Dreams that Warn of Illness
Posted by Ryan Hurd on August 6, 2009
Dali, Birth of the New man, 1943
This is the sixth post on ways to work with dreams, continuing the discussion about the role of the body in dream formation. One of the most important reasons to invite dreams back into your life is their role in warning of illness and sickness. The accounts of this phenomenon have been documented for thousands of years. Aristotle wrote that the “beginnings of diseases and other distempers which are about to visit the body… must be more evident in the sleeping than the waking state.”
Known as prodromal dreams, these warnings come insistently and with increasing nightmarish levels of intensity when not paid attention to. It’s as if the body is saying “Listen up!”
Some Prodromal Dream Case Studies
A famous account retold in van DeCastle’s Our Dreaming Mind is a woman who had:
“Recurrent nightmares of dogs tearing at her stomach a few months before she was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She died three months after the diagnosis was made.” (p. 366)
Dreamworker Wanda Burch has a more hopeful story. She listened to the insistent nightmares that plagued her nights and went to the doctor office, only to be turned away several times. The nightmares continued and one pointed out to her a specific spot on her breast. She went back to the lab and asked again for a test. A lump was found that the earlier scanning had missed — breast cancer.
Wanda continued to practice dreamwork throughout her healing and is now cancer-free for over 17 years after that initial diagnosis. Watch the video below as she describes how her dreams literally saved her life.
Neurologist Daniel Schneider has also published some warning dreams in his book Forewarning Cancer Dreams and the Bioplasma Concept. In one account, a man has repetitive dreams about being shot at by a machine gun, the bullets hitting the left side of his lower chest. As Van de Castle reports, “A check up revealed a small tumor on the left lover lobe of his lung, but it had not yet metastasized.” (p. 366).
Vampire Dreams – Not Just About Watching Twilight Before Bed
cc Vampire Weekend by Taylor Wish*
A month ago in Chicago, I saw famed author Patricia Garfield give a presentation about health-warning dreams. As a psychologist and a dreamer, Garfield has decades of experience about the connections between dreams and illness.
She pointed out to the psychologists in the audience that vampire dreams — dreams of getting bit on the neck — can turn out to be warnings about thyroid conditions or other throat ailments.
Garfield took some time to give examples because dream workers and psychologists tend to interpret mythological creatures without taking into account the possible body signal.
5 tips for Recognizing Health Warning Dreams
Listening to warning dreams can save your life, so it’s important to know what to look for. Unfortunately, we often notice these warnings long after the dream sounds its alarm. And the last thing I want to promote is a sense of paranoia about our dreams. So here are my tips for recognizing possible prodromal dreams.
1. Keep a dream journal. This is the practice that is essential to remembering more dreams, as well as tracking similar dreams over time.
2. Watch out for repetitive dreams, especially unpleasant ones. Nightmares are dreams that are screaming for attention. Often, the imagery of repetitive nightmare will become more clear as the emotional intensity increases, practically demanding that you, the dream ego, acknowledge something that you really don’t want to look at.
3. Prodromal dreams can speak in metaphors and symbols. The most common symbol for the body is a house or structure. Where does the action of the dream take place — on the top floor (the head), or in the bathroom (the bowels or kidneys). In modern society, the car also can be a common sign for the body. Engine trouble? Difficulty accelerating? Blown tires? The metaphors for prodromal dreams are usually very simple, but may be peculiar to you alone; after all the dream is speaking your imaginal language! Again, repetition and journaling are key.
4. Vampires bite your throat, and dogs tear at your intestines. Any time a series of dreams repeatedly exposes, claws at, hurts, or bites a part of your body, that is a sign for attention. Also, be aware of when animals bite at your hands; I have found that this is often a sign to be aware about what comes next.
5. If you have a repetitive nightmare like these, and someone close to you reveals that they just had a similar dream, pay attention. Friends, co-workers and our intimate partners may have unconsciously picked up on an early illness and their dreams can communicate this. Is it micro-behaviors that they notice or telepathy? I don’t know, and I don’t really care, to be honest. Getting the message is what matters most.
As dreams come through our bodies, so do our illnesses come into our dreams. Noticing this level of interpretation is crucial to a holistic view of dreams, because the body is often disregarded by both the dream nihilists (“random defragging information of the brain”) and by dream enthusiasts (“a message from my Higher Self about my purpose in the universe”). Sometimes, a dream is just trying to lower our cholesterol so we can get on with the business of life on this planet.
Do you have a story about a dream that warned you of an illness? I’d love to hear your story — make a comment below.
The next post in the series digs into dreams and nature.
Cited:
Burch, Wanda (2003). She who dreams: a journey into healing through dreamwork. New World Library.
Van de Castle, Robert (1994). Our dreaming mind. New York: Ballantine Books.
Tags:healing dreams, health warning dreams, prodromal dreams, Robert van de Castle, vampire dreams, Wanda Burch
Filed Under: Dream Interpretation
I enjoyed and appreciated the article on dreams warning of illness. I dream vividly and pay close attention to my dreams. I have not dreamed warnings of illness. But I recently dreamt of water running under the flooring in a home I was visiting. The following morning discovered a dangerous leak under the kitchen sink. I’ve also dreamt of family members I did not know of and then later did meet. And best of all I dream paintings, which I do create. Some have been series of dreams, so series of paintings have been created and some have been a single painting with a bright light shining on them as I stood in an unidentified, darkened museum. I have not interpreted the dreams, I just paint them. Thanks again for the informative article. I will be aware of these things as I continue to monitor my dreams.
thanks so much for commenting, Julia! i think that painting a dream is interpreting it. dreamwork — like painting all self-inquiry and self-expression — is about the process just as much as the results. which paintings on your site are dream-paintings?
Thanks for this wonderful blog and insightful articles.
One thing that I’m always wondering about dream interpretation is why do we need the dream to interpret a life situation? Or in the case of interpreting a dream that warns of illness: why do we need a dream to interpretate a physical symptom?
Wouldn’t it be much more straightforward and much less risk of missinterpretation if we would concentrate on our bodily feelings while awake and see what comes up?
Waiting for a meaningful dream to tell of some subtle physical symptom or of a life situation we need to resolve seems to me a bit of an overkill. Our mind, intuition and intellect work with much more clarity while a awake than in a dream. They work much better awake than even in majority of lucid dreams.
excellent point, Olli. you’re right – we would all benefit from developing intuition and body scanning exercises while awake. here’s how I personally integrate emotional intelligence training into my daily life: http://dreamstudies.org/articles/reconnecting-with-nature/
However – during most dreams our limbic system is in over-drive at precisely the same time that regions of the brain (frontal and parietal) associated with formal logic are depressed. it’s a great time to listen to what the body/mind has to say without our full awareness dampening subtle body cues.
Of course – lucid dreams can offer a unique scenario, where we can do dreambody scanning in the dream, maintaining a balance between two (or more) sources of wisdom simultaneously.
Hi, I’m only a teenager but I have been having nightmares for about 4 or 5 months straight .. I mean everynight ..everytime I shut my eyes for a bit of sleep. Everytime after i wake up i feel exausted as if i hadn’t had any sleep the past few months. I don’t believe I’m sick, although I can tell something is awry. I mean, I eat the right foods, excerise, I’m a teenger for christ sake! But this does make me suspicious that something could be trying to wave signs in my face. But again, the nightmares I tend to have are childish some to most of the time. It’s like being chased by evil then having to make a decision which side to be on.I understand the philosophy which this could be associated with and i have history of depression but could there be signs of physical illness here? ..Thank You for posting
Hi Nicolette, nightmares are common for teens, especially after periods of change or instability at home. If you have a history of depression, my advice is to talk about your nightmares to a care provider such as your therapist or counselor. If your current therapist does not deal with dreams, find another one who does! Nightmares can point towards physical ailments, but don’t whip yourself into a frenzy about a hidden health issue just yet. again, best advice I have is to record those dreams and get them out in the open with someone you trust.
What about frequent dreams of hospitalization? I’ve had three in the past two weeks. There’s not a specific spot that I can sense in the dream, but I’m always waiting for test results to come back and I have an overriding sense in the dream that it’s cancer. Plus, the doctor’s are always serious and doubtful, like they know something I don’t. Each time I feel well and the hospitalization comes as a surprise. there are always loved ones in the waiting room. any ideas?
Hi Melanie, I can’t give medical advice as you know, but I do think that you have a great opportunity here. Before going to bed, focus on the repetitive dream you’ve been having and make an intention to find out more information the next you find yourself in the hospital waiting room. Maybe the next dream will be more revealing. Could be a good time to have that annual check-up, too.
Thank you, I’ll start recording my dreams daily (that is if I can remember them when I wake up) or if I even get sleep. But thank you, I should be seeing my therapist soon and hopefully he can accomidate my concerns.
Nicolette, I suffered with nightmares for years, too. That’s how I got interested in dreams in the first place. So I am confident that you will be able to turn those terrors around into dreams that can offer guidance and healing. here’s my post about keeping a dream journal, which will greatly help with remembering more dreams. also check out this post about the cause of nightmares.
i had a dream where i was looking at four black flags flying in front of me and at the same time four red flags also flying in front of me.
The dream was very vivid. does it mean warning of four deathly situations?
hi Yovanka, I wish I could interpret your dream, but honestly without knowing your family history, cultural background, and how many times you’ve seen Pirates of the Caribbean in the last week, I could only guess blindly. Clearly this dream is trying to get your attention. Is it health related? Dunno. My advice would be to write the dream down in as much detail as your can remember, and pay attention to the little details that you may feel tempted to leave out because they seem “unimportant.” Also, share your dream with a friend and see what comes up as you tell the dream. Just be ready for sudden associations that come out when you tell the dream, as well as the emotions. No harm in checking the dream dictionary too, especially for religious symbols in your cultural heritage. And in waking life, keep an eye out for flags. Where do they show up and when are they “waving in your face”?
Okay, I’ll be sure to do that, thank you
I had a dream that my dad was twisted through his torso like a corkscrew and on his deathbed. He was quite okay with it but I was devastated and woke up crying. Since I’ve had a number of premonition dreams, I rang him and inquired fairly subtly as to the state of his health. He reported he had an appointment for a prostate examination. The upshot was the presence of cancer cells and ongoing visits and checks. Given his age, the doctors don’t feel treatment is necessary. There was also a shadow on his liver. This was a couple of years ago and he’s still okay.
More recently, I dreamt that there were tears and bloodstains down the back of my white yoga pants. I’ve recently started teaching yoga and I took this as a warning to be careful with my hamstrings. The dream happened a few weeks ago and I only today had the courage to wear my white yoga pants.
A girl I taught told me she dreamt she put her hands in lava the night before she accidentally burnt them.
Donna, great dreams! I figure it never hurts too much if we call our friends after a disturbing dream. Sometimes I’m not as subtle as you and that has been embarrassing at times. ah well, of course we’re always a little proud when we show up in someone’s dream: it’s like starring in a movie!
Hello. For four years I had increasingly terrifying nightmares about spiders, spider webs, wasps, etc., crawling on my upper back, biting me between my shoulder blades, back of neck. I was doing extensive dreamwork at the time and put every possible interpretation to those dreams except the obvious. Began having back pain. Went to several doctors. Blew me off. Thought I was drug seeking. Finally went to a new doctor who did mri and said I needed work done on my neck. The neurosurgeon wanted a mylogram before cutting. That test showed my spinal cord was practically closed. His words, “It’s a miracle you’re not in a wheelchair. Surgery. Arachnoid Cyst growing inside my spinal cord from base of my neck to right between my shoulder blades. Made a believer out of me. In my nightmares I was in a wheelchair, in the neighborhood of the very hospital where I had the surgery being chased by a fat bald man with glasses. The neurosurgeon was fat, bald and wore glasses. I’d never met him before. That was in 2000. In 2007, I dreamed a voice said, “What would it take to keep you living?” I started to reply enough money so I didn’t have to worry all the time but decided that would be the wrong answer so I said “to know God is really there and that the trials of life on this planet are worth it if he is there at the end. The voice said “OK”. Imagine hearing someone say that while shrugging their shoulders at your stupidity and you’ll have some idea of how the voice said “OK”. Month or so later another dream, I’m walking with my sister along a cross section of either bone or some organ. She tells me to be careful where I step. She says “Some of these old aquaeducts havent been used in a long time. Some kind of fluid was under my feet and I knew it would be dangerous to let it touch me. Some weeks later, another dream. A young dark haired woman in a cave, holding a white apron out toward me. She let black dead spiders fall out and hit cave floor. She was telling me it wasn’t the cyst this time but she was deeply concerned. Not scared but concerned. Last year got real sick with flu. Doctor did chest xray, said lymph node in lung was enlarged. Wanted a CAT scan which I have not yet had due to finaicial problems. I know these dreams are warning me again but there is absolutely nothing I can do other than beg for free treatment which I will not do. To anyone who has these dreams, pay attention and move on the warning if you can because the warnings are sometimes almost literal in the message and the messages are very real.
thanks for sharing your story, GM. that is chilling indeed. the spiders and the arachnoid cyst… shivers.
Sometimes dreams are bodily metaphors and sometimes they are other kinds of expressions, so do not despair… dreams don’t seem to come to warn us of something we are powerless to fight. let the creativity of the dream be mirrored by ingenuity in waking life!
5 weeks ago I had a very short dream fragment right before the time I usually wake up. I always have very wild dreams – weird situations that seem normal at the time but are ridiculous upon awaking. This particular dream was quite the opposite. I had just finished a dream sequence when I heard my name called very clearly. In my dream I turned around and I noticed a young woman of Indian descent looking right at me. She was about 5 feet in front of me. She pointed at my chest and said “you need to see a dr”. I was shocked. I was aware enough to realize that something out of the ordinary was occuring. I asked her if I was going to be ok. And she shook her head no. At that I woke up and was very upset.
You see I am 49 and I had not had a mammogram in over 5 years. I immediately made an appointment, and I am currently recovering from breast surgery 3 days ago. You see I have stage 1 cancer. The surgery was extremely successful. The drs are all amazed at the reason I got a mammogram! I had no pain or feeling that I was in trouble. Breast cancer does not run in my family. I thank my angels for warning me of the cancer. I know I would not have been checkecd otherwise.
wow, thank you for sharing this amazing story! I have a couple questions: the dream figure was of “Indian descent,” can you clarify: Native American or Indian? In either case, do you have any ancestral heritage, or any other “hit” about why this particular person may be connected to you, such as where you live, or an academic interest?
again, thanks so much for telling this story. It’s really powerful.
I’m a little late to the party but I waanted to share a vivid dream I had a few years ago. It was short and to the point: fire ants were crawling up my nose, a whole swarm of them! I woke up screaming and crying for my mother!
A couple of days later, I developed a NASTY sinus infection.
great dream Kari! ants in the nose…. I’ll remember that one.
don’t know if your still even checking this site but I had literally just woken up and searched what dreams meant before doing anything else, I just had a dream that on my skin right in my lower lower abdominal, like right above my uterus and ovaries, I had a like of cysts and the line went straight across my lower stomach then part of it began to go in a curve all the way up my side and end right before my armpit…any ideas? thanks for this post btw
sorry I missed this comment. Kara if you’re still tracking this website, can you give us an update?
I had a re-occuring dream that I developed an immunological disease and I was diagnosed with one 10 years later. I had a dream that somebody was trying to steal my blood and they did not want it because it was too thick. It turns out my blood vessels are constricted. I had a re-occuring nightmare that the toilet overflowed and years later I was diagnosed with inflamatory bowel disease.
wow Kristi, thanks for sharing. amazing. There’s a new movement in dream work focusing on the body, thanks to the work of Robert Bosnak and Stephen Aizenstat. Check out their dream sanctuary http://www.sbhsanctuary.com/team.html
I had a recurring dream about my teeth falling out in various different ways, but i cant remember all of them. They were “here and there” and all within 1-3 months I’d say. I’ve read that it has to do with anxiety, which makes complete sense, since I have panic attacks and have Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Bipolar Disorder.
BUT, the main reason I am commenting here is because I had a recurring dream about suffocating in various ways, most of which I can’t remember vividly anymore. I was admitted as a 5150 to a psych ward in mid to end of October, and my memory is horrible but I believe my suffocation dreams were in November, after I had been released. I remember telling my friend that I was having these dreams for a week straight, at LEAST once a night, and sometimes all night long (no exaggeration). I also remember that in one of them, my mom was watching me suffocate but didn’t do anything and in another, my brother knew i was suffocating but didnt even care and completely ignored it.
Also, I have been having vision impairment in my dreams for a long time, but I can’t remember how long (I assume a few years, more or less). I am either blind, can’t open my eyes, or have horrible vision. This happens very frequently in my dreams.
And last but not least, I have never studied how to control my dreams, but I do sometimes (I was on antidepressants and mood stabilizers for four years, and have been off of them for only 3 weeks now). If I control what I’m doing in the dream AND know that it is a dream, I (embarrassingly) tend to make it sexual.
vision
I had a dream about Elizabeth Montgomery, best known as the star of the t.v. show “Bewitched.” I used to watch that show when I was a little girl and have always admired her. In the dream, we were friends, having a nice conversation. I was calling her Liz; she was calling me by first name. It was pleasant. Then, I woke up, satup, and realized that she had died of colon cancer. Before I went to sleep that night, I had discovered a lump on my right breast but was going to wait a month or so to see if it went away because I’ve always been kind of lumpy, thinking it might be a cyst. However, Elizabeth Montgomery waited to get treatment for her cancer and it was too late for her. I went the next day to my Obgyn and had a biopsy done. I did have breast cancer in both breasts with some in my right lymph node. That was two years ago, and it was considered stage 3A. If I had waited, i might not be here today.
I had a recent dream ‘vision’ and several days later a health event. I awoke one morning a week ago with a visual image of my chest, specifically it appeared to be the left side and my breast was burst and looked cracked, it was flesh tone or white and the cracks were a darker color, gray or bluish gray with some black or brown, a touch of green perhaps, but I don’t remember red(blood). However there were thick, chunky ‘strings’, three maybe four of a pale yellow substance that resembled butter and had that smooth consistency or firm pus(?) It all happened very quickly and the image was gone. I stood up and went about getting ready for my day of work. For a few moments I thought to myself — ‘OH, was that breast cancer? should I get a mammogram?” then I went on and it left my mind. Three or four days later, this past weekend, I was at home working and ‘stressing ‘ about my work I’d brought home and all the work I had to get done before MOnday and I began having chest pressure that wouldn’t quit, later a headache on one side of my head. After experiencing this chest tightness and not recognizing it from past experience(I have asthma) I call 911. I ended up with what they called “Broken Heart syndrome” or stress cardiomyopathy, which was discovered after an arterial catheratization procedure was performed on both sides of my body. Good news, it was NOT a heart attack, just my body’s way of reacting to my working too hard and not getting enough rest and keepin balance in my life.
I stayed in the heart hospital afor about three days and was released a few days ago. Here is the thing. As I was riding in the ambulance that dream image of my ruptured breast/chest came into my memory and I am convinced it was a warning and it saved my life for I did n’t hesitate to act and call the ambulance. I have had chest tightness in the past for what I have believed was my asthma, but never taken action other than to use an inhaler. Was also diagnosed with diabetes. Bummer. But this may have also been the help I received in catching both of these issues EARLY, I believe a spirit guide was helping me. Does this sound like a typical case of dream warning? I don’t dream often but when I do it is colorful and full of action and adventure and this usually only takes place over the summer( I teach) when i’m recreating and relaxed….not in work mode.]
Thanks.