We may dream two to five times every night, yet we rarely remember our dreams. People enjoy their “most vivid, psychedelic, narrative, memory-laden dreams” during the REM period of sleep, according to Matthew Walker, a neurologist and author of Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. We don’t always recall them, Walker explained to Business Insider, since we may not be waking up at the correct moment. Even yet, most of us recall at least a few dreams, some of which may be downright perplexing. This is especially true when we dream of someone else.
Experts have been studying the meaning of dreams since Aristotle’s time. It isn’t, however, hard science. In an essay for Psychology Today, Meir H. Kryger, a physician and professor at Yale School of Medicine, said, “As the great diversity of dreams, there is a variation in thinking about dreams.” “There could be no correct answer.” Nonetheless, today’s top specialists have supplied their best ideas as to what various dreams represent. When you have a dream about someone else, they believe your subconscious is attempting to teach you something. In this article, we’ll discuss the different types of dreams – with different types of people in your life.
Having a dream about someone you know
Dreams, according to Carder Stout, a professional psychotherapist and dream analyst, play an important part in our lives. “There is a common belief among therapists in my area that dreams are compensatory,” the expert explained in a Goop post. Of course, the significance of a dream is heavily influenced by the subject of the dream. Stout said that when you dream about individuals you know, you’re not truly dreaming about them. The individuals in your dreams, on the other hand, “represent characteristics of oneself.” Stout went on to clarify, saying, “If you’re dreaming about a close buddy, consider their most prominent personality features. You are fantasizing about the modest part of yourself if you think of them as humble.” Yes, we’re all a touch self-absorbed in our fantasies.
Dreaming about someone you used to know
What does it mean when you dream about someone you used to know? Dreaming about your best friends may be more about you than them, but what does it mean when you dream about someone you used to know? It turns out that this type of dream isn’t all that profound. “What occurs is that the ideas, pictures, and facts that are spinning in your brain before you go asleep will continue to spin throughout the night,” clinical psychologist John Mayer (no, not that John Mayer) said to Elite Daily.
So, let’s pretend you had a dream about a high school friend you haven’t thought about in years. While the dream may appear to be completely random, it’s conceivable that you encountered someone earlier in the day who reminded your brain of your old pal. This may have happened without your knowledge, but your mind has recorded the information. Mayer explained, “We have no control over how all of the information you acquire during the day can show up while you sleep.” “That’s why it might make folks feel uneasy at times.”
Dreaming about someone you used to date
While the dream may appear to be completely random, it’s conceivable that you encountered someone earlier in the day who reminded your brain of your old pal. This may have happened without your knowledge, but your mind has recorded the information. Mayer explained, “We have no control over how all of the information you acquire during the day can show up while you sleep.” “That’s why it might make folks feel uneasy at times.”
Although dreaming about your ex might be unsettling, especially if you’re in a relationship with someone else, these dreams don’t always indicate that you want to reconcile. It might signify that “you are doing your best effort to own the pieces of you that you gave up to them, whether good or negative and that you have an opportunity to become more whole,” according to Jennifer Freed, a family behavioural specialist.
Dreaming about someone you don’t know at all
Even creepier than dreaming about an ex or a former acquaintance is dreaming about someone you’ve never met: a stranger. It may surprise you to hear that strangers account for nearly half of the individuals we dream about. That is, folks we have never met before. According to previous research (via Psychology Today), these strangers are mostly men. “In summary, male strangers appear quite frequently in dreams and they inevitably suggest physical aggressiveness,” said Patrick McNamara, a neuroscientist, in an article for Psychology Today. “Male strangers appear to be a ‘code’ for violent impulses being processed in memory,” he said.
This, according to McNamara, is more indication that dreams do not always reflect our daily life. “Instead, they appear to be about other things,” he continued, “things (and persons) that we can’t effectively depict with photos generated from ordinary life.”
Dreaming about losing someone
You may wake up with a horrible sinking feeling in your stomach if you’ve ever lost track of someone in a dream. Carder Stout, a professional psychologist and dream analyst, acknowledged to Goop that this sort of dream is “unsettling.” “We’re scared we’ll never locate them again,” the expert continued. But what does this imply? According to Stout, the connotation varies somewhat depending on who the person who is lost is.
“If you dream about losing your child, it means you’re disregarding your childish tendencies,” the dream analyst explained. He advised loosening up in your daily life:
“…play more and quit acting so mature.” If the person you’re looking for isn’t your child, but your spouse, Stout suggests “addressing the male or feminine energy that pulses through you.” In any case, losing someone in your dream represents the loss of a piece of yourself.
Dreaming about someone dying
When you wake up from a dream about death, you could be scared. But try not to be concerned. It isn’t a terrible sign. According to Chicago-based psychologist Jeffrey Sumber, “it does not… imply that a person will actually die imminently.” “People who have death dreams are usually approaching or ending an uncertain time or era in their lives,” he stated. “It might be a life-altering incident that causes worry and fear of the unknown.”
Dreaming about death, according to Lauren Lawrence, host of Celebrity Nightmares Decoded and dream analyst, signifies a desire to “terminate something” — not someone — in your life. It might be an unfulfilling career or a destructive friendship. However, you should pay attention to who is dying in your dream. Do you experience a dream about someone with whom you have a long-standing conflict? If this is the case, you should confront your feelings in person.
Someone chasing you
On his website, Michael R. Olsen, a dream and unconscious intelligence expert, researcher, and speaker disclosed that chasing dreams — or nightmares — involves “huge quantities of worry.” As terrifying as these nightmares may feel at the time, they aren’t always as horrible as they appear. “If another person, several individuals, or even animals are following you, these may all be pictures of aspects or elements of oneself,” he stated.
Olsen used the example of a lady who dreams of being followed by another woman but instead sees an ordinary street musician when she turns around. He explained, “She may be a representation of a more loose or free, perhaps creative/musical aspect of you that you are now suppressing in waking life.” Yes, the person you’re fleeing from might be a version of yourself to whom you should flee.
This isn’t always the case, though. If you find yourself being pursued by “a highly domineering” individual, Olsen suggests it might represent a personality trait you have, feel ashamed of, and hence avoid in your dreams.
Dreaming about someone criticizing you
There are several versions of you in your dreams. In an essay for Psychology Today, David Bedrick, a lecturer and counsellor educated in Jungian psychology, recalled the words of Antonio Machado, a 20th-century Spanish poet. He wrote, “I am not I.” “I’m the person walking alongside me who I don’t see.” If you have a dream about being chased, for example, you are both the hunted and the chaser. This isn’t limited to that kind of dream, though. “…Let’s assume ‘I’ am being critiqued by someone in a dream; I am not just the one being criticized or harmed, but I am also the one being critical,” the expert continued. This may necessitate certain lifestyle adjustments. “Perhaps the dream is counselling me to be more actively sceptical of ideas and people I embrace,” Bedrick reasoned, “or perhaps the dream is teaching me to be less judgemental of others or myself.”
That’s it, folks. That’s all that we have to say on that. But do know, not all of this is 100% factual. It’s possibility that it doesn’t mean anything at al…
