Mental Monday: In Your Dreams

I liken going to sleep to going into a dark theater and having no idea what you’re about to see. You don’t know the title of the show and haven’t seen any previews. You don’t know if the show you are about to experience (and sometimes unwillingly participate in) will be a comedy, a romance, a drama, a thriller, or a horror. More often than not, the dream isn’t exactly something you may have wanted to see.  You may wake up feeling happy and peaceful. You may wake up confused, anxious, or even scared. No matter what you’re feeling, pay attention. These dreams are trying to tell you something.

Nearly every night, I experience vivid and realistic dreams that usually dramatize many of the feelings and anxieties I feel consciously and/or subconsciously throughout my day. But sometimes the dreams connect me to issues and feelings that have been building up inside me for a long time coming. It can be fascinating and enlightening to be able to connect my dream experience with what’s going on in my life. What’s even better is when I’m able to connect my dreams with things going on within me that I simply wasn’t aware of beforehand.

Connecting your dreams with your reality can be an especially useful way to help process things going on in your life. All of the emotions and feelings that you might be bottling up or not recognizing can often play out during those 8 hours or so every night when you have zero control over your thoughts. Your dreams can play out your deepest anxieties and fears, but they can also reveal your hidden hopes and desires. Dreams can be important and useful, which leads me to one of the best ways to figure out the meaning behind the dream: (continues…)