Drowning is a horrible and yet common nightmare – perhaps one that almost everyone has had, and yet dreaming about drowning may have other meanings, unrelated to the unpleasant aspect.
Perhaps dreaming about drowning relates to feeling overwhelmed, or sinking into the unknown, or many other meanings. Read on to find out which is most likely for you.
Dreams About Drowning
Often, dreams of drowning will trigger panic and fear, indicating something is not right with your life. Dreams of drowning indicate you are feeling overloaded and stressed by the duties of waking life. In some cases, dreaming of drowning indicates feeling frustrated and sad about certain circumstances of life that you cannot handle.
Dreams of drowning may also indicate you should step away from your normal life and do something that will provide the needed relief. Dreams of drowning can also indicate that dangers might lurk in your life, which you could still avoid if you take action right away.
Biblical Dreams About Drowning
A Biblical interpretation of drowning dreams will conjure two main stories; that of Noah and the flood, and that of Jonah and the whale. Noah relates to transcending chaos through righteousness, and Jonah somewhat similarly, to recovering from sinking into chaos through getting re-focussed on the righteous, godly path.
Dreams about drowning can be terrifying experiences, and may symbolise a lack of stability in your emotional state. When we awaken, we wonder about the dreams, a dream about drowning may haunt our everyday thoughts, as you might deal with problems or issues in waking life. The dream interpretation drowning in the dream suggests that you are dealing with negative, draining emotions in waking life. Drowning yourself in the ocean in a dream (see also water dreams interpretations and meanings) suggests that your emotions are keeping you from living the best life possible.
Carl Jung And Dream Psychology
Carl Jung wrote that the water in the dream is an archetype of emotions (see also Freud) that we experience, and drowning suggests they are overwhelming you, and that the dream is a warning to let go of your problems, even if it is for just a moment. If you or a drowned victim are not dead when they emerge from the water, a vivid dream is focused on your emotions and the effect that they are having on your life awake. If you did not feel anything as someone was drowning before you, the dream signifies the loss of your own identity or emotions.
If you watch someone drowning in front of you in your dreams, this type of dream may symbolize some of your bad habits that you should think about getting rid of, or certain situations in your life that are no longer working well for you. Dreams about struggling to swim may sometimes indicate something or someone has made your life more difficult than it should have been. If you repeatedly dream about drowning with a particular person, or drowning with yourself, this may suggest there is a problem emotionally.
Your Spouse, Daughter or Son Drowning?
A child drowning is a nightmare for any parent, and a certain anxiety around open bodies of water. If your dream about drowning shows that you are trying to deliberately drown someone, it indicates feelings you want to display regarding certain people or situations. Dreams of drowning reflect emotions about being overloaded or struggling with something in your life, perhaps your professional life has become very busy or very quiet, or that one of your relationships is suffering. If you are having a dream of being flooded by water, it is likely that there is something overwhelming you in your life.
Because what we are dealing with is a body of water, and it links us to the things that are beneath the surface of those feelings and emotions that are overwhelming us. As the water represents an overwhelming amount of emotions and surrounding issues you might be experiencing, drowning in bodies of water evokes that sense too. We focus more on our feelings and we can visualize these being realized in our minds via symbolism, in this case represented by drowning and water. Or, in an even darker light, if you dream about actively trying to drown another person this may indicate that you are feeling emotions you wish to suppress regarding specific events or people.
Overwhelming Stress
As we have written about innumerable times over in numerous articles, dreams that involve water nearly always symbolise our emotions. This type of dream helps the person to know his/her feelings, but usually, a drowning dream occurs when we are feeling overwhelmed or overly involved with matters in waking life. The first thought that would come to mind is we are feeling drowned in somebody or something in our lives, and that is why we are taking these emotions and stresses into the bedroom and having this kind of dream.
If you are drowning in dreams because waves are crashing down on you and you cannot fight it, that means that you have problems and issues in your life that you are having trouble dealing with. The panic and despair which comes from drowning, unfortunately, is often related to the negative situation in your life. Dreaming about drowning loved ones represents your fear of losing them due to health problems.
Drowning Beneath Ice
Dreaming of drowning beneath a sheet of ice or within the aquariums glass; it suggests that you are feeling trapped by your circumstances emotionally. Drowning dreams are basically indicative of internal emotions which are still impacting your life, often caused by the biggest worries in your life, and the dream of drowning is your way to both express those feelings and to compartmentalize them. Drowning into a river in your dreams represents an obstacle to your progress, one that is going to emotionally crush you. According to psychologist Carl Jung, drowning is a symbolic archetype, and dreaming of drowning indicates you are feeling overloaded at work or in relationships.
Drowning in a building or house means you are trying to ignore problems in your life, and are hiding from reality. Maybe you are caught up in a relationship or an illegal activity – guilt is overwhelming and you feel like you are drowning in everything. If you have dreams of swimming in an ocean, going along for a bit, then drowning once you are unable to remain active anymore, you may be overtaken by emotions. If you were drowned by a large wave and were swept away suddenly, then you may have been faced with a sudden problem in your real life that left you feeling dazed.
Drowning Symbol In Dreams
A dream where you see yourself drowning in rushing waters, like a tsunami, flood, or storm, or that water is rising very quickly and sweeping you away, may tap into memories or precognitions of a past experience in your life. Conversely, a dream in which you see yourself struggling to rescue someone or something from drowning may draw attention to something that you are struggling to keep alive in the waking life.
Finally, a dream in which you do not try to rescue the thing or person that is drowning might be a nudge from your unconscious mind to take action in order to save your well-being.