DREAMCATCHER: I was at a London tube station with my partner waiting for a train

I was at a London tube station with my partner Sue, waiting for a train. It was very busy. When the train arrived it was full but when the doors opened there was a rush of people trying to get on, including Sue who did manage to get on. I tried to get on board as I was frightened of losing her, but the doors closed on my arm and I became stuck between the doors with me on the outside. I started to panic as the train moved forward towards the entrance to the tunnel. It was getting closer and closer and I was starting to panic thinking I would be crushed against the wall and my arm would be ripped off. I woke up at this point.

Dream Interpretation and Basis for the Interpretation

The dreamer anticipates the start of a ‘journey’ at the beginning of this dream. This could be actual or psychological. He feels intense activity around this issue and although he wants to move forward, he feels prevented from doing so, feeling trapped and excluded. This is represented by the ‘rush of people trying to get on’ the train and his failure to board. To add to his feelings of ‘panic’, the support he felt at the beginning of this ‘journey’ is now lost. He does not feel in control of the way forward and fears that he will be unable to reach the place that he needs to be. In fact, the intensity of his fears is represented by the anticipation of barriers to resolution and a potentially catastrophic outcome as a result. This dream highlights to the dreamer that he quickly needs to take control of addressing something in his life before it has a significantly negative impact on his wellbeing

Interestingly, we have found that it is not always easy to interpret your own dream, probably because it often represents the sublimation of feelings or thoughts that we are trying to avoid in our waking lives. However, with a little assistance from the dream interpreter, the symbols and themes can start to make sense and help us to move forward.

If you are interested in having a particular dream analysed, please send us an account of your dream to the following email address: ACDreamcatchers@mail.com

We only have space to interpret one dream a week which will be selected from those received. Please refer to the guidance provided to describe your dream as this will enable us to provide a full interpretation.

Dream Theories

Dream work and dream theories have an ancient and rich history with religious, spiritual and paranormal links and we have attached meanings to them for thousands of years. In 1900, a more formal approach to interpretation was attempted by Professor Sigmund Freud with the publication of ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’. Freud proposed that dreams were the result of unacceptable memories, desires or impulses and concluded that they had origins in wish fulfilment. Many variations on this theme have been offered since then, including those of Jung, Perls and Faraday.

We engage in a thematic approach to dream interpretation involving the analysis of symbols offered in the dream from which themes are developed. We use the model of dream work proposed by Custaway and Sewell to look at the relationship between the distinct parts of the dream and relate them to everyday life.

Dreams and the Dreamer

Dreams are the personal creation of the dreamer and their symbols can be both personal and universal. Dreams often represent unconscious thoughts which are not usually recognised by the dreamer in their waking hours. The dream is satisfactorily ‘interpreted’ when it makes sense to the dreamer. The interpretation can help the dreamer to make decisions and/or changes in their lives.

Guidance for the Dreamer

• Record your dream in writing as soon as you wake up with as much detail as possible.

• First of all ask yourself who is in the dream.

• Where are you, what is happening to you and what is happening around you?

• Record how you are feeling about what you and/or others are doing.

• Are there particular symbols or objects in the dream that are unusual?

• Are there any sounds and is the dream in colour or black and white?

• Are you watching yourself in the dream or are you experiencing it first-hand ie: through your own eyes.

Alex Hossack and Catherine Aubrey are Public Service professionals with years of experience as practitioners and managers in the Criminal Justice System.

Alex Hossack – I am a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and have worked in Forensic Psychology in both community and secure settings for the past 28 years. I have delivered therapeutic dream analysis in those settings aimed at helping people to improve the quality of their lives and better understand their emotional response to personal circumstances.

Catherine Aubrey - I qualified as a Probation Officer in 1988 and moved into management after ten years as a practitioner. I have worked in a range of Court, prison and community settings to assist the rehabilitation of offenders. My interest in dream analysis came from working with Alex who taught me the fundamentals of dream interpretation which I then developed by studying academic texts. Dream analysis is a useful way of making sense of life events and associated emotions that we unconsciously sublimate.

We both have a strong local connection with the South Lakes. Seven years ago, we bought a boat on Windermere and have lived on it nearly every weekend since. As a result, we have had the pleasure of developing an existing love of the area, great friendships and an active involvement in local events. We have a real affection for the Westmorland Gazette which we read every week and so it seemed a logical step to offer our dream interpretation service to this newspaper.

Alex and Catherine