Dreams of Wellness
Written by Patti Allen

Every year, at this time, the magazine stands are inundated with handy, helpful hints for surviving the holidays, very few of which are handy or helpful. 

Interestingly, the most simple, easy to use tool in maintaining our health is usually overlooked. I’m talking about your dreams! The nightly parade of characters that inhabit your nocturnal dreams can actually get you through the days of stress and excess that go hand in hand with the holiday season. The dreams that so many people dismiss as unworthy of our time, are actually the best reflection of your state of health, your mind and your heart’s desires. Your dreams can act as barometers of your rising stress level and your overall physical health, and provide you with the answers to your problems. Now that’s a present worth receiving! 

Our society doesn’t value something as intangible as a dream that seems to evaporate in the blink of an eye. If it can’t be held in your hand or measured, many can’t see the value in it. But you’ve found your way to this website and this article, so you are already looking for a different way of being. How can remembering your dreams help you handle the stress of the holidays? By letting you know what’s on your mind and what’s going on in your body, when your mind is too busy to listen! 

"Dreams use symbols and pictures to get the message across" 

These images, while quite personal and individual, have a common thread that is likely to mean similar things to many of us. That means that if we are living, breathing human beings, we have certain experiences and therefore symbols that will be common to us all. With that in mind, what are some of the dream images you can be on the lookout for that will indicate your state of health and your stress level? In her book, In Your Dreams, author Gayle Delaney explains some typical themes: 

• Unable to Call for Help - “The dreamer is in a difficult emotional or career situation and is unable or unwilling to call for help.” Even in less emotionally serious versions of this dream, we often find a stressed out perfectionist who won’t ask for help. Advice: Ask Aunt Betty and best friend Leslie to bring dessert or whatever else will relieve you from having to do “one more thing”. But you do have to ask.



• Missing the Plane, Bus or Deadline - These dreamers “have such overscheduled lives with so many deadlines and so much pressure that they regularly feel they are missing a deadline or an opportunity to live a happier life.” Advice: It’s time to prioritize. See what you can reasonably let go and take a deep breath.



• Phones Don’t Work - A frustrating dream that is a variation on the Unable to Call for Help dreams. These dreams “suggest a failure in communication.” Advice: Ask yourself “Is there something important that I have to say to someone in my life?” Maybe it’s time to tell your mother-in-law that you would like to have the family dinner at your house not hers. Advice: This dream tells you that you have something to communicate, and you’re having a bit of trouble. Keep trying.



• Exams or Forgetting Your Lines - These dreams can cover the spectrum from taking an exam, not finding the right room, not having the right pencil to being on stage and not knowing your lines. This can also be the dream of a perfectionist or someone with self-esteem issues. Delaney says “If the dreamer has this dream frequently, it is important to consider whether or not the dreamer is living a life with so many deadlines and so many demands that she realizes she is never fully prepared, never able to really keep up.” Or is the dreamer a procrastinator; never fully ready? Advice: Ask for help getting ready and include the kids. Let the Martha Stewart, picture-perfect family get-together fantasy go. It’s ok to skip the perfectly ironed table cloth and go to Wal-Mart for paper goods. Really.



• Body dreams -  Dream symbols often reflect the subtle body processes before we are consciously aware of them.  Watch for dream symbols, metaphors and story lines that touch on nourishment, cleansing and elimination, and signs of ill health such as infection (bugs or fires for example), or things not working properly. Images of houses and cars can often represent the body. Advice: If you dream of a run down old Chevy that is out of gas, go lie down!



• Dream Recall - One last hint as to how you are handling the stressful holiday time: If you usually remember your dreams, but are having trouble at this time of year, remember that dream recall decreases when you are anxious, stressed or depressed. If that is the situation in which you find yourself, in this case the insight of your non-dream is clear. Advice: Slow down, Breathe, Laugh and Rest. Sweet Dreams will follow.

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