Our writer has experienced some very strange things in the land of nod, so we sent her to a dream analyst to try and make some sense of it all.

I’ve always wanted to know what the dream where I gave birth to a ham sandwich actually meant. Analyse that one, Freud. You see, in spite of claims from some people that they don’t dream, we’re all at it, as if we each have some great big Sky+ box in our brains churning out surreal soap operas every night. Lots of people just don’t remember them.

Your dreams are, in fact, an A-Z map of your inner psyche and having them analysed can show up areas in your life that might need a bit of help. It’s a real journey of self-discovery.

Remembering
First things first, though, you can’t have your dreams analysed if you can’t remember them. Having memory problems? As you go to sleep you must give yourself the suggestion that you will remember your dreams when you wake up (this will help you dream, too). Quick tip: if you want to dream of Brad Pitt, try thinking about him when you turn the lights out. Here’s hoping!

So, let’s say the dreams are flowing. Don’t bother writing them down the second your eyes are open, just keep a Dictaphone by the bed. Who wants to try and decipher half-asleep scribble when instead of a pen, you picked up a stray eyeliner?

Dr Sarah Dening is a dream analyst. She says the recurring dreams I have of my social circle as adults, but in children’s bodies at school, suggests I have some unresolved issues about my schooldays. I told her about the dream I had last week, which involved my friend Stuart from school receiving a present from a woman who wasn’t his current girlfriend. This made me angry, but Stuart wasn’t reacting. Oddly, the present was in fact a coffin-shaped hole, with worms poking out of the mud. While it was Stuart falling in, it was me having the falling sensation. Loving those crazy dreams!

Luckily, this doesn’t mean I’m barking. In fact, Sarah suggests that the people in my dreams are just different aspects of myself. Stuart is the masculine side of my personality, which represents assertiveness (or lack of, in my case) and the pushy non-girlfriend figure is also me – the side of me I don’t like and have pushed aside.

Flashbacks
All of this together, Sarah says, suggests I’ve had a fear of expressing my assertiveness since my schooldays. The doctor is spot on! I’m a devil for being forceful in my head, but when it comes to actually dealing with difficulties with old friends, I’m a right wimp.

Ooh, I wanted to hug Sarah and her accuracy! Getting your dreams analysed is a way of bringing to the forefront of your mind something your subconscious is nagging at you to deal with. Best I start standing up to my homies!

If only all life issues were as easy as getting out a dream dictionary and looking up ‘worms’. Unfortunately, generic symbols rarely get to the bottom of your subconscious, and although there are at least a hundred common dream themes (such as dreaming all your teeth have fallen out), you have to adapt these symbols to fit your own life.

Lastly, the number-one reason for not remembering your dreams is not getting enough sleep! Turn off that repeat of Desperate Housewives and get to bed!

http://www.handbag.com/health/stay-healthy/understanding-your-dreams-49814