Claustrophobic dreams

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Read about Fear Dreams
Dreams that might link with the Coronavirus Pandemic

Dreams where you are restricted for space or confined in a small space: are normally experienced when the dreamer is confined or restricted by circumstances outside of their control. The keyword is 'pressure' and these types of dreams happen when you are under any kind of pressure, either from other people, financial, or self-created. The real life restriction can be of any kind, but it's the feeling of not being able to move in any direction that is being highlighted to you. The outcome isn't always shown in the dream, maybe because the outcome isn't necessarily known at this time, you will eventually find a way out, and the emphasis might be on how long it actually takes you to deal with the restrictions you face, either with a single issue or perhaps with the fact that you never really cope well with any problem that comes along and the dream is referring to your overall ability to cope when things get tough. In this case, this type of dream is nudging you to work on your weaknesses and to understand that a problem is merely a chance for you to develop new skills and put things into perspective. If no one is dying then there really is no problem.  (The first rule on developing perspective about problems)

When an escape is found in a dream, you will find a way out of the dilemma you find yourself in, but the purpose of the dream is to highlight your feelings about the obstacles you face and how frustrating it is having to find your way out of a tight spot. The positive will come from how much you learn about yourself and the skills you develop being able to negotiate life and it's many restrictions.  

 

When a road or path gets narrower you can be sure that in life you are taking a path that leads to constraint, you will have to think about why this is and what this means for your life choices. Making changes to your lifestyle or to 'over-controlling relationships' might help. It might be work, addiction, anything that you know is taking over in a negative way and restricting your sense of freedom.

To feel claustrophobic is to feel restricted, overcome by responsibilities, overwhelmed by your own emotions and withdrawn from other people. You may also hate having to do things that make you uncomfortable or feel under pressure. These types of dreams happen when you feel that everything is pushing against you and you can't breathe. You are literally in a situation that feels like it has no escape.

Many people who have Claustrophobic type dreams say that they know how restricted their life is and why they feel prevented from making progress and don't need their dreams to remind them of the fact, so why do they? Why do dreams sometimes state the obvious and give us cryptic unsolvable clues as to how to actually remedy the situation?  

Dreams often provide an insight into aspects of your earthly situation that you have not considered, and the reason you experience recurring dreams of restriction can be to remind you that things are unlikely to change unless you stop repeating your own behaviour. 

Your ability to move forward is dependent on different choices. If you want to escape from a situation then you will have to negotiate a different route within yourself, if you can't make difficult decisions or change yourself, then you will stay in the same restrictive, repetitive situation. 

Therefore, the clue within these types of dreams is that repeated behaviour creates repeated dream scenarios and it's down to you to find the courage to change yourself and what you accept from other people.  

A common dream of restriction is when you are climbing upwards through narrow passages, and then obstacles show up to block your way, this type of scenario helps you understand that now isn't the time to try and move up, (the career ladder, the property ladder, the spiritual climb) this isn't to say that things won't change in the future. Time is a great instigator of change and movement, and sometimes time needs to pass before you can make changes. You are not always responsible for restriction, responsibilities can restrict you as well. As frustrating as it is to be reminded that you are currently in a tight spot it is useful when your dream scenario changes because this will nudge you into action when the time is right. 

When you find a way out in your dream it is a hint regards your ability to get out of a situation, it might not have been easy to find the exit in your dream which helps to describe when you find it difficult to find answers to your problems. You get there in the end though even if you take the long route and go all around the houses. 

Another common dream scenario is being stuck or trapped within a small space or moving into an ever decreasing space, this is self-explanatory in that you know your options are becoming limited and you will need to consider in what section of your life the dream is referring, but remember that when we are faced with having no options it is then that we know we have to make changes. For example, being in a car that is trapped or prevented from moving forward will link with your inability to move forward on your chosen route, to confuse you, even more, this journey could be an actual travelling journey or something like a spiritual journey. It could also describe the journey from immaturity to adulthood, young people start to feel restricted as they take on new responsibilities. You should know in which area you want to make changes or need to make progress. The car is a symbol of your ability to make quick and easy progress but only if the energy is available, petrol is often symbolic of your own energy stores and the brakes of a car can represent your ability to stop something if and when you need to. 

Being stuck in a house or any type of structure will link with how your life is structured and represent the support you have in place to help you make changes. When you are confined or trapped in a crumbling house it is because you feel that everything is falling apart around you and you are unable to do anything about it. This could possibly link to your home life and to your personal relationships. It's helpful to understand how you're feeling because it might encourage you to make changes towards improvement. Sometimes a house is used to symbolise feelings of restrictions because of the financial burden a home can put on you, to keep a roof over your family can mean that you are restricted from doing anything else that's fun. 

Narrowing hallways, paths and roads help you to understand that the path you have currently chosen is not the right one, it will become harder and harder for you to get anywhere until eventually, you will have to give up or retrace your steps and begin again in another direction. This could link with any area of your life. Dreams mostly refer to what is on your mind for a large proportion of the time.

Being in a tight situation in a dream, like climbing through very narrow gaps is a way to help you understand when you might have to 'get through something' I know we mostly have to get 'through and over' all number of obstacles, but the dream is trying to show you that you might find it harder this time around, after all there comes a time when you get fed up having to get through stuff all the time, when you just want a break from any type of problem cropping up. Tight situations can sometimes refer to tight financial situations. If you have recurring dreams about restricted spaces it is because you might have to go through a similar situation again, you are reminded that you got out of it last time and you will this time. Getting stuck in a tight spot does not mean you will be restricted forever, as time naturally changes things for us, as does other people's decisions.

Climbing through a small gap can also explain how you have outgrown a situation, you are to old to keep trying to fit in and your maturity should have armed you with the skills of not caring what other people think of you. 

Stuck in an elevator 

How the elevator performs in your dream will represent the way you are feeling, up, down, stuck, etc. The ups and downs that you experience throughout your life! An elevator is a mechanical object so in dream language, it is used to represent something that can serve us and take us to a level that we want to be on, therefore it can often be used in spiritual dreams concerning our level of thinking, to rise up is to achieve a higher level of thinking and to go down is to go back to the earthly thought processes. 

Think about where the elevator is situated, was it at work, a shopping mall, an airport? This is another clue for your translation. At work, the dream probably relates to your career and the ups and downs going on at work, going up the career ladder or going down? It can also explain being stuck in a job that you hate or not getting promotions when they are deserved. 

An elevator in a shopping mall will link with what you are trying to find to make you happy, shopping is about getting things that make you happy, so a lift going up could be telling you to aim higher or to lower your expectations.

An elevator at an airport will link with your ability to take off and to reach heights beyond your aims. In this scenario, you would look up airports and planes as well. An elevator at work will link with your job or career and might be used to explain which direction you feel you are heading. Going back to a previous workplace and being in the elevator will link with the past and how you felt then in contrast to how you feel now regards your work life. It could be reminding you to look at how far you have come or how things have changed. Perhaps you loved your old job and wished you hadn't made changes, you are not a tree and can revaluate your current standing at any time. In other words, the other floors that the elevator stops at symbolise other opportunities that you can try out. 

Any elevator/lift that is not moving will represent inertia and a lack of energy on your part, not making progress but at the same time not digressing either. 
A lift that falls fast will remind you that events and/or your chosen direction can suddenly change and can fall flat, the falling elevator dream is also used to describe situations where you are 'dropped' unexpectedly. 

Think about the buttons in a lift/elevator, were you choosing what floor or level you want to go to? your choices can be explained using the elevator/lift dream, consider if your choices will take you up in the world or down, or if someone else is making the choices for you? 

Read: Falling in F and High in H to understand highs and lows in our dreams.

Other elevator dreams 

Claustrophobia can also be used as a 'face your fears' dream to push you into dealing with something that you would rather just avoid, this may, of course, be a literal fear of confined spaces or represent spiralling problems and overwhelming fears. Being confined, restricted, or unable to escape can also symbolise the dreamer’s inability to escape from circumstances because they seem out of their control. But are they really?

This brings me back to the beginning because although you feel that you are well aware of your own inability to change the restrictions you face, your dreams can provide you with an alternative route or with a tiny glimpse of a possible escape, you must then start to move forward with the knowledge that you have received a sign, however small. The opportunity is there but you must overcome your fears of change.

Remember, that when you don't know the ending of a dream it's because the ending is not known, you must contribute and design your own outcomes. 

A claustrophobic dream:
I have a nightmare and I've had it a lot now, where I'm trapped in a vent or a pipe. I am unable to move due to my size and due to the space being so small, I am also unable to breathe. I always wake up in a panic. My heart is pounding just thinking of these nightmares. Could this be happening because I do feel claustrophobic in small spaces in my day-to-day life?

Read about Fear Dreams
See Pipes and Tubes in P Dreams

Absolutely yes, but there might be more to it than that, 'facing your fear dreams' happen so that you try to face your fears in your life, and if your only fear is about being in confined spaces then yes these dreams might be prompting you to try and overcome that fear, especially if the fear gets in the way of your everyday life. It can affect your life more than you realise or accept, perhaps you avoid situations where you know you have to go in an elevator or be in a small room under pressure, like say, at a job interview. Therefore you have missed opportunities which could have helped you progress in your career or visit places where you would have liked to go. 

Even with one fear like being in confined places, it can have a knock-on effect on all number of different experiences in your life. I want to mention that sometimes our fears have their roots in a past life and that it has carried over because you still need to overcome the feelings of not being in control. If you don't feel like you can acknowledge the existence of past lives or you know that the root cause of your issues has their foundations in your current life, like not having control over your surroundings, then it's easy enough for you to trace back to where your fears began. This is important because knowing why you have the fear is halfway to overcoming it. 

Most fear dreams will link with 'loss of control' you are not in control of what is happening around you, or in where you are in your life. To overcome your obstacles you must relearn a basic fact, you are in control of your life full stop. Many people say "I have no choice, I have to live like this because there is no way out." The reality is it's hard to change things, it's hard to change ourselves, it's hard to stand up and say I am not living like this anymore!

That's why people continue on in an existence that is confining and unbearable especially when it involves people who we love. But saying you can't change it is incorrect, you can, but you fear change so you carry on being unhappy. 

Most fear dreams relate to the fear of change, this is why you are not in control, because you have fears that stop you from changing anything. Therefore, although your recurring dream might only be about being in confined spaces, it is also about taking control of other things and facing your fears about making changes that mean your life will be more content for you. 

You said you feel trapped, I would lay money on it that you feel trapped by circumstances, your dreams are using your fear of confined places to prompt you to overcome all your fears and take back the control which you let other people have over you. 

Pipes (water=emotions) and vents will be symbols to help you understand when your circumstances stifle you, do you lack freedom or breathing space from the people around you? not having the freedom to move means you are living a restricted life dictated by other people, perhaps a lack of money that means your life seems boring and restricted. 

Acknowledge your fears, learn where your fears started, admit that you can change things if you really want to, learn to make changes, start by making small ones and then you will learn to make bigger ones eventually.    

A claustrophobic dream:

I had a dream that I was climbing a narrow spiralling staircase, with open windows close to the stairs where I could fall out. I got past these and ended up at the top of an apartment block. I went into the flat and it felt unsafe, I was afraid of heights. I started crying in the dream and had to get down the narrow spiralling staircase again, then it gets weird because I was having a bath outside when people walked past and someone said I owed them money. My current situation isn't good as I'm stuck in a flat where I don't want to live, I'm surrounded by my partner's mum who isn't very nice and causes my partner and me to argue. I think she doesn't like me because I'm showing him that he doesn't need his mum anymore.

Bathing in B
Nakedness in N
Your dream is self-explanatory, the spiral staircase in your dream represents how you think you are making progress and getting somewhere, but then you reach the top only to discover that you don't like being there. And who would? living with your partner and his mum must be very hard, especially if they are close. Try to be extra nice, that's what someone once told me, I thought it was a really stupid idea but I did it anyway, and my relationship changed with my mother in law. That was when I was young, and when my children came along later she was the best nan ever and we ended up very close.
Anyway, it seems like you are both in that age-old situation of when mum has to let go and you have to realise that its hard letting go of your own children, even if they are adults. When you have kids you will get it. But I totally remember that feeling of sharing him with his mum. 
In your dream you are frightened of falling out the windows on the staircase, that is because you are frightened of being pushed-out by them both, its that emotion of when he doesn't take your side, etc. he is probably just trying to keep the peace. You feel pushed out/left out and in fear of being dropped. (fear of heights) You probably want to move forward with your partner but feel like all the issues that you are having are going to prevent that from happening. Honestly, and I say this without judgment but if you don't try and make an effort then it could come between you both. 
Having a bath outside is simple to translate as well, it's about your own insecurities and how you feel everyone is judging you. Owing someone money is symbolic for owing a debt, perhaps you feel like you have to be good and say nothing to your partners mum because you are living in her home. You are indebted to her. 
You are obviously not happy in this situation and the only remedy is to try and get yourselves your own place. In the meantime, if you really want to stay with your partner you will have to make a real effort to keep the peace, and if that means pretending to like her and be nice then fake it till you make it. I did it, you can too.  

"I keep having dreams that are detailed and seem long, but I forget a lot of the details. I do remember that every time this dream happens I’m getting in a carnival ride that traps me, or I'm in an enclosed water slide. This adds to my anxiety in the dream. Why am I always having fun when it happens?"

Fairground rides are often used in dreams to describe the times when your journey is supposed to be fun but you allow worries to take over and spoil your enjoyment. Water rides are used to represent your emotions and the way in which you deal with them, the ups and downs you experience emotionally decide how much you can actually enjoy this time in your life. Being anxious when you don't really have anything to be anxious about in the greater scheme of things, means you are missing out on enjoying life. I know it's easier said than done but don't let anxiety take over your life, deal with the anxiety itself rather than the problems that come along, because problems will always come along. 

"I had a dream of climbing down stairs and vertical ladders, they just seem to lead to more stairs and vertical ladders and it is all enclosed by four walls. Doors that were present, open into more stairs or ladders going downwards. Eventually, I was able to get out through one of the doors and went home to my wife waiting outside my home. I did not recognize the house but in my dream I accepted it as my home."

This type of dream is very common, I have experienced it myself through the years, its like a game of snakes and ladders where you are either going up the ladders of going down the snakes. Quite often this dream scenario expresses the need to escape, or get out of a situation. Everyone will have their own types of restriction to deal with, so the dream symbolism can cover a multitude of life experiences. 

Id like to add that many people have created their own experiences only to find that they feel stuck within it, the need to escape can present itself in this type of dream scenario. We often want the easy way-out with arrows pointing us in the direction we need to take, unfortunately there is no easy way and we have to negotiate all types of obstacles to find the exit. Having said this, your dream has shown that there is a way out and you will find it eventually, it just takes time and some ups and downs.  

You need to think about the part of your life that the dream is referring, it can be anything from feeling trapped in a job you hate, to being stuck in a place that you hate living. When you finally escape in your dream you are at a new home that you don't recognize, could this be a clue to the restrictions you feel at the moment and an insight about a new home in the future? 

Perhaps your accommodation situation is linked to your work situation, hinting that you feel that you will have to go up the career ladder in order to improve your home security or see improvement in your accommodation. All of these issues are linked to your finances and the changes you want will happen step by step. (forgive the pun) 

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