Recurring nightmares are an alarm, a red light that flashes to get our attention. Psychology professor and ethnopsychotherapist Tobie Nathan explains what the dream “I’m afraid I’m a murderer” means.
Son of Augustin, 61
“I see in a dream that two of my cousins died and I hid their bodies under the parquet. Perhaps it was I who killed them … The dream is repeated, the scene in it is a rather dilapidated suburban house. Around people – friends, relatives. I’m afraid they’ll find the bodies by the damage to the floor or by the smell. I have only one thought in my head: get them out. After all, if corpses are found, I will be blamed for their death … Half awake, I remind myself that this is just a dream, but anxiety grows.
Interpretation
Dear Augustin, this nightmare has been recurring for many years and lives in your memory, you told me over the phone. What danger does he want to warn you about? Because as you certainly feel, recurring nightmares are an alarm, a red light that blinks to get our attention. After such dreams, we wake up with the feeling that we are in danger.
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Your dream seems so convincing because it borrows elements of reality. Your two cousins really died unexpectedly: one suffered a serious illness prematurely, the other died in a plane crash, the causes of which remained unclear. Their mother plunged into deep grief. Shortly thereafter, she also died, and you became one of her heirs. As a result, you received an inheritance that, if everything went well, would not have been intended for you. Hence the disturbing feeling of guilt in a dream. Someone could – and perhaps still can – point out to you that you had an interest in the death of your cousins. Maybe even hint that you wanted her?
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In our conversation, you told me that the inheritance also included valuables. In addition to money, you received two figurines. As a child, you might have admired them in your cousins’ mother’s house, but you never imagined that one day you would get them. Of course, they have great artistic value, and they could be sold at a high price. But the main thing is that you see them every morning in your living room – they are almost like people, as if they replaced the dead. These figurines represent a man and a woman – a couple – and seem to remind you that both deceased had no offspring – that’s why you received an inheritance. Now you probably understand the meaning of your nightmare. It could be expressed in one phrase: “Will this inheritance prevent me from living?” Let me give you a little advice, dear Augustin. Do something for the two dead. Go to the cemetery, stand by their grave, promise them to honor their memory. I think that this act will fill your life with new energy.
Toby Nathan, professor of clinical psychology at Paris VIII University (France), author of research papers on ethnopsychotherapy, writer, founder of a counseling center for psychological assistance to migrant families, author of the blog tobienathan.wordpress.com