What dreams of being shot really mean, according to an expert – Noufelle EN

If you wake up from a scary dream of being shot, you will definitely want to know what it means. While this nasty nightmare may just be a fleeting middle-of-the-night fear party, dream experts say it’s most likely a message from your subconscious – and one that’s definitely worth the wait. to be interpreted.

“As I always say, dreams are messages from you, to you, about you, for the purpose of bettering yourself,” says Lauri Quinn Loewenberg, professional dream analyst and author of Dream on it: unlock your dreams, change your life. “So even the scariest dreams, like those of you being shot, contain valuable advice, tailored to you and your current situation. »

That’s because dreaming is a thought process, Loewenberg explains. “They are a continuation of your stream of thoughts for the day. Your dreams usually relate to and comment on struggles, accomplishments, conversations, emotions, or thoughts you have experienced. And because the brain works differently while you’re in REM sleep, she says the messages eventually come out in the form of symbols and metaphors.

To understand what your dream is trying to tell you or what its theme might represent, Loewenberg suggests comparing the emotion in the dream to what happened the night before, including the conversations you had. “You will definitely find correlations,” she says, giving the example that you might dream of a dog barking after having an argument with someone. (See the resemblance?)

With all of this in mind, keep reading to find out what it could mean if you dreamed of being shot.

What does it mean if you dream of being shot

1. You received harsh criticism

According to Loewenberg, you are more likely to have this dream after strong criticism and/or if you have been the victim of emotionally hurtful words.

“Emotional pain and emotional wounds in real life often appear in our dreams as physical pain or physical injury because the subconscious is trying to show you that your emotional and psychological sides need attention and healing, just as than the physical side,” she said. adds.

If you feel like someone’s words were a “shotgun blast for the system” or their harsh criticism was unwarranted, think about what you need to do to feel better.

2. Someone questioned your intelligence

Dream details are never random, says Loewenberg, which is why it’s helpful to consider where you were shot as part of your interpretation. “For example, if you were shot in the head, the dream is most likely related to feeling that your intellect has been injured,” she says.

The link, of course, would be that you feel like your “spirit” or intelligence has taken a hit. Again, this could be a sign that you are dealing with someone’s harsh criticism, but this type of dream can also occur after someone talks to you or questions your intelligence.

3. You are heartbroken

Now let’s say you were shot in the heart in your dream. If so, Loewenberg says it could mean you’re feeling emotionally hurt in waking life. “Maybe someone said something to you that broke your heart,” she notes, such as a parent making a hurtful comment, a partner ending a relationship, or a friend saying something about her. poached. Either way, this dream is a sign that you feel “pulled at the heart”.

4. You didn’t defend yourself

If your dream self gets shot in the leg, ask yourself if you’ve recently needed to “stick up for yourself” but haven’t. “Basically, someone probably kicked your ass and hurt you emotionally,” Loewenberg says, and that threw you off balance. If so, it may be helpful to think about what you would like to say the next time a similar situation arises so that you can learn from the experience and feel more confident in the future.

5. You feel attacked

If bullets are flying past you in the dream, it likely means you are feeling attacked in your waking life, Loewenberg says. It could also mean you’re “dodge bullets” in real life, she says, perhaps by not letting those things get to you.

That said, seeing this scary theme appearing in your dreams, it could be a sign you need to consider if you are really deal with all the stress, or if there are a few changes you could make to your surroundings so you don’t have to duck and dodge around every turn.

6. You’re under a lot of pressure.

Dreaming of being shot can also mean that you are under a lot of pressure or that you “feel under fire”. According to Loewenberg, dreams love puns, and the sleeping brain is really good at coming up with common phrases and metaphors. “That’s why, if you can find an expression or a metaphor in your dream, you have found much of its meaning,” she says.

7. You are going through a big change

While it’s obviously horrifying to die in a dream or feel like you’re about to die, it’s actually possible to put a positive spin on this nightmarish scenario. “Death in a dream is about change or end,” says Loewenberg. “So ask yourself, in what way am I changing or need to change? What ends or must end in my life? »

It could be a sign that you need to quit a job, end a relationship, or finally admit it’s time to break a bad habit. “Death is the end of life,” says Loewenberg, “but for the dreaming mind, death is the end of life as you know it. And that can be a good thing.

Referenced studies:

Fox, KC. (2013). Dreaming as Mind Wandering: Evidence from Functional Neuroimaging and First Person Content Reporting. Front Hum Neurosci. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00412.

Nir, Y. (2010). The dream and the brain: from phenomenology to neurophysiology. Trends Cogn Sci. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2009.12.001.

Sources:

Lauri Quinn Loewenberg, professional dream analyst, author of Dream on It: Unlock Your Dreams, Change Your Life