So you distinguish only in retrospect then? That's interesting. I am so sorry that you had that experience. It's hard to imagine.
My own precognitive dreams have an extreme vividness--a sharp, surreal quality--that is hard to describe, which is why I asked. Those dreams are very different from other dreams. They are so vivid, so colorful, and hyper sharp. It's like the difference between watching an old TV from the 80s and then watching HDTV. Vivid. Clear. I really don't know what they are or why I get them (and tbh, they don't happen often) because as I've said before, they are usually just random moments in time that aren't even significant. Usually they are far enough in the future that they don't make sense at all - like new people who I seem to know well, or I'm working in a different job, etc. They always happen eventually, exactly as I have dreamed them. I wish I had more clarity on what this is or why I get them. I also don't know anyone (aside from my aunt, who died in 2014) who has every experienced anything similar. FYI - we are average, normal people with no history of mental illness in our family. We don't mention these dreams to anyone beyond a close inner circle, as they are obviously a weird thing that is not exactly relatable to many people.
Thank you for sharing your experience.