Dreams.

I've noticed my dreams help me see where I am at in therapy.

I had a dream last night I was back in my childhood home, but my husband was living there with me.

There was a rat in the living room and at first I run to get away, then turned back and dived onto the floor to knock the rat away, but acutally caught it in my hands and I was amazed in the dream that I was feeling able to hold onto it and not be afraid and just let it go and then run.

I shouted to my husband that i had the rat and I wanted to hold it until he opened the back door for me to get rid of it completely.

He wouldnt open the door but he held a tin out for me to put the rat into. I was feeling anxious that he wasn't allowing me to get the rat right out of the house, but settled for putting it in the tin and putting the lid on it.

Then I turned around and there was the most wierdest worm type creature, it looked like a potatoe that sprouts and the sprouts had turned into 3 wombs joined together, but this little wriggly creature was to much for me, I couldnt deal with it.

I'm guessing my husband represented the part of me that holds me back, and the rat is the biggy issues I've talked about in T now for 3yrs but the wriggly womb thing is the wriggly emotions that i know need to be faced now, that scare me more than talking about the BIG things.

sounds like a bit of over-analysis paralysis

I never dream so I don't have any entertainment when I'm sleeping

APart from the analysis paralysis, did you not see how helpful that can be? I find it very helpful.

I'm glad you get so much from your dreams, Mouse. I loved my dreams when I was deep into therapy, they were extremely helpful to me. When I dreamed of my husband or therapist it meant whatever the dream was about it was "safe" for me to look at it and work with it. That was great, having them or their presence in the dream. I was really sad when I quit remembering the dreams as much; at their height I'd often have a couple a night I'd remember and be able to write down in the morning and now I only have a couple a month I remember :-( It's like some symptoms for me, they go away and I'm "glad" but still miss them nonetheless.

But I loved all the "themes" I'd dream about. While I was separating my birth mother from my stepmother I kept dreaming of things in pairs (including therapists! until I understood, I'd dream about my group therapist(s) from 20-30 years ago who is/was dead and my T together). And I'd have dreams in sepia color, like the lovely old photographs I have of my parents wedding in 1940 (dreamed my father was getting married yet again and I had to stop him or get urgent information or something). And I'd dream about bandits and "spies" and mafia types LOL. I learned a lot about archetypes/Jung. http://www.dreamthread.com/individuation.html

Perna, Great site, thanks!

My dreams help me, also. It is said that a part of your dream usually comes from your childhood and that a part comes from something you have seen or done in the past couple of days. After interpreting my dreams, I have found that this is true.

Mouse, I wonder if you're still thinking your T was a rat for going away for 5 weeks and because of the unexpected and unpleasant memory you had recently. You were ready to throw T out the door then. Maybe your husband is the part of you that helps contain your anger and kept you from hurting yourself by quitting therapy.

Dreams are fun and can be interpretted in many ways and none are right/wrong. And later the same dream can have a different meaning.

Do you share your dreams with T?

Oooh, Echoes, good one with T as the rat! I took a really good online class on dreaming http://www.dreamgate.com/class/ and it was lots of fun and very helpful, was part of an online dream group too. I use to love working with dreams.

Mouse, what an insightful interpretation of your dream.

Do you share the dreams with your T?

I looooooove doing dream work in therapy. I had a dream a couple of weeks ago that T was dating my best friend's mother and I felt extremely jealous in the dream. I actually told T about the dream last Friday. Embarrassing as hell, but there was a lot to it.

Mouse, I thought your dream interpretation was very insightful. I get so much out of my dreams. They are a window into my unconscious, a way for me to know what is really going on inside. I love them. I dream vivid and complicated dreams and can usually remember one from each night. I wish I had more time to do dreamwork in therapy. We did more when I first started, but have more lately focused on nuts and bolts stuff. I miss it. Dreams can help me raise issues with my T that I am too shy to suggest myself. Somehow, if it comes up in a dream, it is easier to talk about.

Echoes, Wow, yes, you may have something there also.