Nightmares vs. Dreams

I was talking to a friend not to long ago about nightmares and dreams. The question was: "Would you rather have a dreamless night or nightmares?" Which might seem like a childish question, but it got me thinking.

A dreamless night almost makes me feel like I've died. You all of a sudden are gone, and everything is black. Even though everyone says there will be a light when you die, I imagine everything going black for a while first. Nothingness is one of my biggest fears, my greatest fear is being alone, which is my equivalent to nothingness. My Hell on earth would simply to be left alone. I wouldn't even have to be the only person in the world, just simply left alone. So rather than a dreamless night, I would pick a nightmare. Nightmares are so realistic, and you feel such fear, that you know you can't be dead. Because in order to feel fear, you must be alive.

I'd compare it to being completely numb. With a nightmare, your sense of fear is intact. However, when there is nothing, you feel no pain, but does that mean that it doesn't hurt? No, it simply means that you can't feel the pain. The pain that you can feel, shows you what is happening, which is why i'd chose a nightmare over a dreamless night.