What It Really Means When You Dream About Someone Breaking Into Your House
Intruder dreams. They are absolutely what we would classify as nightmares: a person breaking into your home, your safe space, thereby taking away your sense of security, safety, and privacy in the one place in the world those things are supposed to be guaranteed. If you've had dreams like this, you are very far from alone; according to a survey conducted by Amerisleep, nearly 16% of Americans have had recurring dreams of someone breaking into their homes. And while this may be a common theme, the meaning behind these dreams is often less literal than a fear of someone actually breaking in.
While some experts feel the dream may represent feelings of the dreamer's sense of security being jeopardized by something or someone in his or her waking life (via Dream Astro Meanings), others feel the symbolism in these dreams may actually be more complex and have more to do with our inner worlds than our outer worlds.
The intruder may represent hidden parts of ourselves
Psychiatrist Richard J. Corelli wrote for Stanford University that the intruder figure in a dream "is often an inner psychological figure who may represent some shameful or unwanted part of ourself who is breaking into our consciousness ... It is about to break into our awareness, and then we will have to confront this unwanted aspect of ourself." Corelli elaborated, "The purpose of this figure seems to be to reflect all the worst aspects of our character so that we may become more fully conscious of those traits and accept these unwanted but vitally necessary parts of ourself." And while these traits may be unknown or denied by us in our waking states, they are often aspects of our personalities that are "quite evident" to those who live with us or know us deeply, he says. But because we have not yet come to acknowledge and integrate them, these aspects of ourselves "appear alien and scary to us in our dreams."
And while you may want to forget about these dreams the moment you wake from them, Corelli feels it may be beneficial to remember them. "The intruder in the dream represents some part of ourself that we have kept outside our awareness for too long and now needs to be let in," he explained.
This dream may signify that people aren't respecting your boundaries
If you are the type of person who truly values privacy and personal space, then you may have experienced intruder dreams quite a few times. This is because you value your time alone and expect people to not cross particular boundaries in your life, and these dreams could make you feel like your privacy is being stripped away.
According to Alo Dreams, if you rely heavily on yourself rather than asking for help because you prefer to be self-sufficient, you might see someone helping out because they care as an intrusion of your privacy. These dreams might be signifying that if someone in your life is trying to help you, you should let them. Let your walls down and allow others to come in — don't block the world out.
If you are continually experiencing these types of intruder dreams, you may need to work on better understanding the difference between someone in your life being actually intrusive and crossing personal boundaries, versus actual concern and care for your well-being.
If you fight the intruder in your dream, you may be resisting change in real life
Change is never easy. No matter how much change can be good for a person, sometimes things get complicated when you are familiar with a certain way of living, and all of a sudden your world is flipped upside down. Sometimes, intruder dreams are caused by an undesirable change that may be coming your way, even if it's small. Alo Dreams reports that these type of dreams are common, and can be expected when things are going in the opposite direction you are used to and causing a lot of chaos in your life. This may lead you to want to change some of your beliefs or values.
According to Dream Dictionary, dreams that can predict life-changing events are often incredibly vivid — you might remember them for days afterwards, or you may experience a gut feeling that something is about to occur. If you are dreaming of intruders often, you may want to take this as a sign. Prepare yourself for a change that is coming, and try to avoid getting overly stressed so these dreams don't continue to happen.
If the intruder attacks you, you might be concerned about your health and safety
Picture this: you have an exciting event coming up that you have been looking forward to for months, and the day before you get so incredibly sick that you can no longer attend. Not the best timing, right? Believe it or not, you might be able to tell if you are about to get sick if you have intruders in your dreams.
According to Alo Dreams, intruder dreams can be symbolic towards an upcoming disease, reveal something about your health, or represent feelings of being unsafe. This may be caused by not taking proper care of your diet, eating unhealthy foods, or depriving yourself of nourishment. These dreams could indicate that it is time to prevent getting sick by taking better care of yourself. Maintain a healthy balanced diet, hydrate by drinking plenty of water, and get your body moving a bit more than usual to prevent getting sick in the future, so you don't have to miss out on any upcoming events.
An intruder tying you up could mean you don't feel like you're in control of your life
Intruder dreams can have a lot of different meanings, depending on what you are going through or how you behave in your daily life. If you have ever had an intruder dream involving someone tying you up and causing you to be unable to escape, there is a reason for that!
This could reflect the fact that someone in your life is trying to break your daily routine that you have become so accustomed to, thereby taking control over your life (via Alo Dreams). If you are the type of individual who is incredibly organized and prioritizes a disciplined, set routine with little room of breaking that schedule, then you may experience this type of intruder dream. In this case, this dream reflects being unable to stop the disruption that is causing you to take a pause in your daily routine, leaving you feeling overwhelmed, trapped, and stressed out. This can cause you to feel as though someone other than you is controlling your life, preventing you from expressing your true self (via What Dreams Mean).
The best way to move forward and prevent these types of intruder dreams is by accepting the fact that sometimes, not everything will always go according to schedule. Being able to adjust yourself in any given situation will prevent you from having these stressful nightmares and give you more peace of mind.
If you ignore the intruder in your dream, you may be avoiding a problem
If you find yourself actively avoiding certain problems, you may have experienced an intruder dream. The dream may demonstrate that there are things and problems in your life that you have been ignoring, and you need to eventually face them in order to find peace and create clarity in your life. In this type of dream, you could be ignoring the intruder in your home, as they resemble the issue happening in your everyday life (via Spirit Animal Dreams). By hiding away from your problems, you are allowing the intruder in your dreams to have more power over you. Instead of constantly running away and avoiding the main issue, confront it head on as soon as it comes up. This way, you avoid things getting too complicated, and won't be reminded of your personal struggles every time you fall asleep at night.
The intruder could symbolize a threat to your relationship
Often times, people have nightmares or intruder dreams including someone in their reality that they often feel threatened by, especially if you are in a relationship. Not being entirely fond of a particular friend of your partner's or someone from their past relationships could result in feeling a lot of stress, causing you to dream of this person breaking into your home and causing chaos (via Dream Astro Meanings). This can symbolize dangers coming into your life and threatening you and your partner's peace and overall well-being.
According to Alo Dreams, dreaming of this intruder may suggest that your partner or loved ones are also exposed to this type of distress if it has become an ongoing issue in your relationship. Moving forward, take note of the people you are close to and their intentions. Evaluate any potential threat to your relationship and communicate with your partner about your feelings. Being aware of your social circle is essential to avoiding any type of damage in your relationship that is to come in the near future.
Dreaming of an intruder breaking into your house symbolizes unwanted attention
There are plenty of times when you will dream of your friends, loved ones, or partners. However, if you find yourself dreaming of an acquaintance that you aren't necessarily fond of intruding into your home, this could be a symbol of unwanted attention that you keep receiving from this person. If you and this person do not get along very well, and you find they are trying to enter your life but you aren't allowing them to, this can cause you irritation in your real life, as well as in your dreams (via Alo Dreams). You may sense some sort of discomfort seeing this person in your dreams, making you cautious towards them in real life as well. Not to mention, if there is a level of sexual chemistry between you two, then things might get a bit awkward. This dream should serve as a warning to be careful of the person you are having these uncertain feelings toward, and maintain a safe distance from them to eliminate them not only from your real life, but also from your dreams.
If an intruder is threatening your life, you may experience conflict with your family soon
If you are experiencing intruder dreams where a stranger is breaking into your home and threatening your life, you may experience tension and problems with your family soon. According to Alo Dreams, the intruder in your dream may be foreshadowing fights and disagreements with your family that may arise in the near future. These type of dreams indicate that someone has the potential to come into your family dynamic and cause problems between you and your loved ones.
According to What Dream Means, if you are feeling threatened by someone in reality, the same person could potentially be the intruder in your dreams, making you feel unsafe and uneasy. The best way around this is to watch out for any real-life intruders that could potentially threaten your relationships with your parents, siblings, or immediate family members. Increase your communication with your loves ones at this time, make some fun plans to get together, and be aware of who you are letting into your life.
What you can do to stop dreaming of intruders
Dreaming of intruders in our homes is always a disturbing type of nightmare. Intruders coming into our personal space and ruining it or causing us pain or emotional damage can be difficult to consistently experience. Although these dreams are unpleasant, there are deeper meanings behind them that can be looked into and evaluated. In order to stop these dreams from constantly occurring, it's important to take a step back and look into what you are avoiding or stressing out about in your life (via Dream Dictionary). This can be done by not allowing negative people into your personal space that don't add any value into your life or relationships, and taking a look at your beliefs, ideas, or common behaviors that can cause you to have more stress and be surrounded by chaos. Letting down your walls and allowing other positive people into your life is a great way to start.