Dream Category: Tornadoes
I grew up in northwestern Wisconsin on the edge of tornado alley. I have never seen a tornado in real life. A few have passed within miles of me. I think instances of dreams I have had that involve tornadoes occur when my subconscious is telling me to get a handle on my fear of not being in control of life events that happen to me when I am awake.
When these dreams first started, I would never see a tornado. There would be a threat of bad weather approaching and the sky would be dark. I, and other nondescript humans, would be in a building scrambling for shelter. The roaring of strong winds would begin. There would be general panic. Then I would wake up.
More recently the dreams were made up of dozens of thin, micro tornadoes. They would appear somewhere high in the sky and touch the ground. I usually woke up before anything devastating occurred. But there was this one time about a year ago. I remember hearing the roar of wind before everything went black. I felt as if I was being sucked into the vortex of a tornado. I expected to wake up before anything bad happened, but when a second or two passed and I was still dreaming, a thought went through my head that this was really the end. A second later I woke up. I was in a dream-state funk all the next morning – trying to get clear of the feeling of finality I had from that particular dream.
Dream Category: Dude, Where’s My Car?
After some event or after work, I need to get back to my car and drive home. The problem is I don’t remember where I parked. Sometimes I follow a crowd hoping I will remember where I parked or spot my car. Other times I wait for people to leave and whatever car is left might be mine! Most of the time I continue to look for my car and get further and further away from where I started. I would end up in a bad neighborhood and it would be getting dark. Then a familiar scenario would occur where I know if I go down a street, I will get mugged. Luckily I have conditioned myself to recognize I am dreaming at this point and wake myself up.
Dream Category: Gotta Go!
People have reported that they have dreams about needing to go to the bathroom because in real life they really had to go! For my ‘pee dreams’, that has mostly not been the case. The problem in these dreams has been that I look for a nearby, private place to go, but cannot find one. Sometimes I am in a strange house. I locate a bathroom, but it is in use or there are people nearby. If I am in public, the toilets are in the strangest places or I have to navigate a maze to find them. There are always people around and no privacy. I end up not going.
The most recent ‘pee dream’ I had was a week ago. I was naked in public and standing on a street corner. I was aware enough that I was dreaming to allow myself to get relief on the side of a bridge. I woke up a few seconds later. I did not have to pee in real life. I think about how I was able to decide I was dreaming to make it seem OK to pee instead of just waking up. I am not sure how to interpret this category of dream. I am not afraid to use a public restroom. Perhaps I am just uncomfortable navigating in unfamiliar locations?