do other parents imagine this?

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I'm having these recurrent daydreams about me and my daughter being homeless on the streets of Portland. That's not even the bad part. It's when she tells me that she's hungry and I can't do a thing about it. I tell her that I know she's hungry and I'll try to get her something but we're on the bus and she's crying. That's when I start breaking down - in my daydream, that is. That's when I become lucid and experience a some depression over it.

This usually occurs when I'm lying down about to go to sleep.

Just looking to know if I'm not the only one who experiences thoughts of despair involving their children.

I don't think I have ever had that kind of dream day or night, just fears that someone has hit our car with our kids or grandkids in it and I just haven't heard about it yet.

But if it ever really happens, relax, PM me, I'm in Portland too! And I have food!

Which Portland? There are two. Thank you for the offer. I know that she'd have enough to eat always. We have relatives in Portland and we'd qualify for all sorts of state stuff like TANIF, EBT, medicare and all that. We'd find a way. I just don't like the feelings of of hopeless desperation.,

Also, we live in Augusta and this is just purely hypothetical fantasy. A bad fantasy, sure. I just think Portland is where I/we'd go if ever my wife left us in the way a parent could leave her child.

I haven't ever had that dream, but I do have recurring dreams about loss of control. They always have different subject matter, but basically the same theme. For instance, I will dream that I have gone to New York City with friends and gotten lost or that I am about to take a test that I have not studied for. I have also dreamed that I have lost my son somewhere, and I can't find him. I have dreamed that I was driving a car from the backseat of the car, and I couldn't reach the steering wheel.

All of these dreams started after my son was diagnosed with ASD, and I think it all revolves around me not being prepared for raising a child with ASD.

That sounds like something it would be good to talk to a therapist about; it doesn't mean you're crazy if you do that, it's just like going to the doctor if you have something like knee pain. If it's causing you distress, a therapist can help pinpoint exactly what is causing the fantasy and how to conquer it. It sounds like you know it's a completely irrational thought but that you can't get rid of it anyways, so I think a couple of sessions talking it out with someone would really help.

I think it's pretty normal for parents to have dreams/thoughts about their children being in scary situations. It's why our parents always told us that once you have a child you never stop worrying about them! Even when they're all grown up!

I've had feelings of dread and despair, concerning my child, feeling that I'm on the verge of failing him utterly. I've had obsessive thoughts about us ending up homeless, but it's never happened, nor do I think it's likely to anymore. So far we've soldiered on together, and things have never been as bad as I feared.