(1) If it is you who, in the dream, arc paralysed, the paralysis probably symbolizes an inability to act successfully or to make a decision. Look for the cause, which will usually be some (buried, unconscious) fear or guilt-feeling or inner conflict.
(2) If someone else is paralysed, that person will almost certainly represent some aspect of yourself that you have not allowed freedom of expression. To discover which aspect of yourself that is, take on the role of the person in your dream: express his or her feelings and grievances, and work out a new, more positive future for him or her.
Example: ‘It starts as a dream, but I gradually become aware that I cannot move.
The harder I try to move the worse it gets and I become very fnghtened. I can neither move nor wake myself up. Sometimes I feel as if I am leaving my body. But to deal with the fear I have learnt—it’s a recurring thing—to stop struggling, knowing that I will eventually wake’ (Susan Y). This is a common experience which may be due to the fact the body is paralysed during periods of the dream process; all brain signals to the voluntary muscles are inhibited. This is not sensed as a problem if we are unconsciously involved in a dream.
If enough self awareness arises in the dream state, then awareness of the inability to move may occur, along with the anxiety this can arouse. Another factor is illustrated by what Susan says—the harder she tries to move the worse it gets. Our unconscious is very open to suggestion.
If this were not so we would lack necessary survival responses. In a dimly lit situation we may mistake a shape for a lurking figure. Our body reactions, such as heartbeat, react to the mistake as if it is real, until we gain fresh information. Whatever we feel to be real becomes a fact as far as our body reactions are concerned.
The fear that one cannot move becomes a fact because we believe it. When Susan relaxes, and thereby drops the fear of paralysis, she can be free of it. This applies to anything we feel is true—we create it as an internal reality.
Paralysis can signify a sense of spiritual inadequacy, the inability to create movement, and inertia. There is a condition, which sometimes occurs during psychic development, when sleep paralysis – a state which has a neurological explanation – forces us into facing our own fears.
Psychological / emotional perspective: Imagination can often play tricks on us, and we experience as real some kind of reaction we would not normally allow ourselves. Strong emotional feelings may be experienced as paralysis in dreams in order to highlight the effect those feelings can have within the physical realm.
Material aspects: When paralysis is felt in a dream we are probably experiencing great fear or suppression. Literally we are unable to make a move in any direction. Dealing with conscious fears will allow us access to those fears that have only been available in the dream state.
Being unable to move may mean the dreamer feels helpless to control the situation at hand. Alternatively, perhaps the dreamer needs to “freeze” and do nothing about some issue for awhile.
(Cripple; Impediment; Justice; Wither) If one sees his right hand paralyzed in a dream, it denotes a great sin he has committed that warrants such a severe punishment. Ifthe right hand is paralyzed in the dream, it means that one earns his money from practicing usury, or it could mean that he is unjust toward a poor and a weak person.
If one’s left hand is paralyzed in a dream, it means that either his sister or his brother maydie shortly. Ifhis thumb is paralyzed in a dream, it means that he will suffer from hardships because of his children. Ifthe index or the middle finger are paralyzed in a dream, it means that one may suffer because of his sister.
If one sees his ring finger paralyzed in the dream, it means that he will suffer pain and difficulties because of an ailment that will befall his mother or a female relative.
If one sees his little finger paralyzed in a dream, it means that he may suffer because of a daughter. Any infliction in one’s hand in a dream represents one’s brothers, while any infliction ofthe fingers in a dream represents his children. Ifone sees his right hand paralyzed in a dream, it means that he will lose his source of income.
If one’s fingers are paralyzed in a dream, it means that he has committed an awful sin.
If one sees his right hand paralyzed in a dream, it means he has caused major losses to an innocent person.
(Also see Body’; Physical paralysis)
Feeling handicapped in a mental or emotional area. Feeling the need for quiet and rest. Should you be less active? See Illness, Invalid.
If you dream that you are Paralysed, it is a sign of a broken engagement.
1. Loss of feeling and expression, likely emotional due to injury.
2. Difficulty in accepting changes, even healthy ones.
3. Feeling trapped by conflicts, sometimes domestic.
Paralysis in a dream is frequent to many. Failure to walk, move, talk or scream is terrifying. It represents indecision to solve a problem, a conflict of some sort that faces the dreamer in waking hours. This kind of dream can continue for years, as long as the situation exists.
also see Immobility
1- When paralysis is felt in a dream we are probably experiencing great fear or suppression. Feelings that are emotionally based are experienced as paralysis in order to highlight the physical effect those feelings can have.
2- Imagination can often play tricks on us, and we experience as real some kind of reaction we would not normally allow ourselves. Paralysis is one such reaction.
3- Paralysis can signify spiritual inadequacy, inability to create movement, and inertia. There is a condition which sometimes occurs during development when we are forced into facing our own fears, and this can be experienced as paralysis.
Paralysis is a bad dream, denoting financial reverses and disappointment in literary attainment.
To lovers, it portends a cessation of affections.
Dreaming that you or someone else is paralyzed could be very frightening. Depending on the details of your dream and your current situation in life, there are several different, but equally reasonable interpretations.
The fear that paralyzes you in the dream may be symbolic of the fear that you are experiencing in daily life. You may feel somewhat unable to change a current situation which may manifest itself in your dream in a form of paralysis. In addition, this dream may be cautioning you to stay still and do nothing for now in regard to a real-life situation that is on your mind and may be problematic for you. In the dream you may be “frozen with fear” and it is up to you decipher what that fear is and what it represents.
If a person who is in Jove dreams that he or she is paralyzed, or that the object of his or her affections is so afflicted, it is a portent that these affections will soon fade away.
Generally, this dis- ability in a dream, whether your own or someone else’s, suggests an emo- tional conflict cm* sexual in- hibition.
If the paralysis was total, it is likely that you are fighting your con- science over something you want to do and feel you shouldn’t; if the paralysis was only partial, it indi- cates a fear of frigidity, impotence, or latent homo- sexuality. Alternatively this dream could arise from a repressed desire for free- dom from responsibility or from an organic malfunc- tion. In any case, medical or psychological advice would be beneficial.
Being paralyzed when you aren’t in real life can represent: Feeling unable to make progress of your own accord in your life, or in a particular situation.
Feeling held back or self-sabotaged.
Feeling indecisive, ineffective, or overwhelmed.
The idea of acknowledging the true value of something that you’ve tended to take for granted.
A body part that is paralyzed can represent feeling less than fully functional in the area represented by that body part.
See also the specific body part.
See also: Helpless; Can’t Move; Can’t Speak; Disabled; Numb; Nerves
One of the most terrifying and anxiety forms of nightmare is the one that involves some kind of paralysis where you cannot move. Dreams of being paralyzed are in fact a part of REM sleep, during which the majority of us are unable to move. A person tossing and turning in their sleep is not having a nightmare. The simplest interpretation of a dream in which you are paralyzed is that you are unable to move forward and feel pinned down or paralyzed in some aspect of your life. The dream may also be an expression of some kind of conflict; you may be unable to choose between two possible courses of action or be caught in a situation that restricts you.
A dream denoting the approach of illness (Gypsy).
Dreaming you are paralyzed in a dream signifies that you feel helpless to do anything about an event, person, or situation in your life. It could also be a warning that you should stop procrastinating about some situation.
There may be a physical cause for dreams in which you find yourself unable to move or sense anything; it is called sleep paralysis. During REM sleep when dreams are most frequent, your brain shuts down your body’s nerve impulses, notably to the limbs, to prevent you from acting out the drama of your dreams. However, should you gain some awareness during sleep paralysis, your unconscious mind may mirror your physical actions in your dream. There may also be a physical cause for some falling dreams; such dreams may be triggered by a muscular spasm called a myoclonic jerk that typically occurs just before you are fully asleep. Dreams in which you suddenly step into nothingness are believed to be associated with myoclonic jerks.... sleep paralysis dream meaning
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