1 week Ago By Audrey Noble
Dreams can feel stunningly real, leave us shaken and surprise us with their surreal storylines. But do dream interpretations amount to anything? Sigmund Freud, the famed neurologist and founder of modern-day psychoanalysis, had a lot to say about how we might interpret the visual, emotional and cognitive sensations we experience while asleep. He believed our dreams are actually the disguised representations of our unconscious desires, thoughts, wishes and motivations.
It’s a theory that is still very much alive today. “Throughout history, there has been both fascination and debate about what dreams are, what causes them, what they mean and the benefit they may carry,” Stephanie Gailing, wellness astrologer and author of The Complete Book of Dreams, explains. “Since antiquity, they have maintained a very important role in cultures across the globe, revered for their visionary wisdom.
” The act of trying to suss out the possible meaning of dreams can be traced as far back as the ancient Sumerian civilisation, when many people used them as prophetic guides and to help them make important decisions. According to Gailing, it wasn’t until the early 20th century—and the birth of modern psychology —that dreams were seen as a reflection of the subconscious. Nowadays, it’s common to interpret dreams in order to better understand our overall well-being.
Thea Gallagher, PsyD, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at NYU Langone Health, breaks down dreams, which typically occur in the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stage where images or stories play out in our minds, into three types: a pleasant dream with an ideal outcome, one with a less preferred outcome (or oftentimes a bizarre one), and a nightmare. What these dreams mean is personal and can vary; it all depends on the dreamer. “Dreams can show us things that we are experiencing in waking life but are not acknowledged in our conscious minds,” explains Gailing.
“Either because we don’t have space to process them or we don’t want to deal with certain feelings or thoughts.” Though the interpretation of dreams will be different for everyone, there are universal themes that pop up and are worth looking into if you’re trying to figure out what your dreams might mean. Consider this your crash course in basic dream analysis—or, a handy little dream dictionary, just for you.
Read on for 14 of the most common types of dreams and what they could mean for you. Dreams of being pregnant Depending on what is going on in your life, being pregnant in a dream can mean totally different things. Gailing says it’s important to look at the details of your dream to help flesh out the overall meaning.
You’ll also want to explore how you’re feeling after the dream; she says your emotional reaction can provide insights into what the dream might mean to you personally. “For example, if you have a dream about being pregnant and you have been working hard on a creative project, the dream may relate to this period of creativity you are experiencing and how you feel about it,” she explains. “It’s always important to take the dream into the context of what is happening in a person’s waking life.
” Dreams of falling If you’re dreaming about being in a free fall, Gailing says it could mean that you feel out of control and don’t “have steady footing” in some aspect of your life. On the other end of that spectrum, however, she says that if you find yourself falling in a dream but then start flying, it could represent freedom and trusting the timing of your life. Dreams of being chased Someone chasing you in your dreams is another sign that you might not feel in control.
Gailing says it could signify a couple of different fears, such as concern that someone is out to get you or that you’re avoiding certain responsibilities. Dreams of flying Whether you’re dreaming of flying like a bird or cos-playing your favourite Marvel superhero, Gailing says that the vivid dream of flying symbolises freedom and a need for adventure. However, if the dream turns into you falling as you fly, it could also mean you feel ungrounded.
So remember to pay attention to what’s going on in the dream and how you feel. Dreams of death An obvious reading, Gailing says, of dreaming about death is that it could signify your internal fear about dying. But here’s another way she says that you can look at it: it could just be giving you a sense that a chapter or situation in your life is coming to an end—and that doesn’t always have to be a bad thing.
Dreams of your teeth falling out One of the most common dreams people tend to have involves teeth falling out. Gailing says that there are three main dream interpretations for this. First, it could signify some sort of rebirth and transformation, as you’re releasing something old and making space for something new.
The other two are more introspective and could signify feeling some sort of loss of control or internal concerns about how you present in public. Dreams of being late or missing a deadline These habits of tardiness showing up in your dreams usually show some sort of worry you have internally. Gailing says that it could represent worrying about a lost opportunity or stress around your relationship with time.
It could also show that you’re overwhelmed by being overcommitted with responsibilities. Dreams of being naked in public Have you recently fallen flat on your face while walking through a crowd? Or accidentally liked an old photo of an ex while on a social media (read: stalking) deep dive? If you’re not one to brush it off and keep it moving, those embarrassed feelings may manifest in dreamland as you sleep. If you find yourself dreaming about being naked in public, Gailing says it’s most likely connected to a recent embarrassing situation you’ve found yourself in.
Dreams of infidelity The good news: dreaming of infidelity isn’t necessarily a sign from the universe that you’re with the wrong person or that you’re tapping into some psychic ability to predict the demise of your current relationship. The bad news: you might be dealing with trust issues in general and operating from a place of fear. Both Gallagher and Gailing say that if you’re not feeling secure or have been betrayed in the past, it’s normal to have those subconscious feelings of distrust creep up.
Maybe you’re having this dream because a partner has cheated on you in the past or you’re scared something will ruin a beautiful current connection. Just remember, it’s important to ground yourself rather than lash out over this particular dream. “Relationships are one [thing] that can conjure up a lot of uncertainty because we don’t know.
..there’s so many things that could happen in a relationship,” says Gallagher.
“I think if it’s really something that has no evidence-based in the present, it’s about saying ‘I got to live my life’ and engage with this without knowing every possible outcome.” Dreams of phobias No one wants to see insects or any sort of creature they’re afraid of while they’re sleeping. So why is your unconscious mind doing you dirty in your dreams? Gailing says that if you’re dreaming of your phobias, you’re most likely afraid of not having control in some situation in your life.
“[You’re] face to face with something that haunts or scares you,” she says. She adds that certain animals and what those animals are doing represent different types of fears. For example, a rat could reflect that you’re hiding or shunning something.
Dreams of your ex Don’t let the TikTok tarot cards fool you: a dream about your ex isn’t their way of manifesting you back into their lives. So before you undo all that healing by breaking the “no contact rule,” both Gailing and Thea want you to take a step back and evaluate your feelings surrounding that dream. “Were you thrilled, horrified or puzzled that your ex starred in your dream? Also, what’s your relationship with your ex? Do you never want to see them again [or] do you pine for them? Do you regret or feel shame that you broke up? The context is super important here in understanding what the dream is revealing,” says Gailing.
Once you process your feelings about the dream (and your ex), you can then determine whether or not you’re harbouring any unresolved emotions about the relationship. Gallagher says it’s normal to think about people in your past who you’ve had a significant relationship with, but it doesn’t always have a deeper meaning about the specific person. “What do you want to do about [the dream]?” asks Gallagher.
“Sometimes people struggle with ‘I regret that I broke up with this person’ or ‘I feel sadness that they cheated on me.’ [They also think], ‘I just feel like it was the wrong time, wrong place and what could have been.’ I think processing those feelings is really important with our relationships.
” Dreams that feel like a premonition Better known as precognitive dreams, Gailing says, “These are the ones in which you dream of an event that has yet to occur, only for it to happen later. Some people [believe] that they are able to foretell the future through their dreams while others don’t sense that their dreams are precognitive until after an event that they dreamed about occurs.” But not every dream is a precognitive dream and you shouldn’t live in fear thinking you’ve predicted your future every time you sleep.
Instead, she says to just take note of times when your dreams come to fruition and “embrace the power of [your] intuition and ability to hone in on subtle perceptions of awareness,” she says. In other words, this is a great way to “further develop this skill.” Gallagher agrees and says to have fun with it.
“It doesn’t have to be that serious or deep,” she says. “I think [it] could be something that’s kind of neat and fun. [It could] sometimes make us feel connected to a greater sense of our consciousness.
” Dreams of seeing a loved one who has passed away When Gallagher’s sister passed and visited her in a dream, Gallagher says she focused on the fact that it gave her a chance to create another memory with a person she misses dearly instead of trying to figure out whether her sister was sending her a message from the great beyond. This is something she encourages others to do as well. “Sometimes it’s really nice to have that experience where you maybe connect with someone you’ve lost in a dream,” she says.
“It was such a beautiful experience to have this kind of dream with my sister in it.” If you’re feeling anxious or stressed after being visited by a lost loved one in your dreams, Gallagher recommends working through those feelings with a trusted friend, family member or therapist. It might prove to be a meaningful moment of reflection and insight.
“Dreams reflect things in our lives that are very much connected to strong emotions. It’s no surprise that sometimes those will show up in our dreams,” she says. “I think that can be a beautiful thing.
” Dreams of losing your hair Gailing says that dreams of losing one’s hair may be linked to some sort of worry you might have. This will be dependent on what’s going on in your life, but some common meanings behind this include loss of control, worrying about ageing or worrying about your appearance. Dreams of fires Dreaming about fires has a wide range of meanings.
One of the most common interpretations of this type of destruction, says Gailing, is that you’re in a situation where you have no power. It can also represent feelings of great passion or your anger towards something (or someone) in your life. On the flipside, it could mean some sort of purification and clearing away of the old.
Dreams of drowning According to Gailing, water oftentimes symbolises emotions of feeling overwhelmed or consumed with something. This could mean too much pressure from a situation, too much work, too much responsibility in something, etc. “Basically whatever in your waking life that you feel like you’re drowning in,” she says.
Dreams of snakes Snakes in general, says Gailing, are associated with some sort of transformation and metamorphosis. She goes on to explain that if you dream about a snake, it may be because you’re in a powerful time of letting things go and shedding the things you’ve outgrown. While it sounds like a good thing, she says that it can be scary to let go of what you know to invite the unknown.
Other things that the snake might represent include a form of healing (she points out that the modern symbol associated with medicine features two snakes and that the symbol associated with the Greek father of medicine Asclepius is a staff with a snake circling around it ), passion or a sign someone around you is being deceitful or untrustworthy. Nightmares While not pleasant, nightmares can clue you into any unresolved emotional conflicts that you might be carrying around. “[They] shine a light on what you are fearful of,” says Gailing.
“They give you the opportunity to process unprocessed feelings.” For the most part, you don’t have to be too concerned with having a nightmare. But Gallagher says that if you’re having recurring dreams of a traumatic event that has happened to you, you should seek out professional help to work through it.
“It’s a clinical symptom,” she explains. “[A recurring nightmare about a traumatic event] could be indicating that you have some ‘unfinished business’ that you have to process, which is really important in healing from PTSD.” If it’s a nightmare that you’re scared will come true, she says it’s normal to feel a bit uneasy.
But she encourages you to speak with someone so that the fears don’t affect how you live out your personal life. Both Gailing and Gallagher encourage those interested in interpreting their own dreams to keep a dream journal. This will help recall the dreams and make sense of what they might mean to you in the present moment.
It might just prove to be emotionally helpful, as well. “A dream journal offers you a deeper level of understanding about yourself and/or the world around you,” explains Gailing. “Even if a dream is full of fancy or nothing more than a recounting of the day’s events.
..I think that opening up to our dreams can leave us in awe and inspire us to feel more awe at the complexity and mystery of life.
” What is the most common dream? Gailing says that she hasn’t come across a singular dream that most people experience. Instead, she says there are a series of popular themes that have been found amongst people across all different cultures. Those include being chased, falling, arriving late, death, teeth falling out, flying and being naked in public.
What does a recurring dream mean? It’s pretty common to have a recurring dream, says Gailing. This can mean a number of different things, such as a sign from our psyche that wants us to pay attention to a certain thing or an unresolved issue that calls for healing. This might also be a side effect of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where she says that recurring dreams may be the reliving of the traumatic experiences while one sleeps.
When this happens, she recommends journaling about it, or seeing a therapist or dream interpreter to discuss it and see what meaning it has. The most important thing to do is to pay attention to it. “Often by giving it an audience, it will bring the unconscious inspiration to light and from there you can work things through on a conscious level,” she says.
“If there is resolve, then the dream may not appear as frequently or may not even appear again (as its job may be complete).” Why do people dream? The million-dollar question that no one has a straightforward answer to. Gailing says there are many theories on why we dream, such as our subconscious taking the time to process the things we can’t while we’re conscious or just chalking it up to normal neurological processes that have no real meaning behind them.
Many cultures also believe that our dreams are ways our spirits and ancestors communicate with us. But just as the meaning of our dreams is dependent on our experiences and feelings, why we dream in the first place might be a personal answer that only you can answer. At least for now.
This article first appeared on Vogue.com Also read: Having recurring dreams? Here’s what it means Are you getting enough sleep? If not, you need to step up your ‘core sleep’ game Does Mercury retrograde affect sleep? Here’s what you should know.
