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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 25 of 25. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Shortelise on June 3, 2005, at 12:22:41
I agree wholeheartedly with Alexandra in the thread about fairy tales that symbols are very much to do with the person who experiences them.
One of my symbols is a black animal. It is so perfectly a symbol of my bete noire, my constant adversary, the side of myself I struggle with, the dark side. I dream of this beast often, sometimes it's a bear, sometimes a dog, sometimes a mouse, even once was a bat - and I always feel its size is in proportion to to my struggle at that moment.
Another is a hospital or school. I think this symbolizes being out of control, either wanting or feeling forced to give over control.
What are other people's symbols? And what do they mean to you?
ShortE
Posted by Daisym on June 3, 2005, at 12:52:48
In reply to Dreams symbols, posted by Shortelise on June 3, 2005, at 12:22:41
I dream about falling -- out of control and no way to save myself.
I dream about doors a lot. I think this is about trust for me -- letting people in or keeping them out. It might also be about abandonment - leaving through the door.
Lately I've been dreaming about conversations and I wake up and have to remember that I never actually had them.
A side note: I think this is the biggest effect I'm seeing since I started medication - less dreaming.
Posted by PM80 on June 3, 2005, at 13:44:04
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols, posted by Daisym on June 3, 2005, at 12:52:48
The only recurring theme that I have had is kinda a nightmare. I dream that someone is chasing me and/or trying to catch me and kill me. Sometimes I have someone else I have to protect as well as myself. I keep trying to stay one step ahead, hiding from and alluding them throughout places that are nearly constantly shifting. Almost always it is dusk or nightime. I never see who is after me or get any sense of why they are after me. I just have to consantly escape them. About half of the time I wake up in a sweat because I'm cornered and they finally got me.
I don't have this every night or even every week, but it is by far the most recurring dream I have. I have never thought much about what it means. Is that weird?
Posted by TamaraJ on June 3, 2005, at 14:19:52
In reply to Dreams symbols, posted by Shortelise on June 3, 2005, at 12:22:41
I've had recurring nightmares and night terrors since I was a kid, starting at about age 4. The recurring themes seems to be either being trapped under something as it starts to come down on me or in something, or having someone come at me to harm me. When I was a teen and into my 20s, the being trapped night terrors would be so bad that I would literally be trying to escape (but have little memory of what was happening until I woke up). One time, my dad stopped me just before I jumped over the banister of the winding staircase in our house to the floor below. Another time, I woke up and had almost completely trashed my room - drapes had been pulled off the curtain rod, all the clothes were pulled off the hangers, bedside lamp had been thrown across the room. Once, I woke up with rug burn on my legs after, I guess, I tried to crawl my way out of whatever was trapping me in my dream. I don't do any damage when I have the terrors now, but I wake up breathing very heavily and with my heart racing. But, the themes have been pretty consistent throughout my life - being smothered or harmed in some way. I have never really analyzed the night terrors to try to see symbolism in them. I not really not sure why the night terrors have a relatively recurrent theme. Just one of those things, I guess. Very weird.
Posted by pegasus on June 3, 2005, at 14:38:09
In reply to Dreams symbols, posted by Shortelise on June 3, 2005, at 12:22:41
I have two recurring dream themes. The one that has been around the longest is about driving a car and not being able to get the brakes to work. That's pretty obviously about feeling out of control of the direction of my life.
The other one is about not being accounted for in eating situations. So, maybe it's having dinner with my family, and they don't set a place for me. Or being at a big buffet and halfway through they take away my full plate, thinking it's abandoned. I think this theme has to do with difficulties getting what I need (i.e., food=sustenance) or being seen.
pegasus
Posted by Daisym on June 3, 2005, at 14:44:20
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols » Shortelise, posted by TamaraJ on June 3, 2005, at 14:19:52
Did you have your tonsils out as a kid or any other surgery? If so, at what age?
Being smoothered is a dream that shows up for kids who had a gas mask put on their face between 1 and 5 or 6. We've seen this with oxygen masks too, though less frequently.
It is hard to be a little kid, isn't it?
Posted by TamaraJ on June 3, 2005, at 15:21:28
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols » TamaraJ, posted by Daisym on June 3, 2005, at 14:44:20
Yes. My mom told me that the night terrors started after I had my tonsils out at about age 4. I wish they would stop. I would have thought at age 43 I would have out-grown the after-effects of having had that surgery. I had a biopsy done when I was in my mid-20s, and it was another horrifying experience for me. I had been anestisized (I have spelled that wrong, sorry), but it didn't completely take and I could hear everything that was going on in the operating room, but I couldn't move or speak. The surgeon came in to see me in recovery after, and when I told him he didn't believe at first until I repeated some of the conversation that was going on in the operating room. I am now terrified of surgery!!!!
> Did you have your tonsils out as a kid or any other surgery? If so, at what age?
>
> Being smoothered is a dream that shows up for kids who had a gas mask put on their face between 1 and 5 or 6. We've seen this with oxygen masks too, though less frequently.
>
> It is hard to be a little kid, isn't it?
Posted by Daisym on June 3, 2005, at 20:06:08
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols » Daisym, posted by TamaraJ on June 3, 2005, at 15:21:28
I have heard of two things that work for people. One is to write another ending for your dreams. Like you sprout gills so even if your face is covered you can still breath. Or have someone save you, etc. You need to write out the dream with the new ending and then read it to yourself before bedtime and really put yourself into this new scenario. It takes a little while but eventually the brain will take hold and rewrite the dream for you. Try it, who knows?
The other is desensitizing yourself (sorry, bad spelling) to feeling smothered. You can work on breath holding, pillows over the face, etc. etc. Little by little you gain control over the fear.
Just some thoughts.
Posted by Jazzed on June 3, 2005, at 21:02:39
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols » Daisym, posted by TamaraJ on June 3, 2005, at 15:21:28
> Yes. My mom told me that the night terrors started after I had my tonsils out at about age 4. I wish they would stop. I would have thought at age 43 I would have out-grown the after-effects of having had that surgery. I had a biopsy done when I was in my mid-20s, and it was another horrifying experience for me. I had been anestisized (I have spelled that wrong, sorry), but it didn't completely take and I could hear everything that was going on in the operating room, but I couldn't move or speak. The surgeon came in to see me in recovery after, and when I told him he didn't believe at first until I repeated some of the conversation that was going on in the operating room. I am now terrified of surgery!!!!
>
>
> > Did you have your tonsils out as a kid or any other surgery? If so, at what age?
> >
> > Being smoothered is a dream that shows up for kids who had a gas mask put on their face between 1 and 5 or 6. We've seen this with oxygen masks too, though less frequently.
> >
> > It is hard to be a little kid, isn't it?
>
>If you ever have surgery again, be SURE that they use an awareness monitor! That is just horrifying! BTW, have you thought about hypnosis for the night terrors?
Jazzy
Posted by Jazzed on June 3, 2005, at 21:04:34
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols » TamaraJ, posted by Daisym on June 3, 2005, at 20:06:08
> I have heard of two things that work for people. One is to write another ending for your dreams. Like you sprout gills so even if your face is covered you can still breath. Or have someone save you, etc. You need to write out the dream with the new ending and then read it to yourself before bedtime and really put yourself into this new scenario. It takes a little while but eventually the brain will take hold and rewrite the dream for you. Try it, who knows?
>
> The other is desensitizing yourself (sorry, bad spelling) to feeling smothered. You can work on breath holding, pillows over the face, etc. etc. Little by little you gain control over the fear.
>
> Just some thoughts.
Oh, now that you bring it up, there's also NLP, where they tell you to think of the terrifying situation, but play it backwards really fast in your mind, and that is supposed to take away the fear. I've tried it and it works sometimes.Jazzy
Posted by TamaraJ on June 3, 2005, at 21:52:24
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols, posted by Jazzed on June 3, 2005, at 21:02:39
> If you ever have surgery again, be SURE that they use an awareness monitor! That is just horrifying! BTW, have you thought about hypnosis for the night terrors?
>
> Jazzy
>
-- I actually had to have surgery (unplanned, emergency to repair a fracture that required pins) on New Year's eve. I was a nervous wreck. The anethesiologist spoke to me before I was taken to the operating room (first time I had seen that) and I told him about my experience and my fears. I had probes on me during the surgery, and I went completely under. The last thing I remember was some kind of a probe being put on my leg and me apologizing because I hadn't shaved my legs. So, the fear of surgery has subsided a bit, but it is still there. As for hypnosis, I tried hypnosis a couple of times for things, but it doesn't seem to work for me. I don't seem to be able to "let go" I think. The night terrors are not as severe as they used to be, but I do go through periods when I will have severe nightmares for a few nights a week where I wake up two or three times gasping for air and in a panic. They are just a part of my life, and I am used to them, so I try not to let them bother too much.Tamara
Posted by TamaraJ on June 3, 2005, at 22:43:25
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols » TamaraJ, posted by Daisym on June 3, 2005, at 20:06:08
Thanks so much. I will try your suggestions, starting with writing or creating another ending for my dreams. The bizarre thing is that I can go for weeks without having a night terror then -BAM - a few nights in a row I wake up 2 or 3 times a night with a racing heart and gasping for air. Well, at least I am not destructive anymore when I have them the terrors, so that is progress :-)
Posted by happyflower on June 4, 2005, at 9:55:46
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols » Daisym, posted by TamaraJ on June 3, 2005, at 22:43:25
What does it mean when you have erotic dreams about your T? Not that I am complaining! lol
Posted by Tamar on June 4, 2005, at 12:38:30
In reply to sexual dreams, posted by happyflower on June 4, 2005, at 9:55:46
> What does it mean when you have erotic dreams about your T? Not that I am complaining! lol
I’ve never had an erotic dream about my therapist (boo hoo!). I have lots of erotic dreams about my husband, but rarely anyone else.
I did once dream I met my therapist and he was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, but oddly the dream itself wasn’t erotic at all.
I reckon if you have erotic dreams about your therapist it means either:
(a) you would like to make love with your therapist; or
(b) you are repressing some unconscious desires for inappropriate sexual liaisons: for example, encounters with unsuitable male authority figures and with strangers. Your therapist represents both these categories, and therefore the repression of these desires leads you to dream of your therapist in a sexual way :)But my money’s on (a)!
Tamar
Posted by happyflower on June 4, 2005, at 12:41:39
In reply to Re: sexual dreams » happyflower, posted by Tamar on June 4, 2005, at 12:38:30
Posted by Tamar on June 4, 2005, at 14:43:28
In reply to Re: sexual dreams I like you Tamar! lol (nm) » Tamar, posted by happyflower on June 4, 2005, at 12:41:39
Posted by sleepygirl on June 4, 2005, at 16:50:17
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols » Shortelise, posted by TamaraJ on June 3, 2005, at 14:19:52
I read a book, Frances Sharpiro's "EMDR"-you know eye movement desensitization reprocessing or something like that. If I remember correctly they used it successfully for a child who experienced trauma because of surgery. I think the child was having night terrors and other symptoms. I don't know if that's an option for you but I figured I'd mention it.
Posted by happyflower on June 4, 2005, at 17:05:15
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols-Tamara, posted by sleepygirl on June 4, 2005, at 16:50:17
I read that book too, it is good!
Posted by Shortelise on June 4, 2005, at 20:52:24
In reply to sexual dreams, posted by happyflower on June 4, 2005, at 9:55:46
I have had sexual though not erotic dreams about my T.
sometimes it had to do with power, how I used to feel my sexuality was my strongest "weapon".
In another instance, it was about mistrusting him, fear that he would abuse my trust in him.
And another time, a dream I remember very well, was about intimacy, how I felt close and trusting of him.
There was never intercourse in these dreams, more us being nude in bed, or partially so.
I honestly don't think I am repressing a sexual attraction to him. There is almost always an element of our sexuality present in all relationships, so it must be there between my therapist and me, too.
I think sex can be a symbol for me in my dreams.
ShortE
Posted by TamaraJ on June 5, 2005, at 17:20:47
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols-Tamara, posted by sleepygirl on June 4, 2005, at 16:50:17
Thanks so much for the suggestion. I will look into it. It sure would be nice not to have the night terrors anymore.
Posted by gardenergirl on June 6, 2005, at 0:21:29
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols, posted by pegasus on June 3, 2005, at 14:38:09
> I have two recurring dream themes. The one that has been around the longest is about driving a car and not being able to get the brakes to work. That's pretty obviously about feeling out of control of the direction of my life.
OMG, I have this dream too. Often I am going backwards, and the brakes don't work. Nothing bad ever happens, though. I never hit anything. It's weird.
gg
>
Posted by pegasus on June 6, 2005, at 9:39:15
In reply to Re: Dreams symbols » pegasus, posted by gardenergirl on June 6, 2005, at 0:21:29
Really? I guess maybe this is a common one. I never go backwards. But I never hit anything either. Although that's the fear in the dream. A lot of times I'm going downhill, so I guess it's a miracle that I don't crash!
pegasus
Posted by Shortelise on June 7, 2005, at 13:29:41
In reply to Dreams symbols, posted by Shortelise on June 3, 2005, at 12:22:41
I dream often that I am out of control in a car. The brakes don't work, I can't steer. I don't dream of going in reverse though.
Could that be a past lives thing??:-)
ShortE
Posted by sleepygirl on June 7, 2005, at 16:57:46
In reply to cars, posted by Shortelise on June 7, 2005, at 13:29:41
I don't know, but I have that dream A LOT! I always wake up thinking "Wait a minute, was that real? Why in the world don't I get my brakes fixed?!"
Posted by pegasus on June 10, 2005, at 14:58:57
In reply to Re: cars, posted by sleepygirl on June 7, 2005, at 16:57:46
Yeah, I always think that too. Mental note: get those darn brakes fixed!
Lately I've been dreaming that I'm taking three university classes, but haven't participated in two of them since the first few days. Finals are approaching, and I'm not sure if I can drop the two classes. The classes are always the same: a Shakespeare class, a calculus class, and an art class. The art class is the only one that I'm keeping up with. I really need to drop the calculus, and I'm thinking I can fake it in the Shakespeare class because I've read the plays before. The dream is always the same on those specifics. Not sure what *that* means, but I'm always quite relieved to wake up.
pegasus
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