What does it mean if you dream about someone?

In this blog, we will answer the question “what does it mean if you dream about someone” and summarize what dreams are.

What does it mean if you dream about someone?

If you dream about someone it means you have feelings about the person and he/she is on your mind all the time. Dreams are images and manifestations that are created by our brain or the mind during our sleep. They usually are depictions of our repressed desires and wishes, unfulfilled wants that somehow did not get the chance to be realized. 

To dream about someone is to project your feelings on that person, it means that the person is mostly on your mind and you have feelings for him or her. These feelings may be positive or negative, but mostly dreams are associated with the feelings of love and passion for a significant other. 

Dreaming about someone is that you are infatuated by someone, you want that person to be a part of your life. Dreams play a vital role in moulding our psyche towards people or events. For the dreamer dreams signify happenings or events that have or might take place. People who believe in dreams and their symbolism put a lot of emphasis on the content of the dreams and even keep a dream recorder. 

Dream recorders are logs of what the person has dreamt about. The dreamer upon waking writes in detail whatever he or she remembers from the night’s dream. They then build connections with the real life events.

Dreams are real

It is a fact that each of us dream between 3 and 6 times per night and the duration of our dreams may range from 5 minutes to even 20 minutes. Even of this length, when we wake up 95% of the dreams are forgotten by the dreamer. Even blind people dream, but only in sensations. 

Why do we dream?

Dreams depict our desires that cannot be expressed due to the norms or societal and cultural pressures. These are pushed into the unconscious mind and during our sleep when the guard is down, they seep into the subconscious to peek through the veil and come to us as dreams.

During our waking hours, the mind gains lots of information through millions of stimuli that are impinging on us at all times. These consolidate and get processed during our sleep and are seen as dreams. The visions that we dream are actually an amalgam of all the stimuli that are experienced during our waking hours.

Dreams are vivid and have an emotional content for each dreamer. They have been researched vastly and dream interpretation has been widely popular from Freudian times. Neuroscientists talk of the dream production structure and the psychoanalysts focus on the content of the dream, as to which symbol means what.

Freud used the term ‘day residue’ when he talked about dreams. According to him, dreams are images of the events of the previous day. This happens because the brain needs to prepare itself for storage of new information and processing of information previously stored.

Types of Dreams

There are different types of dreams:

  1. Sweet Dreams 

Sweet dreams are those dreams that show a loved one or happy moments, either of the past of desired people or future events.

  1. Lucid Dreams

These dreams are the ones in which the dreamer realizes that he is dreaming and exercises an amount of control on his dreams.

  1. Nightmares

These are horrifying dreams that are depicted in the form of horrifying images, and content that scares the dreamer. These are usually caused by emotional trauma, stresses, any distress and even the use of certain medicines or drugs can cause nightmares.

Dream Interpretations

Dreams have been made meaningful through the symbolic interpretations and Freud presented his dream interpretation. We dream in codes and these codes are deciphered. Dreams speak a universal language. Dreams talk in symbols. 

We dream in symbols and symbols are the language of dreams. 

When you dream about someone it usually means you are missing them, if it is a loved one. If you dream about someone whom you do not like, it could be that you want to either be friends with him or her or want to get back at them.

To dream about someone’s expiry

To dream of someone’s expiry could mean that that person will have a long life or it could also mean that you do not like the person and want him not to interfere in your matters. But to see someone you know dying means that it will do them well.

To dream about someone in anguish

To dream of a loved one in anguish means that you are already worried about them and want to help them in some way. 

To dream about someone from work

To dream about someone from your workplace; a colleague or your boss, then it means you are stressed about work or want to excel more than your colleague. It could also mean workplace rivalry. 

To dream about being chased

Dreams about being chased mean that the person is running away from something bad. Either he is running away from a person, his circumstances or a memory.

To dream about vehicles

Vehicles are symbols of transition, going from one place to another. Similarly, going from one phase of life to another phase. It could mean that a person desires or dreads a transitory period in his or her life. It could also mean anticipating or wanting to travel, in literal terms. 

To dream about water

Water is symbolic to emotions and feelings. It means that if a person dreams of clear water, then the emotions are positive and if the water is murky then the emotions can be negative. An ocean depicts that there are deeper secrets one wants to either unravel or already has them.

To dream about people

Seeing people in dreams means looking at various sides of the self. It symbolizes the reflection of the self. Dreaming about different people has different connotations.  

Dreaming about old people could be that the person is afraid of getting old, or missing an older relative especially like grandparents.

Dreaming about a lover means that you wish to be with your significant other, or it could be that you are afraid of losing him. Dreaming of children means that one wishes to return to the carefree childhood days of one’s life or wants to have children of his own.

To dream about being paralysed

If you dream about being paralyzed it could mean that one fears loss of control or wants to control a situation.

To dream about expiry

If a person dreams about expiry, it could mean that one fears the loss of a loved one or the loss of one’s aspirations. Expiry is finality. It has two connotations; one, it means the end of life or the end of wishes or desires. Second, it means transition. Transition from one phase of life to another.

A person may wish for or fear a change in his or her life. 

To dream about falling 

If a person dreams about falling then it may mean that he is either scared of taking an initiative either in education or at work. It means that for him the new might pose a threat. Falling also symbolizes that one is scared of falling in graces or failing in a task.

To dream of rainbows

Dreaming of rainbows symbolizes an excitement for a new beginning, like if a person has got a new job or is going to a new place or city. It could also be that the dreamer is going to start university or is graduating and the scope of a transition is exciting with all new hopes and aspirations. He or she may even be getting married.

Why are dreams important?

Dreams are metaphorically referred to as wishes, aspirations and desires. We name those things as dreams that we want to achieve. 

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

– C.S. Lewis

Setting goals is another connotation of dreams. When one aspires to be something or achieve something then goal setting comes into play and plays a pivotal role in determining and steering a person’s life. 

The significance of the metaphorical dreams is so high that they at times get real, like a person starts to dream at night of what he wishes for or what he wishes to become or do in life. The symbols that the dreamer sees in dreams signify what he or she wants in life. 

Different colors and their significance in dreams

coloursSymbolism 
violetSpiritual comprehension
yellowelimination
redenergy
blueExpression – pensive
greenBalance – harmony
orangeassimilation
indigoperception

In this blog we answered the question “what does it mean if you dream about someone” and summarized what dreams are.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean when you dream about someone a lot?

When you dream about someone a lot it means that the person has an impact on your mind and either you like him or have an emotional problem with him.

What does it mean when you have a dream about someone you like?

When you dream about someone you like it means that you want to be with that person and would like to spend more time with him or her. It means that you are thinking of him most of the time.

Is it true if you see someone in your dream they miss you?

Things that are in our unconscious mind seem to display themselves in dreams. So yes, if you are missing someone and may not be able to say it out loud or express, then it is very probable that you may dream about them. This makes you believe that the other person may be the one equally missing you too.

Can dreams come true?

If you think about an event then you subconsciously start working to fulfill it as well, so it might come in your dreams and when it happens in real life you start believing that dreams are real, although you have yourself strived for it. 

Can a dream kill you?

If a person is already weak of heart and has nightmares then he might have a health severity. 

Titles To Read

  • The Interpretation of Dreams: The Complete and Definitive Text by Sigmund Freud and James Strachey
  • Dreams of Light: The Profound Daytime Practice of Lucid Dreaming by Andrew Holecek
  • The Dream Interpretation Dictionary: Symbols, Signs, and Meanings by J.M. DeBord 
  • Dream Big: Know What You Want, Why You Want It, and What You’re Going to Do About It by Bob Goff

Citations 

  • https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/284378#causes