Vivid dreams are a listed side effect and I will occasionally pick up a pack of 21mg and put one on just for the dreams - it is really startling and I seem to remember them better and be able to wake up and reenter the same dream for more effectively*
*Do not listen to me. Nicotine is bad for you and abusing nicotine patches in this way opens you up to the most pointless and expensive of all possible addictions.
Yeah, there is no chance of me using nicotine again. I’m able to kick the habit fairly easily, but I’m unable to casually use it. I’ll just stick to the occasional naturally occurring vivid dreams.
That is what I tell myself, but if I am kicking it all the time have I ever really? At least I don’t smoke. There is that
I should clarify, by easy, I mean I can just go cold turkey and stop, which isn’t always the case for other substances. However, a very small non noticeable craving remains and if I decide “I can have just one” I end up using again.
No, I get you. I am the same. I like to say that I am very good at quitting, because I have had so much practice
My quitting lasts a little longer , maybe four years now, and before that I had quit for about 5 or 6. Prior to that, quitting didn’t last more than a few months. I do miss the occasional lucid dreams I would have back then.
That is about the same as mine - 4-6 years between, though maybe I have had longer to do it more often so it feels worse.
Most of these lead me to wonder if people made any distinction between dreams and nightmares. 
Good question! I have a very narrow concept of “nightmare,” I think, and wouldn’t describe any of my “teeth falling out” dreams as one. Uncomfortable, but not horrifying.
A friend and I both used to dream about animals a lot, and we got into looking the specific animals up in “Animal Speak,” which describes the different cultural myths or significance of the various animals, as a way to try to interpret our dreams.
I don’t have that book but looked up squirrels here (which lists that book as a reference)
http://www.namaste.co.za/uploads/7/8/2/5/7825657/totem_candles-small.pdf
And it says they’re a symbol of gathering, preparedness and activity. I wonder if those are also kind of “stress dreams” in hard times when people are worried about having enough.
TBC, I think if we associate a certain animal or symbol with a certain theme, our subconscious uses it to work things out, not that there’s necessarily a squirrel god(dess) speaking to us while we sleep.
I did a search and found it is not easy to find lists of fears around the world, because they tend to switch from phobias (which are often described as irrational) to real problems (like climate change, economic instability, and nuclear war). Here’s a list that maps to a lot of items on the dream list, but the teeth thing still has me confused, unless it is a spin on aging in general:
I’m not able to see the link about squirrels, the site gives me a permission error. 
Still, the theme of animals is another interesting one. It reminds me of folktales, because so many ancient ones feature animals in some way:
Could dreams/nightmares somehow be related to those tales - or a form of genetic memory passed down as a means of ensuring survival or facilitating adaptation to conditions in nature?
Weird about the permissions…here’s what it says about squirrels:
Squirrel: Gathering, Activity, Preparedness
The gathering power of Squirrel is a great gift. It teaches us balance within the circle of gathering and giving out. They remind us that in our quest for our goals, it is vital to make time for play and socialising. Squirrel teaches us to conserve our energy for times of need. If your totem is Squirrel or Squirrel has recently entered your life, lighten your load of things that are unnecessary - things that you have gathered in the past and may be cluttering your life - thoughts, worries, and stresses. Squirrel is also the totem of action. Ask yourself are you too active, not active enough, afraid of enough, hung up on accumulating and collecting. Squirrel people tend to be a little erratic - trying to do many things at once. Take the time to stop and listen to your inner self - and don’t forget to play!
And it includes a picture of each animal 
OMG…
I wish I’d read this when I got randomly attacked by a squirrel last summer 
would’ve made way more time for play all summer!
I wonder if, now that you know the meaning, you’ll have dreams about them…
Again, that might be nightmare fuel. I was menaced by flying squirrels as a kid and stalked by one in college, which makes me really uneasy when they’re closer than a few feet away. It’s now become sort of the family joke that I frequently encounter them. I’m sure by now they figure I’d act like B’Elanna Torres in ST:Voyager with her animal guide:
Only I’d never attempt to harm one unless it attacked me. At this point, my dreams are the only place where they don’t show up.
My guess is that you’re trying to move your legs in your sleep (see above).
For a moment I thought y’all were talking about dreams about smoking. I haven’t had a cigarette since 1995, but after I quit, I would have dreams in which I’d started smoking again – more often at first, and rarely now. I even feel guilty about it in the dream. I’ve heard these dreams are common among ex-smokers.
I’ve had those dreams. Other recurrent scenarios are that some portion of the house is falling apart, and/or I’ve stumbled into another bedroom that we don’t use for anything/anyone, except storage and completely forgot about the room and whatever’s in it. Also, driving around a city (usually Austin) where the geography/topography is nearly impossibly (but not completely) different from the facts-on-the-ground. Or an airplane crashes nearby while I stand there unable to do anything about it.
I figure, before long, this visitor’s going to return, in my dreams…
