Can you forget that you had a nightmare upon awakening?

It would be easy to say, "how would you ever know?"

But of course sometimes these things come back to you.
Or show up in other ways.

I would say, yes!

At least I know I have woken up *knowing* I had a "bad dream", and feeling all the emotions associated with it but not able to remember the content.

I also am aware that sometimes I have had dreams (good and bad) that are so abstract that I cannot relate to them in physical terms in the waking world, and so am unable to remember them at all - but there is a strange crossover period when I am waking up and can feel the definitions slipping away, which is how I know this! Does that make sense.

I think most nightmares I do remember, but not all.

HTH,

Regards,

Milamber

Yes and you can also remember it if you so choose.

You can even intentionaly forget somthing if you so choose.

... and maybe that choice is made at a subconsious level.
Perhaps the nightmares drew on material locked away in parts of your memory kept hidden from your conscious mind because of their associations with trauma. In that case the dreams that drew on that material may also be "forgotten" consciously for the same reasons. I suspect it doesn't always work that way, though.

Regards,

Milamber