How to Interpret Dreams of Anxiety

Dreams can focus on those things in life that people secretly desire or the emotions they may be hiding from themselves and others.

One example of such a dream was described by reader DS. In his dream, he wrote: "I am with my parents and two brothers and we decided to go to a fun-fair. I am looking forward to the rides but when we get there, it is not a fair but a zoo. We wander around animals in cages and I think they look very sad. Suddenly, I am the one in a cage and my family is looking in on me. I look down and see that my hands have turned into paws and I have turned into some kind of animal."

Animals in dreams can reflect the 'animal' within. The instincts and feelings lying just below the surface. DS was approaching his seventeenth birthday when he had the above dream and, at home, everything was going on as normal. In the dream, the child in him was looking forward to going to the fair however, his expectations weren't fulfilled.

Animals in Dreams

The zoo and 'caged animals' seem to imply a number of things. Firstly, as he matures, he is starting to realise that there are some things in life that don't always work out as expected. There can be disappointments. Secondly, although he enjoys his relationship with his family, inside he is starting to feel restricted and repressed. He needs more freedom and independence and he perhaps feels a growing desire for more respect from his family members. In short, he does not want to be treated like a child anymore.

Emotional State of the Dreamer

Another example of a dream echoing the emotional state of the dreamer was described by another reader. In her dream, she wrote, "I was driving on a motorway and I realised I had missed my turning. I knew it was wrong but there were no other cars around so I did a three-point turn. But the slip-road I had wanted had disappeared and I was suddenly faced with traffic in all lanes coming for me. I woke up in a sweat."

It could be that the above person has too many responsibilities and although she knows that she has taken on too much, she continues to try and cope with them all, rather than doing something definite to ease her load. The traffic coming towards her is rather like the feeling of everything crowding in on her. The slip-road has disappeared and she perhaps feels she has missed her chance of changing her life. It is, however, apparent by this dream that it is time to start delegating responsibilities and looking for ways to make her situation less stressful. She has taken on more than she can cope with and she is starting to feel anxious.

Note: all communications are reprinted as received but names and other identifiying details are deleted.

Further Reading:

Craze, R Interpreting Dreams: A History of Dream Analysis (Southwater (1995))

Clark, L Interpreting Dreams for Self Discovery (SOM Publishing (2001))

Dreams of Anxiety

Understanding Dreams

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