Self-help Articles

by Richard B. Patterson, Ph.D.

In working with our dreams, it's better to start with an assumption that a given dream is not a prediction about the future but a rather a statement at a symbolic level about something going on in our present.

So, in understanding your dream symbols, it's probably important to keep in mind the losses you suffered when you were young. You were probably devastated, especially with another loss coming so quickly on the heals of the first one.

At a young age, you had a tough experience of how fragile life is! As such, you may be vulnerable to worry about those you love. This may be especially true if you have sensed that the person in question is struggling in some way.

It's also possible that you have these dreams when there is an undercurrent of tension between the two of you, the dream reflecting a fear you might have from time to time about losing the relationship.

Perhaps, too, you did not have a chance to grieve and heal from the those childhood losses. Often during family tragedies children can get overlooked. It might not hurt to sit down with someone a few times to talk through those losses.

Dream symbols often have deep meanings and can reflect past or current situations.

About the Author:

Richard B. Patterson, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist in private practice in El Paso, TX. He is the author of three books on psychology and spirituality.