Dreamwork: Zombies

[caulfield]

Below are three uncomfortable recurring dreams that I have experienced quite often. After analyzing the first two, I noticed that they gradually stopped happening. The third one though is happening more and more and I am kind of at a loss to explain it. Here they are...

1. Teeth falling out

Description: A few of my teeth are loose or crooked and the situation gradually worsens until all of my teeth are on the verge of falling out. They may or may not actually fall out. All of this happens in a manner that is painless, but disturbing.

Interpretation:
- Concerns regarding health and financial stability
- Fears of getting older

2. Running late

Description: I am late for school or work and I am completely unprepared. My homework may be due, there may be an exam that day, or I was scheduled to speak at an office meeting, but now I have no idea how I will get through it. In the end I just give up and accept my fate. I believe I always wake up right before school/work actually begins. It is always a GREAT relief to wake up and realize this was just a dream.

Interpretation:
- Inability to live up to potential or rise above shortcomings
- High ammount of work related stress
- Tasks at work or in personal life are piling up to an uncomfortable or hopeless degree

3. Zombies are after me

Description: In-human monsters that resemble the living dead (zombies) have me surrounded or are popping up everywhere. Sometimes people need my help to escape them, but many of them suddenly turn into zombies themselves after I rescue them. I have no weapons and can inflict no harm to these creatures. Their numbers grow to an overwhelming number until I wake up. This nightmare usually leaves me afraid to go back to sleep.

Interpretation: ??

This is where I need some help. I have been having these very similar zombie chase dreams for a few months now and I have no idea what they mean. Am I feeling detached from life and my environment (a "zombie")? Am I dangerously ignoring buried emotional or psychological issues (the dead coming back)? Am I developing anxiety regarding officeplace politics (friends suddenly becoming monsters)?

Perhaps this is related to our current economic situation in which the death of value within our assets and securities is spreading and overwhelming us...

I understand that these three dreams are quite common, but I can find no real consensus for the zombies.

[JRL]

When I was in therapy we occaisonly worked with dreams. My therapist always said the EVERYTHING in a dream was signifigant because it was part of you.

One thing you can do is to become one of the zombies and just start free associating. Talk about how it feels to be a zombie, what you are doing, what you see etc.

This probably works best with a therapist, but it might give you some insight, maybe write it in a journal.

The dream I had the most luck with: I was on a perilous journey at night across some headlands far above the ocean below, I was on quest to find and kill the "abomination". I came to this box and inside was this small hideous creature. I picked it up and put it in tis trough of water that was conviniently near by and heldc it down till it drowned. Then I put it back in its box and as I was leaving I heard it's heart beating faintly.......

So in therapy I worked both with my feelings in the dream and then we went at it from the "abomination's" point of view.

What I ended up wth was that the "abomination" was my addiction problem, something that I can never kill, but I could conquer but it would take an heroic effort, a risky journey into the darkness....

BTW, I am now firmly in recovery.......

[caulfield]

Wow J, thanks. That actually helps me understand a bit, but in an unexpected way.

One thing I like about dreams is how they channel raw emotions and feelings then process the material into abstract messages which express inner fears and concerns that you can bury pretty deep (but can never completely ignore or escape). In your waking world, you have the power to prevent these issues from rising to the surface, but inevitably when you fall asleep the damm springs all sorts of leaks...

[JRL]

I think Jung or was it Freud that called dreams "the royal road to the unconcious". In a way it's like the bigger, buried part of your psyche is saying "hey, this is important". But it speaks in a symbolic language.

My therapist stressed that we each create our own symbols so books like "The Big Book of Dreamology" don't really have value beyond just a basic guide to the language. Hence the need to work with the dreams with an open mind.

I am much more a Jungian than a Freudian, I do believe we have an innate drive to integration, and dreams are a big part of that process.

[Satori]

It was Freud who said that
And just remember.. although we often think Freud was a "bad guy", which he in many ways was... we would never have had a Jung without Freud.. Despite it all Freud did lead way for many discoveries in psychology.

But I am not an expert on dreams, so unfortunately can't come with any input. I hope you get it figured out with a capable therapist or friend. I wish you the best!

[laughingwillow]

Great thread.

Its been an interesting adventure watching the evolution of my personal dreamscape. One example would be a recurring dream where I used to get chased around by bad guys/monsters, etc. One night I stopped running and recently chased a monster around until I caught it.  :smoke1

lw