What Do Dreams About Self-Harm Mean?

Hi Loren,
Thank you for sharing your dream. While I cannot "officially" interpret it for you (as I am not a licensed clinician), I do think that your dream sounds like one worth paying attention to. It is very possible that it is tied to the negative feelings you've been experiencing lately. Even if these feelings are not new to you, coping with prolonged periods of low mood and low self-esteem can really take a toll on your mental (and even your physical) wellbeing, and whether or not your dream is tied to any actual desire to self-harm, I think it at least might be your subconscious's way of coping with the ways in which you've been hurting.
You may want to reach out to a therapist--perhaps one with some experience in dream analysis, if you'd like to understand more about this and other dreams--to work through your feelings. There will always be bad days mixed in with the good, but it's possible to tip the scales in favor of more good than bad with the right strategies and the right support. In any case, I hope you're able to feel better--and dream more peacefully--sooner, rather than later.
Aside from therapy, you may want to check out a few of these resources for more support://www.5wetown.com/other-info/resources/mental-health-hotline-numbers-and-refer…
Take care,
Kim

Hi Sierra,
Thank you for sharing your dream. I feel like there may be a lot of symbolism going on in your dream, and while I can't interpret it for you, a licensed professional could certainly help you sort through it. If you're not ready to take that step, however, I would definitely suggest that if you feel up to it, it might be worthwhile to sit and write out the different elements of your dream (what your roommate said, what Evanescence song was playing, etc.) and what sort of associations you might have for each. This could give you some ideas about what underlying messages your subconscious might be trying to send you. Repressed memories are one possibility, but there might be other things going on here, too. Dream journaling is a great way to not only explore the meaning of your dreams, but also work through the feelings they might be conjuring up for you.
Hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Kim

Hi Erica,
Thank you for sharing your dream. I can't offer you a professional dream analysis, but I will say this: it sounds like the highlight of your dream was the part where you were in a place where you could heal, and among people who could help you do that. Maybe this is an indication that it's time for you to talk to someone, if you haven't already, about what you're going through—this may be a counselor or therapist, but it may also simply be someone that you can trust to really listen to your feelings and your needs and offer whatever support you require to move forward on the path of recovery. And if you already have someone you can talk to, maybe tell them about this dream and see what they think about it as well, as they will be more familiar with you and your experiences and might be able to offer more insight.
In any case, I hope you have good dreams and good rest tonight. Just getting solid, regular sleep can be a big step forward in the recovery process. :)
Sincerely,
Kim

Hello Olie,
I'm sorry to hear about your struggle with self-harm, but I thank you for sharing your story and your dream here with me and with others who may connect with and recognize some of the things you are dealing with as similar struggles to their own. Sometimes it helps just to be reminded that we are not the only ones struggling with this or that issue, even if our specific experiences are unique to us and us alone.
I am not medically qualified to interpret your dream for you as a therapist or counselor with dream analysis training would be able to—so if you would like for a deeper analysis of this and other dreams you may have been having lately, I would strongly recommend seeing someone. Even if that is not the case, I do encourage you to find someone you can talk to about your journey (if you don't have someone like this already) because it sounds like you are carrying a lot on your shoulders.
我要说的是在我看来像你的梦想is directly connected to your self-harm in real life and your relationships. You mentioned that you only self-harm when you are not in a relationship, and in your dream, your self-harm seemed to open the door to a loving, welcoming relationship. While I want to emphasize that you should not take any of this to mean that you need to be in a romantic relationship to be healthy (or, for that matter, happy), I do think it would be worth exploring whether your self-harm is tied to feelings of loneliness or your self-esteem, or both. I think the positive outcome of your self-harm in the dream may have less to do with the relationship in the dream than the real-life relief that you may feel after you self-harm. Just like in your dream, many people feel a sense of peace or relief after self-harming—which is why it becomes so tempting to so many people as a means of escaping from overwhelming negative emotions.
然而,这仅仅是我的意见。我知道它may not be easy, but I do think that finding the right therapist or counselor to talk to would be a big help for you in working through the complex issues you are facing, both in your dreams and in your waking life.
However, if you're not ready to take that step yet or have had difficulty finding adequate help locally, keep in mind that there are lots of resources that don't require payment--or even for you to leave the house. This resource page has a long list of hotlines and websites that may help://www.5wetown.com/other-info/resources/mental-health-hotline-numbers-and-refer…
And here is our self-harm resource page, which has a ton of great information on your condition as well as coping tips you can use whether or not you choose to seek professional support://www.5wetown.com/abuse/self-injury/self-injury-homepage
I hope this helps. Wishing you all the best on your recovery journey,
Kim

Hi Oliver,
Thank you for sharing your dream. While obviously I cannot say I've had the same exact dream, I can certainly relate to having nightmares that feel too real and hit uncomfortably close to home. It's no picnic, and while ultimately dreams are not reality, they feel real enough that they can evoke very real, and sometimes very difficult, emotions like the ones you describe.
As I've mentioned already, I am not a licensed therapist or medical professional and cannot interpret your dream for you. However, I will say that it seems likely to me that your dream may have some connection to the crisis your family has been facing and the stress you've been dealing with personally. Nightmares are often the brain's way of rearranging and reinterpreting stress and negative experiences to bring them to our conscious attention, so that we can face them and deal with them in our waking lives.
I am glad to hear that you have been able to avoid self-harming in order to cope with everything; staying productive can certainly be a much healthier way to cope, though it is important to take breaks when you need them as well. With everything that is going on in your life at the moment, I would strongly recommend talking to someone such as a therapist or your school counselor to work through what you're dealing with and maybe help you find some solutions you may not find, or be able to enact, on your own. Stress can be every bit as harmful to your health as a physical illness, especially if it is prolonged, so it's important if you can to find someone you can talk to and who can help you unpack some of the heavier burdens you're currently carrying.
However, if you're not ready to take that step or do not have access to that kind of help locally, know that there are also a multitude of free or low-cost resources online and on the phone that you can turn to whenever you need to. Here's our resource page, which has a nice list of hotlines and websites you can use anytime://www.5wetown.com/other-info/resources/mental-health-hotline-numbers-and-refer…
I hope the new year brings more restful sleep and changes for the better for you and your family. Take care.
- Kim

Hi Benjamin,
最糟糕的事情之一,根据我的经验,对nightmares is how vivid and real they can feel. I can only imagine how distressing this one must have been for you--especially since it evoked such a visceral reaction in you even when you woke. While I cannot interpret it for you from a professional standpoint, I will say that it sounds like this dream might be a good hint that it's time to step back and take a look at your overall wellness. As you said, the imagery in your dream was most likely drawn from things you've seen on TV and other media. However, the severity of your nightmare seems to me like your subconscious might be trying to tell you something important. It might be as simple as perhaps feeling a little overwhelmed with stress or other negative emotions, or that something recently triggered a memory of a time when that was the case.
In any case, it never hurts to check in with yourself. And if you keep having this dream or ones like it, or if you are still feeling very distressed by this nightmare, consider talking to a counselor or therapist--ideally one familiar with dream analysis--to get some help in working through it.
I hope your dreams since this one have been more pleasant, or if not, that you are able to find someone who can work together with you to solve the problems your mind is trying to solve with these nightmares. I wish you the best of luck--and thank you for your comment. Sometimes simply sharing our dreams helps dispel some of the distress; I hope sharing yours here has helped!
- Kim

Hi Benjamin,
I too have had vivid dreaming experiences that feel so real to the point I have woken up and even felt sore or tired. I have found that setting the mood an hour before bed can help. what I usually do is an hour before bed I only watch or engage in light soft things to read, watch, play etc. I found that there is a correlation between what I do just before bed and what I dream about. I also listen to natural sounds whilst I sleep, that has really helped me get a lovely nights sleep and dreams. I am currently listening to the lovely soothing sound of rain, works beautifully for me. I'll link the the sound I currently usehttps://youtu.be/HI3RM8h5qZ8give it a try. hope it really helps.

Hi Lesley,
Apologies for the long-overdue reply. I can certainly imagine how disturbing this dream must have been to you, especially as you mentioned not having nightmares for so long. While I am not in a position to be able to interpret it for you, I will say that it sounds like you might want to take a moment to stop and take stock of your stress levels in your waking life. While it is my person, non-professional opinion that your dream probably does not have to do with any conscious desire to hurt yourself, experiencing such a vivid nightmare after going so long without any (at least, any that you can recall) certainly seems to warrant a bit of a check-in.
Of course, nightmares can also be caused by a wide array of non-mental health related factors, such as eating certain foods too close to bedtime. That's not to dismiss or minimize your experience, but rather, something to keep in mind--it's all too easy to read more than necessary into even the most vivid dreams.
In any case, I hope your nights since have been more restful, and I wish you all the best. Thank you for your comment!
Sincerely,
Kim

Hi Gigi,
Thank you for sharing your dream with me. Dreams can be really potent experiences; I remember I had one once in which someone grabbed my arm so tightly it bruised me and when I woke up, my arm hurt (though there was no mark, of course).
I am not a professional dream interpreter, but I have a lot of experience with intense dreams (especially nightmares) and I can imagine how distressing a dream like the one you described must have been. It's likely that the burning you felt was a kind of somatic effect--your brain thought that it should hurt, so you experienced pain. It's also possible that something occurred before or during your sleep that caused you to feel the burning sensation while you slept (maybe you brushed against something your skin had a reaction to?) and this actually triggered the burning in your dream.
In either case, the important thing to remember, of course, is that it was just a dream--even if you felt physical effects from it upon waking. Rather than be haunted by it, consider what you might be able to learn from it. This might simply be that you were under stress and in need of relief--nightmares can often signal that we simply need a break from something we've been dealing with, or alternatively that we need to face something we've been avoiding.
If you want to dive deeper into the meaning of your dream, be sure to talk to someone with professional dream psychology training! Keeping a dream journal and tracking patterns and your own personal interpretations can also be helpful.
Otherwise, I hope your dreams tonight are more restful. Thank you again for your comment!
- Kim

Hello!
Thank you for your comment, and for sharing your dream with me. I want to start by being very clear about this: I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist, or licensed dream interpreter. So I can't analyze your dream for you the way someone with more professional experience would be able to (though I highly encourage you to contact such a professional if you wish to better understand and relate with your dreams!).
What I can say is that I have had many chase nightmares over the years, and I know how stressful they can be--especially when coupled with self-harm imagery. It can be very disconcerting to feel forced to hurt yourself, even if it is "just a dream," because in that moment, those feelings can be very real, even in a fantastical context. So I can imagine that was a pretty intense dream for you!
我也会说,作为一个门外汉,我想很多of your dream imagery is probably coming from things you've seen or read. Recent memories are usually the origin, but keep in mind that dreams may pull from your long-term memory too--it may be that some of this came from something you watched or learned about a long time ago, that something in recent days may have triggered the memory of (even if only in your subconscious).
I also don't dream much when I drink before bed, but I've had the occasional vivid drunk-dream, too. The difference may have been anything from the specific drink you had (if it wasn't your usual), to food you ate within the last few hours before sleep, to some other environmental trigger you may not have consciously taken much note of. Dreams are pretty tricky that way.
好消息是,这是一个梦,和它in no way means that you *have* to hurt yourself, or even necessarily that you want to. It may mean that you have some inner turmoil that you need to work through, possibly some guilt or something you dislike about yourself--nightmares are often connected to these things. So again, you may want to look into working with a therapist or counselor who specializes in dream analysis if you want to know more. You can also try dream journaling; writing things down can sometimes help clarify their meaning.
I hope this helps! If you need more resources regarding self-harm, be sure to check out this page://www.5wetown.com/abuse/self-injury/self-injury-homepage
Here's hoping for more restful dreaming (for us both!) tonight. Good luck!
Kim