What does it mean to dream that you can’t move?

Teeth falling out, going out naked on the street, being chased in a threatening manner… The dream world is tortuous and often transfers many of our concerns to that symbolic scenario that is almost always distressing. However, Among the most common nightmares, one in particular stands out: dreaming that you can’t move.

We are not wrong if we say that it is one of the most recurring experiences, one of those that almost instantly leads us to search the Internet for its meaning. Now, experts in sleep disorders point out something very simple that is worth considering. A good part of our dreams have to do with our conscious experiences.

This implies that the first step we should promote is introspection. Before looking for an explanation outside, let’s look inside ourselves. Taking stock and analyzing what is currently happening in our lives can be of great help to us.

The brain acts on the dream tissue as if it were an escape valve, dumping every worry, every fear, every longing and suffering on it in a confusing and disorderly way. We analyze it.

Explanations of dreaming that you can’t move

The explanation and symbolism associated with the world of dreams borders on pseudoscience. However, this does not mean that the dream issue has been overlooked by the world of psychology. For example, we know that Both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung gave this area great relevance.

Now, beyond psychoanalysis and Jung’s analytical psychology there is something evident. These experiences are relevant from a clinical point of view. Research work, such as those carried out at the University of Pittsburgh (United States), indicates that dimensions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder correlate with bad dreams and, therefore, should also be considered.

There are problems that overcome you and that you don’t know how to handle.

This is one of the most common causes. There are many times in the journey of life when we feel blocked by the challenges around us.

Lack of employment, problems with your partner, family disagreements, debts, etc., are enough triggers to have bad dreams at night.

A high level of anxiety and dreaming that you cannot move

Unmanaged anxiety that accumulates day after day also has its effect on your night’s rest. Dreaming that you cannot move can be the effect of anxiety and stress disorders. All that accumulated psychophysical tension reaches our dream tissue and that REM phase in which dreams appear.

What’s more, panic attacks are experiences that can also occur at these times of the night.

Frustration and suffering for everything you are keeping quiet about

We keep quiet about what bothers us so as not to harm others. We remain silent about things that we prefer not to bring to light so as not to disappoint or upset those around us. We swallow words and needs out of fear, out of indecision and all of this takes its toll on us. also in the dream universe.

You are in a situation that you don’t know how to escape or leave behind.

Dreaming that you can’t move can be the clear effect of an unhappy relationship. A part of you knows that it would be time to break that bond, but at the same time you feel tied, not knowing how to act. On the other hand, being in an oppressive and harmful job, but one that we need to maintain due to economic needs, can also explain this situation.

Any situation in which you feel “tied” and suffering the effects of unhappiness and stress are triggers for said nightmare.

Dreaming that you can’t move and psychological traumas

The University of Heidelberg conducted research on dreams and nightmares in adults and children to understand if there was any associated psychopathology. Well, something that became evident is that these adverse experiences of the REM phase are often related to our traumas.

Dreaming that they are chasing us or that we cannot move It may be the result of unresolved traumatic events.

When life stagnates and motivation is lacking

Sometimes we hit rock bottom. Routine drags us down, motivation is absent and life loses its daily shine. Thus, one more cause of dreaming that you cannot move can be orchestrated by that emptiness, by the feeling that your dreams are failing you.

Sometimes, this psychological reality can be a prelude to depression and the brain already warns us through dreams.

Sleep paralysis and dreaming that you can’t move

Many may think that sleep paralysis is directly related to dreaming that you can’t move. In a way one thing is different from the other. For a start, Sleep paralysis is a parasomnia, a primary sleep disorder that occurs between sleep and wakefulness.. It is that subtle transition between the dream world and awakening in which the person feels unable to move and speak.

The terrifying thing is that at that moment hypnagogic hallucinations can appear. That is, the nightmares suddenly become vivid and more terrifying. For its part, dreaming that we cannot move is a phenomenon that appears during deep sleep and not at that threshold where we are almost about to wake up.

The complex and challenging thing is that both experiences are lived in a distressing way. Therefore, if these realities are common in our lives, it is appropriate to request expert help.

MR (meditation and relaxation) therapy is an approach designed for these types of conditions. They are based on understanding the architecture of sleep, managing emotions and thoughts, muscle relaxation and attention control training.

Likewise, we cannot leave aside something obvious: We must resolve and manage everything that concerns us in our conscious, real and immediate life..

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