Dream State Archives

From a teen in the U.S.: I had a dream where I was in a relationship with an acquaintance. This person is a friend of one of my friends. Let’s give her a name, Bella. Her physical appearance was: straight black short hair (shoulder length), round-face structure, black eyes, cute cheeks, slim.

In the dream, Bella and I met in a classroom setting and she was the one that seemed interested in me. In that exact moment, we were now in a relationship (no conversations, small talk, etc.). After the classroom setting, I was now in a library with my friends. There was about 12 friends that was there. I told them that I was now in a relationship with Bella. The friend who knows Bella was there and they were all cheering for me. After this setting, it suddenly went to a darker setting. Bella and I were out on a date, and I can vaguely remember but I think we were on a date. During that night, the area was a wide-open field and we were sitting on a tree branch. The branch was slightly elevated (3ft off the ground floor).

I knew nothing of Bella, but yet, I liked her. Our conversations were awkward and silent because we don’t know each other. I tried my hardest to try to come up with a conversation on getting to know Bella, but I couldn’t think of any. One question I remembered was, “What is your favorite color?”. She replied that it was blue, orange, and white/black. I replied back that those are my favorite colors, too (it really is). After this conversation, it was time for her to go home, and we kissed. I watched her walk to her house (which was close; about a house-distance away from the tree). Bella was struggling to get in the house, and went through the backyard (I was laughing while watching her).

And that was when I woke up. During the times of these events, I noticed I was struggling to communicate with her through texts and in person. I would forget to text her “good morning” and “good night”. It would happen very often. Even at the end of that last event, I forgot to text her until it was very late (2AM).

For the general therapists or psychologists, I would like to know what this dream is about. Thank you for reading.

Although there are dozens of books available that supposedly help people interpret dreams, they don’t. Dreams are highly idiosyncratic to the dreamer. Each person has her or his own symbolic language; his or her own meanings for the things that happen in a dream state. I’d have to talk to you at length to help you discover your own symbolism.

A place to start, though, is this: Consider that every aspect of your dream is something you are trying to tell yourself. Retell the story from the point of view of Bella, from the friends, even from the tree branch. Take this seriously. Really get into each character. Often people find that this exercise gives them some insight into their dream world. It’s at least worth a try.

I wish you well.
Dr. Marie

Firstly, here’s some insight into my current mental health state. About a year ago, I had some counselling for bad anxiety involving obsessions and compulsions which was treated successfully. I have not managed to relapse back into the bad state that I was in. I still have anxieties, but nothing as bad as what it was. Recently, I have been under a lot of stress from work, which has been affecting my mood but nothing that has made me feel depressed; I can still go about my daily life with motivation. However, for the past 6 months or so, I feel as though nothing feels real. I look at my hands typing this, I look at my surroundings, and although I can feel these all as physical objects, I feel trapped like I’m in a dream. It feels weird to me being in the present, and when I register this it causes me to feel stressed. Keeping myself occupied is the only way to distract me from spiraling into thoughts about how none of this material world is real.

For more insight, I took LSD twice in February 2018 and April 2018 and that gave me an altered perception of reality. Strangely enough, after these experiences, I felt absolutely fine, better about reality even. I’m not too sure if it’s the immense amount of stress I’ve recently been experiencing that has triggered these thoughts- in the last 6 months I’ve lost 2 people that I know as well as huge amounts of stress from work.

There are many times when I’ve had to pinch myself, feel my surroundings to remind me that I am still in the material world, but sometimes I feel so disconnected from my body, like it’s just my mind and my body is a vessel that I am watching go about it’s day. It has gotten to a point where I need help before my thoughts go too far, I want to feel real again. (From the UK)

The feelings you describe sound like they may be a type of depersonalization or derealization. Naturally, this isn’t a diagnosis, but I think having an evaluation and having a professional rule this out would be a good idea.

Depersonalization/derealization happens when you are often feeling like you are viewing yourself from outside your body and that what is around you isn’t real. It does, indeed, feel like you are living in a dream, and can be very disturbing — mostly because it can feel like you are losing touch with reality. Most experts agree that while it is very uncomfortable it does not mean you are becoming psychotic, as many people fear.

Symptoms of depersonalization include:

Feeling as if you are floating outside yourself and that you are more of a distant observer of your body, or your thoughts, feelings. People often report that they feel like they are floating above themselves.
Feeling robotic and that you don’t have control of your movements or speech.
Your body may feel distorted and your arms and legs may not feel like their normal size.
There can also be emotional or physical numbness of your responses to others and the world around you
Your memories may not seem like they are yours and lak an emotional connection.

Symptoms of derealization include:

The sense that you are unfamiliar, alienated or detached from your surroundings. People often report this like they are living in a dream or movie.
A feeling of being disconnected from people you care about, as if you are in a bubble or behind a glass wall.
Your world may seem either distorted, blurry, colorless, two-dimensional or artificial, or just the opposite. You may have a heightened sense of awareness or clarity.
Time is distorted. Recent events seem like they were much longer ago.
Distances and the size and shape of objects can be distorted.
Depersonalization-derealization can be it’s own disorder and is more common in people with a history of traumatic events, it can accompany times of severe or chronic anxiety.

Depersonalization-derealization disorder can be severe and may interfere with relationships, work and other daily activities. The main treatment is talk therapy (psychotherapy), although sometimes medications also are used.

Here is a list of things that can help when you are experiencing these symptoms. But, again, my strong recommendation is to have this evaluated by a professional so as to make an accurate diagnosis.

Wishing you patience and peace,
Dr. Dan

Dream State

What Is This Dream About?

Nothing Feels Real, Almost Dream Like