Question:
recurring dreams about being unable to run (and a few others)?
Inspired Spider
2011-01-10 04:39:41 UTC
In the last few years I've been having recurring dreams about being unable to run. I'm not usually trying to escape anything, I'm usually trying to catch up with other people; I start running and then after a few seconds I remember that I don't know how to run and I stumble and fall. It's always the same.

I also have one where I've forgotten how to speak and my jaw and teeth become locked.

The third one I have is about going back to my old old school, and everybody tells me I have been skipping/avoiding a particular class (usually art) and when I go to that class I have so much to catch up on because I've let myself get so far behind... which is weird because art was my favourite subject, just about the only class other than English that I never skipped lol.

I know these dreams are probably common, but I was wondering if anybody could piece them together and see what's going on in my head lol and they're interrupting my regular lucid dreams about being fabulous and dating whatever celebrity/guy I'm in love with that particular week lol
Four answers:
Zoozu
2011-01-10 06:40:21 UTC
You're right, these are all common dreams. It's curious that people often have dreams of forgetting to go to class, or not having studied for a test, or similar school failure dreams, many years after leaving school.



The two dreams of being "frozen"--you can't move your legs to run or your jaw to speak--remind me of the fact that in sleep our muscles actually are temporarily paralyzed, which makes the phenomenon of "sleep paralysis"--where your mind seems to wake up but you can't move your body--so scary. I wonder if your dreams could be somehow connected to that stage of sleep, which seems to be between sleeping and waking (or between waking and sleeping!). That is, as in sleep paralysis, you may be starting to become aware of the literal paralysis of your body, but instead of waking up, your mind is incorporating these sensation into a dream narrative. If this is true, then your dream probably does not have psychological significance but may merely be associated with the physical condition during sleep. But the fact that these dreams are recurring does suggest some underlying anxiety.



So, obviously these dreams could express worry or a lurking "inferiority complex," in contrast to your conscious waking attitude of self-confidence and the good feeling of knowing that you are fabulous. It's possible for us to feel two opposite ways at the same time--we can have self-esteem in some areas while also fearing that we may not be good enough in other ways. The interesting thing is that in my experience of observing people and reading books about Jungian psychology, most people are not aware of both these opposites at the same time; usually they only experience one or the other. For example, a person who consciously feels inadequate may not be aware that underneath that feeling, he actually thinks quite a lot of himself. I like the fact that your question shows that you are aware of both sides of yourself, since this is relatively rare. To be able to hold opposite feelings in your consciousness (such as "I love you, Mom" and "I hate you, Mom") without freaking out is a mark of maturity.



Do you really have some ability to lucid dream? if so, then a good suggestion for you (which I read in a book called Patterns of Dreaming by James Hall, MD) might be this: Try to introduce into your dreams the thought "This is only a dream." This may help to counteract the anxiety of those recurring dreams. The author did not say how to do this, but I would do it by forming the intention and repeating it to myself before falling asleep. The intention is that if I dream about not being able to move my legs or speak, or about failing my class, I will become lucid and tell myself that "This is only a dream."
?
2011-01-10 06:07:43 UTC
Dreams may reflect our real lives, sometimes you can take them literally and sometimes they mean the opposite. Because it is you that is running after people it can mean that you have hidden insecurity, maybe the dream can make you become happier with yourself and get what you want. The dream can also be about opportunities that you get but you just let them slip by...the second dream is pretty much about the same.....I´m not sure about the third dream but usually dreaming about this past means that you miss the old times and most likely you just need to have some fun!



Hope this does any good!
anonymous
2016-03-02 04:26:42 UTC
Okay...Kingkong is basically an over sized characterized Gorilla right?? To see a gorilla in your dream, suggests that you may be too "over the top" in your behavior. Perhaps you are compensating for your rigidity and stiffness in your waking life. Alternatively, the gorilla symbolizes your primitive impulses, wild nature and repressed sexual energy. To dream of foot or feet basically means lack of progress and being crush...simply, under tremendous stress to make a decision. So, something in your life needing some good and mature decisions and don't procrastinate.
Ms. Lady
2011-01-10 06:00:43 UTC
LOL!!!.........I think the dreams are trying to tell you that your self-confidence is low, that may be due to things not going as smoothly for you as you would like and now you're feeling like something is out of order in your life and you are unable to express yourself . Since you mentioned school, im thinking it has something to do with your childhood, something that happened that was never resolved and now your past is having an impact on your current situation but I believe that you will overcome all your adversities with ease, just be patient!! : )


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