Dream Journal Analysis Essay Example

Imagination, memories, thoughts, and wishes all mix together to form a dream. I wonder what my dreams were mixed with to have such an unexplainable reason behind them. 

Waking up to a dream so vivid you question how your brain managed to create something so unimaginable, to waking up thinking your teeth are gone, are where my dreams vary from. Although I dream of the unexplainable, there may be scientific reason embedded in them. That being said, I had a dream about myself sitting at the Santa Monica Pier, sitting at a white round table with pink and blue umbrellas near the end of the pier while I was eating a hamburger. When I woke up, I didn’t remember who I was eating with but it was someone very well known that made us get recorded and pictures taken of by the paparazzi. The point of view was switching from the first person, to what the cameras were viewing, as well as if my eyes popped out of my head and were watching me. There was a lot of switching back and forth from the point of views that created a flashing effect, similar to movie trailers when they are making it dramatic. I haven’t taken a bite out of my hamburger yet, but towards the end of my dream, I take a huge bite and my teeth fall out. To fill you in on more detail, I have a permanent retainer on the back of my bottom teeth, and when I took a bite, my whole row of teeth attached to my retainer popped out, as well as a few chipped teeth on the top row. The hamburger was soft when you held it, but it was as hard as dry cement when I bit into it. The second my bottom row of teeth fell out, it turned black and I quickly woke up and glided my tongue to my row of teeth that I suspected was gone, relieved they were still there. 

One of the most common interpretations of dreaming about your teeth falling out is a personal loss. Experiencing the death of a loved one or a loss of a relationship is all associated with a personal loss. Personally to me, I didn’t lose anyone that made a huge impact in my life. Although, that day, my mom left to go visit her family in Michigan. My mom wears the pants of the family, so it was really hard to get things running without her. Scientifically speaking, a vivid dream about your teeth falling out, breaking or rotting expresses to your consciousness of dental irritation, stress, or poor sleep. A study from two researchers, Rozen and Soffer Dubek, recognized that teeth are symbolic for distress. Considering this information, “...physical stimulation to our body and senses during sleep can affect what we dream about” (sleepfoundation.org). Reflecting on this research, I may be grinding my teeth at night or crewing gum too much recently if I keep dreaming about my teeth falling out. 

Starting off with a dream that could be researched, let’s dive deep into the “unexplainable.” It started off somewhat normal in my neighborhood, hanging out with my friends and watching movies. All of the sudden, the whole neighborhood turns into a swamp with trees everywhere and green foggy water leveled to the doorsteps of each house. As I walk outside my house, I magically transform into an astronaut. With the full astronaut gear on, I hop on a stand-up paddleboard with my friend Sam, then paddled away. As my neighborhood is submerged in the swamp, we start coming across alligators. Reaching the paddle into the unknown moggy water, an unfamiliar substance collides with my paddle. A few moments later, a pair of yellow glowing eyes seep through the cloudy mysterious swamp water, and in that moment, I realize it’s an alligator ready to pounce. Sam and I in our heavy astronaut apparel, we start to paddle away while the alligator has a tight grip on our board. As the alligator is slowly immersing us into the water, our pressure helmets start to fill up with water drowning us in our own astronaut suits, unable to take them off by the water damage. Consumed by the water, the alligator takes its chance to attack us, which leads me to awaken, drenched in sweat. Although my dream is out of the ordinary, drowning may have a scientific explanation relating to my dream. 

Imbedded in my bizarre dream, there is a reason why I woke up in a hot sweat. Research shows that if you had a dream about drowning, your dream is illustrating to you that you are overwhelmed and need to find time to take to yourself. Drowning represents that you can’t catch your breath, which is a metaphor for not getting a moment to yourself. “Because the simple fact of existing as a conscious being experiencing emotions can [make you] feel like you’re immersed in them,” (thecut.com). Being in the middle of a nasty mental block, this dream says it all. It was a rough week of trying to get my work done from procrastination and having assignments stack up rapidly as well as trying to manage my stress levels. I always get my work done when I procrastinate, that’s why I don’t stop, although it causes an unmanageable amount of stress. Taking this into consideration, it made me realize that I have total control over my stress. Therefore, I’ve taken that extra step to achieve my full potential, which has recently led me to success. 

No matter how unusual your dreams are, your subconscious is always trying to send you a message, even if it’s in the most unexplainable ways.