What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone?

As you cycle through your REM phases of sleep every night, you have many wonderful and fantastical dreams. A bad dream can pop in every now and then but that just means you’re feeling a bit stressed. There are many dream symbols to watch out for to define dream meaning. 

Dreaming about people you know, acquaintances, or strangers can be very telling about your current state of mind. Let’s talk about dreams and what dreaming about people means.     

Dream interpretations are fun to decipher and you can thank your REM phase of sleep for your nocturnal story time

What Are Dreams? 

Dream interpretations are fun to decipher and you can thank your REM phase of sleep for your nocturnal story time. Dreaming is a way to access your unconscious and subconscious needs, desires, and troubles. It’s also a way to clear the daily gunk from your conscious mind as you catalogue and store memories, akin to clearing your history on your browser. Dreaming freshens the mind and restores the body.   

Check out our REM Sleep Cycle Calculator to find out how much sleep you need every night. 

Dream analysis can be tackled with a psychological, philosophical, religious, or environmental framework

Why Do We Dream?

Dream analysis can be tackled with a psychological, philosophical, religious, or environmental framework. This makes dream interpretation deeply personal because not every human being will have the same life experience and feelings. Your dreams are a collection of memories, imaginings, silly, and serious tones. 

Why and what you dream can be influenced by:

• What You Eat - you know the saying ‘don’t eat cheese before bed because it will give you nightmares’? If your body is digesting food as you sleep it can influence your dreamscape
  
  
• Anxiety - panic attacks put your body in flight or flight mode which is taxing on the body, experiencing chronic panic attacks can bring insomnia or nightmares 
  
  
• Depression - feeling low or stressed out everyday has a serious impact on your physical and mental wellbeing that can trickle into your dreamscape 
  
  
• Illness - recovering from an illness or injury is a new experience for your body and dreaming can be a helpful processing tool 
  
  
• Medication - prescribed or over the counter medication can have many side effects including vivid or scary dreams   

What is the spiritual meaning of falling in dreams?  

Does Everyone Dream?

The meaning of dreams can still be valid even if you don’t recall dreaming. Most people don’t remember dreaming because they have a loud alarm clock ringing in their ear, your thoughts immediately turn to pressing the snooze button and what you need to accomplish that day. In those moments your dream slips from your conscious memory to your subconscious mind, to be used later. 

In a 2015 sleep behaviour study, it was found that those who believe themselves to be non-dreamers exhibited the rapid eye movements associated with dreaming. Thus, proving non-recallers do dream. Another study of participants who were born blind were able to visually represent their dreams with a drawing upon waking, despite having lower alpha activity. 

Therapists believe that dreams are a bridge from your unconscious to your conscious mind

So What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone? 

Therapists believe that dreams are a bridge from your unconscious to your conscious mind. They fill in the gaps of what you’ve seen and heard throughout the day. Interpretation of dreams can be telling and explain your motivations and habits. Dreaming about a person does not necessarily mean you’re dreaming about that person. In most instances, the person represents an aspect of your own personality. 

Dream About a Family Member 

Dream meanings of a family member are quite common as these are the people you’ve grown up with. Your family knows how to push your buttons. They know you better than anyone else, which can be a blessing and a curse! If you dream of your mother, this can represent your nurturing side, while dreaming about your father could represent the disipliner within you, depending on the roles your parents held. Dreaming of a loved one who has died could mean you’re missing them, it’s almost like they’re popping in to say hello and comfort you.  

Dream About Someone’s Death 

One of the few dream symbols that typically scare 100% of the population is dreaming about death. But, dreaming about death is similar to pulling the death tarot card, it’s a good thing. Some aspects of yourself must die in order to grow as a person, situations in life must burn to the ground in order to rebuild from scratch with knowledge and love. Dreaming about someone’s death means change, only you can guide that change to a positive or negative place.    

Dream About Someone You Like 

Every human being wants to love and be loved, it’s only natural that you will have the occasional dream about a crush or celebrity. Dreaming about someone you like doesn’t mean you need to pack your bags and run away with them. If you’re thinking about a certain someone a lot during your waking hours, they can creep into your dreamscape. It could mean you’re craving a loving relationship or you may need to give more attention to your current relationship.  

Dream About a Colleague 

Dreaming about a colleague can be a drag, you spend all day with them and now they’re invading your sacred dreamspace! You may dream about a colleague because you need to process some emotions, perhaps you had an interaction that upset you or you have a crush on them. Dreaming about a colleague can represent feelings of empowerment and self control. Working and earning your own money gives you control over your life, independence. 

Dream About Someone You Knew

Dreaming about someone you once knew could mean they’re going through a hard time in their life and need a friend. It can also mean that you saw or smelled something that reminded you of them. Considering your feelings towards them, a ‘hello, how are you?’ text could be welcomed.  

Dream About Someone You Don’t Know at All   

Having a dream about someone or people you don’t recognize is normal. The vast majority of faces in your dreams will be strangers (or friends you haven’t met yet). These filler people could resemble faces you’ve seen throughout your day but not taken in.   

Other Reasons for Dreaming About Someone 

You Want the Person to Like/Admire You

Meaning of dreams about someone you like, such as a teacher, boss, or elder in your life, could mean you’re seeking their approval. Which is normal for such relationships, at work or school  you want to hear you’re doing a good job because it makes you feel appreciated. The same for dreaming of a parent or grandparent. 

The Person in Your Dreams Is Thinking About You 

It is said that if two people dream about the same thing  it will come true. No matter who you are or where you are, someone is thinking about you. Dreaming of someone you know and love could mean that you have been on their mind recently or are worried about you. 

Someone Will Take Advantage of You 

Dreams interpretation can sometimes cross over to a prediction or warning. This is not always the case but keeping a dream journal will help you access your dream meanings better. Take note of how the person you know in the dream is acting and be a little cautions around them in real life. Keep personal information to yourself and be careful what you say. 

Your Life Would be Different if You Were With Them 

Dreaming about the one that got away? This dream typically pops up when we’re not getting on well with our partner. It’s not a sign you need to abandon your relationship, it’s simply a way to process, to dream of what could have been. These dreams help you to realize that the grass is not always greener on the other side.  

You Feel Lonely/Left Out 

If you’ve been spending a lot of time alone lately or you’re away from loved ones. Dream analysis states you may dream of someone you know because you miss the warmth of home and familiar faces. These dreams can occur when you’re starting new experiences, a job, college, moving to a new area, travelling for work. Or, you’re having a normal moment of melancholy in your life which will pass.  

How Long Do Dreams Last? 

It may surprise you to learn that you could be spending up to two hours dreaming every night. That is astonishing for most people, especially those who swear that they don’t dream. You may not recall every dream but as you cycle through the stages of sleep, you will dream in the rapid eye movement stage and then the sleep cycle phase begins again until you wake up in the morning. 

Getting Rid of a Recurring Dream 

• Start a dream journal as this will help you keep track of items and feelings in your dream, aiding your dream analysis later
• Analyze your current state of mind and feelings about your current situation, you can use a guided meditation to help you and many are available free online 
• Dump unhealthy habits, clean up your diet, quit smoking and drinking, enjoy fresh air, exercise, and drink water every day, what you put into your body can have an effect on your dreamscape 
• Learn about lucid dreaming where you recognize you’re dreaming and control the dream rather than the dream controlling you.  This will help in a false awakening loop which is when you are stuck in a dream within a dream 

Conclusion 

Your dreams are a wild tapestry of emotions, desires, needs, and experiences. Dreaming about a loved one who has passed can be comforting, dreaming about a crush can give you the courage to ask them out on a date, dreaming about a mean boss can help you build patience toward them. 

Discovering the meaning of dreams is a personal pursuit but an online dream dictionary can give you some help in deciphering the clues. Dreaming about someone means you’re a member of the human race and we are happy to have you. 

Why Do We Dream About People?

Dreaming about people is a part of being alive on this pale blue dot. Our fellow human beings are what makes life fun and interesting. Our daily interactions with other people help us to learn about ourselves. They enter our dreamspace to guide us, entertain us, and cheer us up when we’re feeling down.   

Do Dreams Mean Anything?

Dream interpretation is a personal pursuit but with the help of a dream dictionary you can discover  the meaning of your dreams. You can take a spiritual, psychological, religious, philosophical, or environmental approach to your dream analysis. Your dream space is your most personal space, only you can decipher its codes. 

Why Can't I Remember My Dreams?

You may not be able to remember your dreams if you don’t spend enough time in REM sleep, which is the phase of sleep when dreaming occurs. This could be due to a sleep disorder but if you wake up to a loud alarm clock every morning, you’re not giving yourself the quiet space needed to recall the dream.

What Does My Dream Mean?

Your dream can mean you’re having a stressful time and you need to find a way to relax. It could mean you are in need of rest and recuperation. It could mean you are going through some big personal changes and you need someone to talk to about them. Keep a dream journal to help you decipher your dreams better.  

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