What do these dreams mean

[Hunter]

I was in a severe abusive relationship where I was anally rapped by my ex and his friends. I am seeing a therapist for these and many other issues.

I have had several dreams about my therapist who is awesome and has helped me greatly.

Dream One: I am being held down, and I was drugged so that I could not move (this is the truth) they are holding me down raping me - and in my dream I am terrified- then the dream switches to my therapist is in the room and he is telling me that I am ok, that I am in my safe place that he is there and no one is going to hurt me. He tells me this in therapy when we are talking about painful things. Then in my dream I am ok, because he is there.

Dream Two: My therapist is anally raping me - and in my dream I am ok, I am not scared because it's him, and while he is raping me he is telling me that I am ok, that I am safe because I am with him.

Gosh, I don't want to be having these dreams, I really dont but why am I having them and what can I do so as not to have them.

Do I tell my therapist about these dreams, and how will I face him after telling him about my disturbed dreams.

Please help me explain these dreams

Do I have any power over my dreams?

[Bluerose]

Hunter,

I took an interest in dream therapy when working on my own problems. I also ask my therapist what a certain dream might mean just to confirm what I already thought. I'm no expert but what I knew about dream interpretation helped me a lot.

My view of your first dream is that you are in the process of recovering. That's not to say you will forget what happened. It means you are learning how to deal with the memory of what happened. It seems the bad stuff comes to the surface when we are feeling quite strong in our mind and our body to handle it. It might be scary and it might be painful but it is a necessary part of the healing process. And your therapist seems to be helping this process along quite well.

My view on your second dream is that you are afraid your therapist might let you down. I think this is a worry we all have once we come to trust them.

Maybe hold off on telling him about those dreams until you have had time to process them and decided for yourself what they mean - are they being helpful or not.

I believe we do have power over our dreams. The simplest thing to start with is thinking about something very pleasant before going to sleep. It takes a bit of practise but it might help when we have been having dreams that disturb us.

Best wishes.

[Hunter]

Bluerose

You gave a very good interpreation about my dreams. I do feel that the work with my therapist has and is helping me so much, more than I ever thought would happen. I have trust issues where I trust no one, but that changed when I met my therapist, he was so compassionate and caring, that I began liking him and trusting him.

As for the second dream, because I have made so much progress in my therapy, I truly am worried that he is going to think that when I tell him things, that I am beyond therapy. My therapist has even commented that he feels that I feel he is going to stop me as a patient. He has reassured me time and time again, that he will never drop me a patient. That I will be the one that decides when I no longer need therapy. So yes this is a fear that I have.

And yes, every night when I go to bed, I tell myself that I only want happy and pleasant dreams. I make a point of thinking about happy times with my husband when I go to sleep.

So thank you very much for your view on my dreams and I most welcome any or more views that you have.

thanks so much

[Bluerose]

That’s kind of you. Glad it helped.

[Symora]

Hi Hunter, welcome to the forum. I'm so sorry you had to live such a terrible ordeal ... I wonder how anyone can be so cruel to another human being!:mad:

I also felt that the dreams are part of your assimilation of the event, and the issues of trust that have ensued. Sort of a PTSD type of phenomenon, since I'm certain you lived it as a traumatic event... If you are discussing all of these things in therapy, I appears normal to me that they would come up in your dreams as well.

I would mention it to my therapist in general terms, like 'I've been having dreams where I relive the event, and you are there sometimes reassuring me but sometimes as the abuser as well. I'm not sure what to make of that'. You know what I mean? It's not a personal thing, but you are obviously preoccupied by this and would like to understand it better. The call is yours of course....

I wish you sweet dreams tonight

[Hunter]

Symora

I really like the way you phrased this and I am going to rehearse it and tell it to my therapist.

'I've been having dreams where I relive the event, and you are there sometimes reassuring me but sometimes as the abuser as well.

thanks

[IrmaJean]

I'm not sure that I'm very good at dream interpretation, but try and think symbolically. You use the word "rape", but then you mention you felt "okay" because it was him. Perhaps the representation of him in your dream is symbolic of your going deeper with your thoughts during therapy and this is a struggle to which you need his reassurance and guidance. Taking a blind stab at that, but try not to take dreams so literally. Sex doesn't have to mean sex, but could be representative of a certain intensity of the place you're in in therapy and your life right now. I wouldn't try and change your dreams (I doubt very much that you could anyhow), but see them as informative and revealing. Let them be and look into their meaning. It's your truth and that can only be helpful to discover.