“We are more curious about the meaning of dreams than about things we see when awake.” – Diogenes
Have you always wondered what dreams mean? If you’re always looking for the meaning of dreams, either for your health or personality, we have something for you. Dreams are the manifestations of your subconscious.
They represent your emotions and thoughts, as well as your personality and even the state of your health. The meaning of dreams isn’t always straightforward, but here are some things your dreams might reveal about your health and personality.
Here Are 20 Things Your Dreams Reveal About You
1. Your Relationship Ties
As dreams mirror your emotional ties to people, the ones you feel closest to will appear in your dreams more often.
2. You’Re Not In Tune With Your Emotions
Experts say that dreams are how your brain tries to make sense of what you’re experiencing in real life. A recurring dream can indicate that there hasn’t been much change in your experiences, leading to emotional turmoil. Dreams happen when your psyche has trouble handling this. Analyzing how the dreams make you feel might help resolve the conflicts you are going through in your waking life.
3. Your Way Of Dealing With Problems
Those who are asleep yet very much aware they are dreaming are better at dealing with life’s problems. Experts in a study on the Dreaming journal said that if lucid dreamers are aware of their state, they might have a better understanding of what to do with a problem when they are wide awake.
4. You’Re A Workaholic
People who do not have a proper work/life balance manifest their stress in their dreams. Workaholics tend to dream more because the pressure they put on their selves affects their psyche.
5. Your Views On Politics
Liberals apparently have more bizarre and distorted dreams with an element of fantasy, according to a paper presented at a 2005 Conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. On the other hand, conservatives dream of commonplace stuff involving normal people, activities, and setting.
6. Your Creative Tendencies
The more creative you are, the more likely you’ll dream of unusual moments and obstacles involving natural elements. For instance, you might dream of a tree that blocks the road you’re driving on, or there’s a rock in front of you but you can’t seem to go around it.
7. You Have An Anxiety Disorder
Recurring bad dreams could be a sign of an anxiety disorder, according to a study published in the journal Behavioral Sleep Medicine. Experts learned that older adults who have frequent sleep disturbance and vivid nightmares suffer from anxiety in their waking life. If this sounds familiar, it might help to see a therapist to resolve how your brain is digesting your emotions and learn some tricks to facilitate positive thinking.
8. You Have A Heart Condition
Frequent nightmares might also be a way for your body to signal that you suffer from a health problem, like chest pains or an irregular heartbeat. So, it’s best to see a doctor as soon as possible to get yourself tested and assessed for a heart condition.
9. You Have Sleep Apnea
Bad dreams about drowning or suffocation might also be your body’s way of telling you there’s an actual sleep condition you have to get checked. Of the participants in a study published in the Canadian Respiratory Journal, 91 percent stated they no longer suffered this after getting their sleep apnea treated.
10. You’Re In Avoidance
Is someone chasing after you in a dream? Do you often dream about running away from a tidal wave or an animal? It could be an indication of your avoidance of a pressing issue in your waking life. You might not want to confront a person or an issue about it but it has been bugging your subconscious.
11. Your Ability To Recover From A Divorce
If you’re having frequent dreams about previous relationships, then it’s how your brain could be processing your emotional trauma. As dreaming is a coping mechanism, this is a positive sign that you are bouncing back from this experience.
12. Your Relationship With A Higher Being
Church-goers who hear mass or attend services regularly have fewer dreams and better sleep quality because their faith or religion supplies the answers to the questions they have about life, according to a study on Sleep Health. The non-religious, on the other hand, dream often because this is where they gather insights to life.
13. Your Smoking Habits
If you dream about quitting smoking often, you are likely to end the habit in your waking life, according to a study from the Journal of Abnormal Psychology. One year after the study took place, 63 percent of those who stopped smoking recalled they often had smoking-related dreams during that time period.
14. A Parkinson’S Disease Risk
Individuals with violent dreams where they are yelling, punching, or kicking someone could signify a sleep disorder. It can also be an indication of the onset of Parkinson’s disease.
15. Your Labor And Delivery
Pregnant women who dream about going into labor might ease their actual birth delivery in real life. The dreams manifest their emotional preparedness, so they may experience a relatively easy labor.
16. Your Monthly Period
There are women who experience wild and intimate dreams just before the start of their period. It’s not surprising to experts because women biologically have days of hormonal flux before their menstruation that can affect their sleep state.
17. Your Medications
Some medications you’re taking, such as antibiotics, antihistamines or antidepressants, could bring bad dreams as side effects. You might need to ask your doctor for a change in medication if this has been bothering you.
18. Your Relationship Status
Dreaming about jealousy or your partner’s infidelity could signify your dissatisfaction in your relationship in real life, according to a study in the Social Psychological and Personality Science journal. Participants of the study showed that their state of mind, borne by issues they have with their relationship, reflected in their dreams.
19. Your Migraine Triggers
Believe it or not, your dream could tell you when you’re going to have a migraine. In a study on Behavioral and Brain Functions, 37 people who constantly suffered from migraines said that they usually have dreams about anger or aggression the night before an attack. Experts theorized that the onset of pain could have caused the nightmares.
20. Your Life Could Be Changing
Sometimes, what dreams mean could be a prelude to a change or challenge that you will soon face in your life. Your brain is helping you so that you will be able to deal with this change better when you’re awake.
Final Thoughts
Since many psychological issues and physical problems occur in dreams, treat them as a “wake-up call” to manage your waking life better. See a therapist or medical professional for help if you’re trying to understand the meaning of your dreams.
