What Does It Mean When You Dream About Storms?
While everyone's minds are certainly capable of dreaming, not all dreams are built alike. There are many different types of dreams including daydreams, which happen when your mind wanders during your waking hours. Prophetic dreams are reportedly dreams of events that have yet to happen, while recurring dreams occur when someone has the same dream on multiple occasions, per Healthline.
Each individual dream means something different and can also include signs and symbolism such as water, animals, money, and even food (via Medium). Others may be personal, like when you dream about your childhood home or a person you once knew. While each one is tailor-made by the dreamer, there are many common themes that people experience while dreaming.
For instance, dreams about losing teeth, falling, flying, being chased, and dying are among the most common, per MasterClass. In addition, some experts believe that a person's dreams can also reflect their physical, mental, and emotional health. If you tend to have some very weird dreams that seem off the wall and impossible to decipher, it may be as simple as watching what you eat before bed, as Bustle suggests.
Sleep expert Kelsey Allan told the outlet, "People with more intense or wild dreams may be experiencing more disruptions at night, such as heartburn or stomach aches due to something they've eaten." But what does it mean when you dream about storms?
Dreams are often related to your health
According to HuffPost, certain types of dreams may indicate underlying issues with your health. Nightmares can be caused by illness and fever, while stress and anxiety tend to lead to people dreaming about not meeting deadlines, missing an airplane, or even being hit by a tidal wave. Pregnant women may also experience dreams that are unusual, or even scary at various points during their term, while nightmares can be caused by changes in blood sugar. Likewise, mental health issues such as bipolar disorder are also regularly linked to unsettling dreams.
Bustle notes that if you often remember your dreams, it may be caused by waking or stirring regularly at night. In contrast, being unable to recall them could be a side effect of sleep apnea, which "tends to be worse during R.E.M. sleep (the stage in which we have the most vivid dreams), so this stage of sleep becomes very disrupted with frequent awakenings, thereby preventing dreaming," as Mattress Firm sleep expert Dr. Sujay Kansagra explained.
Further, dreaming of natural disasters and events such as storms may be a sign that you're holding on to some sort of anger or rage in your life, per Dream Glossary. Losing control is also a common theme among those who dream about storms.
The symbolism of storms in dreams
Storms have very interesting dream symbolism. Not only can they be violent and dangerous, but they're also beautiful. There are many reasons why a person may dream about a storm. It could be as simple as storms like heavy rain, blizzards, or tornados are a source of fear for them. There's also the possibility that their life may be symbolized by the storm — unpredictable, beautiful, and a bit scary.
According to Dreaming and Sleeping, many of the reasons that a person might dream about storms have to do with unresolved problems in their life. Whether they are wrestling with a big decision or having issues in a relationship, storms could symbolize their feelings about the situation. Heavy feelings of negativity may also cause storm dreams, per Female First. Perhaps you're avoiding a confrontation?
Dreaming of storms may also suggest that you're repressing emotions and/or trauma that needs to be let out in a healthy way, such as through therapy or physical activity. Being overwhelmed by life changes may also be the reason for dreaming of storms. Struggling to reach goals, feeling uncomfortable, seeking patience, or a fight ahead are all other possibilities for stormy settings in your dreams (via Dream Glossary).
If you're dreaming about storms, it may be time to get honest with yourself about what you're denying or having trouble coming to terms with, so that you can face the issue and move on with your life.