Skittles

Skittles are the candy of my dreams, when I close my eyes and go to sleep at night I see visions of Orange Skittles, Lemon Skittles, Green Skittles and more. In my dream I’m sitting under a cloud next to a rainbow with a big bucket and it is raining Skittles – I jubilantly run and catch all the delicious flavors in my bucket. Like a happy little baby, I sit and eat all the scrumptious varieties of Skittles: Wild Berry Skittles, Tropical Skittles and Original Skittles! I’m simply overjoyed.

However, midway through my dream it stops raining Skittles, but I keep eating Blue Skittles, Red Skittles, Pink Skittles and more. Soon my bucket is empty and I have no more candy, there are no more Skittles anywhere, my beautiful dream then turns into a horrifying nightmare! At this point I wake up in a cold sweat, my adrenaline is pumping and my heart is racing. I have to remind myself that it was only a dream, and that Skittles are not all gone.

For years I had this dream/nightmare every night. I was finding it difficult to get a full night’s sleep and my sleep deprivation had a profound negative impact on my work, family and personal relationships. I had to seek out professional help so I joined Skittles Anonymous. There I found I was not the only one who had this particular dream/nightmare sequence, in fact it was a common theme throughout the group.

What I learned was that Skittles candy is soooo good that many people develop an unnatural fear that one day they will run out and they not be able to get more Skittles. One of the primary ways that this fear is manifested is through dreams. Through Skittles Anonymous I learned to control this phobia via a series of chants that I say every night before I go to sleep:

“There will be Skittles candy tomorrow. Tomorrow, they will not run out of Purple Skittles. I will be able to eat Red Skittles tomorrow. Tomorrow, I will eat Lemon Skittles; they will be there for me. I should never be afraid, I know both Green and Orange Skittles will be there for me to eat tomorrow.”

I have been saying these chants every night before bed for the past 18 months and I haven’t had that nightmare since. Skittles Anonymous gave me my life back, I can sleep well again and my relationships at work and at home have dramatically improved. Most of all, Skittles Anonymous has allowed me to understand that I’ll always have Skittles Candy, there is no need to live in fear that one day I won’t be able to eat them. I am finally free of fear.