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Emotions in Dreams – Decoding Dream Symbolism

emotions in dreams - rage

How you react to seeing a weapon pointed at you in a dream can reveal the symbolism of it.

Emotions in dreams: your emotional reaction can reveal the underlying dream symbolism

Emotions are at the heart of many dream stories. The dream imagery and actions trigger emotions that would otherwise stay bottled up or unexpressed. So in that sense, dreams provide venting, like a volcano vents to release pressure. By releasing emotions during a dream you might avoid a blow up while awake.

Dreams can trigger strong emotions like rage, terror, love, and ecstasy. Experiencing these emotions while dreaming doesn’t necessarily mean you feel them in your waking life, but is a good indication you feel something similar.

In dreams the gloves come off, your inhibitions come down, and the emotional centers of your brain are highly active. So you might not feel rage in your waking life, for example, but something is probably pushing you that direction, and if the situation is left unaddressed you could find yourself in a rage. You might not be in a state of ecstasy, either, but maybe you feel really happy—or could feel that way under the right circumstances. The potential is there.

emotions in dreams - rage

A volcano erupting can symbolize rage.

Dreams exaggerate

They exaggerate to get your attention and really express the underlying dynamics of a situation. For example, you are buried with work and dream that you are buried alive. Being buried alive is a much worse situation than being buried at work, of course, but in an exaggerated way it expresses how you feel.

Emotions triggered

Many dreams can be interpreted simply by relating the emotions they trigger with your waking life. Look especially at how you react in a dream. When you react strongly to a situation in a dream, it’s a good indicator that it symbolizes something you feel strongly about, something that arouses powerful emotions in you.

Note reaction and ask why

A woman dreams about a bit of drink spilling on her mattress during sex, while a condom is being put on. She flies off in a rage and kicks out her partner.

author J.M. DeBord

I’m RadOwl, your teacher.

Her reaction shows that she feels very strongly about whatever the spilled drink symbolizes. That’s the place to focus for the interpretation.

Turns out, it symbolizes the dreamer’s fear of accidentally getting pregnant. How could that happen? Spilled semen. Only takes a little bit to get her pregnant.

How do we know that’s what the spilled drink symbolizes?

  1. The drink spills on the mattress while having sex. What other fluid can spill on a mattress during sex?
  2. It spills while a condom is being put on. What other fluid can spill from a condom?

But most of all her very strong reaction reveals that she subconsciously knows the meaning of the symbolism. Otherwise, why react so strongly to something that on the surface appears innocuous?

Her emotional reaction reveals the meaning of the underlying symbolism, and in turn reveals the meaning of the dream.

See also:

Dream about Hitting Father

Absurdity of Dream Symbolism | Dream Interpretation

2 thoughts on “Emotions in Dreams – Decoding Dream Symbolism”

  1. Thanks again. Great article. Everything you have shared has been very helpful. Can’t tell you how much I enjoy having someone to discuss dream interpretation with.

As Dr. Frasier Crane says, I'm listening. Leave a comment.

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