DREAMCATCHER: I wake to find my front tooth has dissolved

Tricia’s Dream:

We, my husband and I, had moved into a beautifully decorated four bed-roomed house but the rooms were very small.

I went to bed and woke up to find my front tooth had dissolved. I was in a terrible panic to get to the dentist but consoled myself by looking at the rural view from the window.

Dream Interpretation:

The dream state alerts us to various issues we should be attending to in our waking life, although it may take a little time to realise them. To the outsider this dreamer may be presenting her life as flourishing - the reality, however, may be that she feels somewhat contained and restricted.

The most significant aspect of the dream is the discovery of a dissolving tooth. This represents either a fear of physical or cognitive deterioration such as sexual or psychological issues and links to the first part of the dream where she presents a ‘beautiful’ image of her life to the world, which doesn’t necessarily reflect her reality.

In the end she is unable to find help and consoles herself by sourcing comfort through passive observation as opposed to active participation.

This dream has positive and negative aspects. The positive is the developing self awareness and a realisation of her true reality, but the negative is the passive response she has taken to manage it. This dream may reoccur until the dreamer actively addresses this issue.

If the dreamer would like to provide feedback about the interpretation, please send it to ACDreamcatchers@mail.com.

Interestingly, we have found it is not always possible 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.

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.