Symbolic Of A Sticky Situation

Thu., May 4, 1995

Nancy Bloom

This column is intended as entertainment. But psychologists who work with clients’ dreams say that dreams can hold a tremendous amount of significance; a particularly disturbing or repetitive dream may indicate the need to see a therapist.

Dear Nancy: This is a recurring dream of mine. Recently I learned that both my daughter and my sister also have this dream. I would like to know what it means. - Deanna

I am in a public place chewing gum. The gum grows in my mouth to the point that I can’t speak or hardly open my mouth.

I try to inconspicuously take it out of my mouth only to have it stick on my teeth or on the roof of my mouth, and it stretches and stretches as I pull, hand over hand, with no end in sight.

Dear Deanna: I can certainly understand your anxiety in this dream! The mouth is a symbol of self-expression and you’re trying to get something out. The gum suggests that the subject could pertain to a “sticky situation” in your life. This situation could be getting out of control or becoming more troublesome. Are you allowing yourself to express what you feel? Are you holding things in, instead of talking about them?

Oversized symbols usually show up in dreams to get the dreamer’s attention and show a strong mental or emotional investment in that symbol. The size of the gum gives us the clue that your inner self is saying “Notice this!”

The need to open up and be heard may be the message of this dream. The fact that other female members of your family are having the same dream suggests that this pattern of withholding self-expression may be a family trait.

When you begin communicating what you feel, Deanna, this dream will probably stop recurring.

Dear Nancy: I have dreamed of being in this house before but the green dress is new. I come from a family of very strong, resourceful, and independent women. The green dress reminds me of my grandmother. What is this dream telling me? - Marty

I am walking along a path in the woods and come to a house. I go in and feel right at home. I putter around for a while and then go to a closet and find a beautiful green dress with very detailed buttons and stitching. It is a style that my grandmother might have worn. I feel so happy and excited to have found it. I put the dress on and it fits perfectly.

Dear Marty: Walking along the path represents your life’s journey and the forest is one of the symbols for the unconscious.

The house is yourself; you feel comfortable and safe there. You find the dress in a closet, which is like a storage place for attitudes and ideas. You recognize the dress as a treasure and it fits perfectly.

I feel that this dream shows that you have inherited the strength, resourcefulness and independence of the women in your family.

Green is the color of new growth and healing. In your mind, see yourself wearing that dress of wellness and fortitude and know that this is a resource of yours passed on to you from generations of women in your family.

xxxx

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