one: every time that I wake up in the middle of the night after dreaming the solution to a big (mine or global) problem, or an idea for &quot;the next big thing&quot;. I recall saying &quot;Yes! Of course! How could I not think about it before?!&quot;. The answer is there, at the tip of my fingers, then I wake up and, frustrated, can&#x27;t remember what it was. I can remember though that feeling of having the <i>click in my mind</i> about the idea or solution being so rational and possible.