DREAMCATCHER: Alex Hossack and Catherine Aubrey interpret your dreams

Allan’s Dream:

I don’t think there was anyone else in the house when I decided to go to bed but I realised that I was feeling anxious as I entered the bedroom.

It was a small unfamiliar room but it didn’t bother me. What was bothering me was the emerging thought of cats being in the room. This was strange as I have never had a particular aversion to cats.

However, I could feel that there were cats in the room so I quickly jumped into bed covering my head with the sheets. Then it started. I could feel several small cats walking over the sheets pressing on my body.

I pushed on the sheet from the underside so as to dislodge them. Then I looked out from the sheets and saw the shadow of a large cat on top of the wardrobe facing me. I saw this several times.

Finally, I made a dash for the bedroom door in an attempt to get out. It did not feel a surprise that I made it, in fact it felt easy to do.

Dream Interpretation:

The small room the dreamer enters would usually represent a place of relaxation and safety, a spiritual sanctuary. This 'room', however, causes him initial anxiety and an emerging sense of something being different and intrusive. He is not overly concerned about this, perhaps just a little perplexed.

Whatever the cause of the mild concerns, the dreamer is trying to hide from the problem, symbolised by jumping into bed and covering his head with the sheets. It is likely that his avoidance strategy is not, however, working at this time and he is repeatedly reminded of the intrusive problem by the repeated pressure of the cats on the sheet.

The emergence of the large cat symbolises the development of the problem from a small issue or issues to a large one which he is becoming unable to avoid and must face. At this point in time he feels able to continue to avoid the problem even though it is growing and developing.

In summary, the dreamer has been avoiding addressing small problems in his life, which may be related. They have now grown and are not going away. However, he continues to attempt to 'easily' escape the problem and is almost naively arrogant about not addressing it.

However, the fact that the problem is growing means that the dreamer would be well advised to face it and address it. This dream is likely to be repeated if he fails to do so.

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.