Dreams About Losing or Gaining Weight
If you dream that you’ve suddenly gained or lost a great deal of weight, you are probably dealing with some sort of change in your life.
Some dream experts and interpreters believe that this type of dream is an indication that you are having trouble adjusting to or accepting this change but I don’t think this is a 100 percent hard and fast rule. Personally, I think the weight gain (or loss) is simply a dream symbol for change – whether or not you’re handling it well or not.
Take, for example, a woman from Massachusetts who dreamed that she had gained over 20 pounds. She wasn’t alarmed by the dream, whatsoever. In fact, it amused her greatly! She pointed out that the weight gain “took a good 20 years off” of her appearance.
When I told her that these types of dreams were usually symbolic of change she e-mailed me back, listing the following changes she’d gone through in the past 3 months:
- She married “Mr. Right”
- She and Mr. Right moved to a new town
- Both of them started new jobs
- They’d bought 2 Siamese cats
This uncommonly warm and friendly woman was very excited about her new life and family. She embraced all of the changes and was, in her words, “happier than anyone deserves to be.” Her dream was simply her brain’s way of reveling in her new found bliss and joy. Her brain realized that so much had been added to her world… hence the additions it made to her weight!
Dreams of Losing Weight
Dreams of losing weight aren’t always negative either. If, for example, an individual wants to lose weight, they may dream of doing so. It makes a great deal of sense, given the fact that they probably think about weight loss a lot during the day.
It’s extremely common and perfectly logical to dream about the things we think about the most.
However, if you have lost weight (in your dream) as a result of sickness or unhappiness – you are more likely than not struggling with recent change or changes. You feel that you are losing a part of your life – and maybe even yourself.
Whether you dream of losing weight or gaining weight, ask yourself the following question (and try to answer it as soon after the dream as possible): “How did I feel during the dream and how did I feel as soon as I awoke?”
- If you felt alarmed, sad, worried, anxious, or scared in the dream – the dream symbolism is a negative one. This dream indicates that you are having a great deal of trouble with recent changes. You’ve probably been trying to make the best of an unfortunate situation, but you simply aren’t adjusting to the change. The dream indicates that you need to take a good, long, honest look at the changes in your life and ask what you can do to help yourself adjust better.
- If you felt nonchalant, that is neither good nor bad – this indicates that the dream is simply acknowledging the changes. It’s not passing judgment on whether it finds the change to be good or bad, it’s simply acknowledging that it does exist!
- If you felt happy, joyful, and excited in your dream (and felt good upon waking), it indicates that you embrace the change or changes and are in a very, very good place.
I hope that the last one is exactly where you find yourself!
What Does it Mean to Dream About Dolls?
Dreaming about dolls, in one way or another, symbolizes childhood. It could either be symbolic of the dreamer’s childhood or could symbolize a child (or “wanted” child) in the dreamer’s life. Many couples who are trying to have babies often dream about dolls. These dreams are simply the mind’s ways of handling the intense desire to have children.
Many people will dream about dolls when they have been thinking and/or talking about their childhood. The mind sort of goes back in time to “revisit” the magical time of childhood.
Dreaming of dolls can also symbolize children in your life -either your own children or other’s. If the doll is broken or lost, the dreamer is most likely quite worried about a particular child. If the doll is in perfect condition and (in the dream) brings about positive feelings, it’s simply the mind’s way of expressing love for a particular child (or children).
If – somehow – the doll is associated with negative feelings in the dream, the meaning could be altogether different. Many people will have negative dreams about dolls… even nightmares… when they have negative events in their daily life. Due to the fact that there is a doll present in the dream, these negative events either involve a child OR childishness.
Adults who are either dating or have married an individual with a child or children from another relationship sometimes feel jealous or “left out.” These unfortunate feelings can carry over into dreams and, quite often, star dolls or toys.
In yet another example of doll dreams, we often symbolize someone’s actions (or even our own!) through symbolism in our dreams. If we think someone is acting childish, we’ll find child-like symbols in our dreams – such as dolls. Even if we’re the one who has been acting childish!
Finally, I remember one particular dream where a woman dreamed that she had a doll that looked JUST like her. It turned out that she felt like her husband and children never listened to her. She felt as appreciated and acknowledged as a doll, basically – hence the dream.
What Dreams Mean: Dreaming of Holidays and Christmas
I’ve gotten a recurring question lately: “What does it mean to dream about Christmas (holidays)?” Of course, there’s the obvious influence of all the Christmas lights, music, and gifts everywhere now – as well as the Thanksgiving and Christmas commercials and decorations.
However, it actually goes deeper than this.
Whether we dream about holidays and Christmas around November and December, the dream symbols mean pretty much the same things.
Dreaming about holidays is similar to dreaming about vacations: They’re indications that the dreamer needs a break from his/her day to day grind. Dreaming of holidays means that the dreamer is feeling stressed, anxious, and over-worked.
This dream analysis would indicate that the dreamer needs to do all he or she can to slow down. They need to realize that their dream is trying to tell them something and they’d be very wise to heed the message. Even if it means taking just 30 minutes each day or evening to do nothing but relax and unwind… pretty much giving their mind the “holiday” it craves.
Naturally, a few days would be a wonderful luxury, but that isn’t always possible. Think of it this way, if you take 30 minutes each night, and do so for the rest of your life… you’ll be WAY past the “few days” holiday!
One other implication of Christmas dreams is this: Sometimes life gets chaotic and hectic for adults. It’s not easy being a grown up and often we crave the carefree, happy, and fun existence of our childhood. What better time is it to be a child than Christmas?!
If this sounds like it could be your dream interpretation, try to incorporate more fun and, yes, even more play into your life. Instead of teasing your kid(s) about their video games, play with them and/or buy your own. You know what they say about all work and no play!
Holiday and Christmas Dream Symbols
The symbols of Thanksgiving and Christmas simply support everything we’ve discussed above. Anything related to the holidays – wreaths, trees, angels, Santa, baby Jesus, the Nativity Scene, snowmen, gingerbread men, candy canes, bells… – is symbolic of either the need to slow your pace or the need to return to the carefree happiness of childhood.
What Do Knife Dreams Mean?
I have gotten a lot of e-mails lately about knife dreams. It’s perfectly understandable why these dreams unsettle the dreamer. Many times the dreamer dreams of cutting themself – or, worse, they dream of cutting other people.
Knife dreams leave the dreamer wondering if they’re harboring rage, aggression, or anger.
I’m always happy to assure them that this isn’t the case. You see, knife dreams are what we call SYMBOLIC dreams. In dreams, knives are dream symbols for one or more of the following:
- Wanting to remove something from your life
- Wanting to remove something from someone else’s life
- Wanting to give up a habit
- Wanting someone else to give up a habit
- Wanting to get someone out of your llife
- Wanting to get someone out of someone else’s life
Knife dreams simply mean you want something or someone gone…. like yesterday!
Ironically, they do not imply that you are angry or aggressive – rather they imply that you allow things to go on around you without saying as much as you’d like to say. Very often, the most laid back, easy-going people in the world will dream about knives. I suppose it’s symbolic of wanting to “cut” things out the easy way!
Dreaming About Fire: What Does it Mean?
If you dream of fire, a lot of the dream interpretation rests in the situation. For example, is the fire a “cozy” fire in a fireplace or is it a raging fire threatening anyone and anything in its path.
If the fire in your dream is a controlled fire (bonfire, fireplace, candles, etc) and there aren’t negative emotions connected to it in your dream, the fire stands for a type of renewal or regeneration in your life. Maybe you’re feeling better about a situation that had been troubling you or perhaps you’ve recently made a very important change that you feel good about.
In dreams, fire is often symbolic of cleansing and renewal. It is also symbolic of “warm” feelings and emotions. If you dream of a fireplace, these warm feelings are probably of a romantic nature. Many people believe that if you dream of lit birthday candles, you are excited about the future – maybe not, necessarily, your next birthday – but something in the future, or just the future in general.
If the fire in your dream is threatening or scary in any way, the symbolism is different. Rather than indicating renewal, passion, romance, and warmth, this type of fire represents a feelings frustration and of being out of control (more likely than not emotionally).
Many people, after an argument in which they acted out in a way that left them sorry and embarrassed will dream of a raging fire. Truth be told, it could also symbolize “cleansing” as they wish they could wipe the slate clean. They feel as though they lost control and are frustrated that they couldn’t extinguish their emotions before they took on a life of their own.
Many people who are overwhelmed at work or school will also have fire dreams – because often their lives feel somewhat “out of control.”
If you dream of a wildfire that’s out of control, you’d be wise to really examine what’s going on in your life because this is your brain’s most extreme dream symbol that something is out of control in your life. It’s pretty much telling you that you need to get a hold on the situation because it’s in danger of getting out of hand.
This is kind of cool: If you dream of a fireman, a firetruck, or anything associated with putting out fires, you have recently overcome a negative passion, habit, or thought and feel pretty proud of yourself!
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