Pregnancy Nightmares

Everyone dreams, even if you don’t remember your dreams. Humans spend a great portion of life sleeping, thus dreaming. When sleeping, people cycle through periods of deep rest and REM (dream) sleep. Because we experience many bouts of REM sleep, multiple dreams are had each night.

There are many theories about dreams and their purpose. While it is easy to blame pregnancy nightmares on hormones, it might be worth taking a deeper look. A new perspective may change your whole outlook and experience while dreaming and may impact waking life too.

Substances, like alcohol, can interfere with not only the sleep cycle, but also our ability to recall dreams. When a woman is pregnant, she likely isn’t engaging in recreational use of alcohol or other substances. Subsequently, she will likely experience better dream recall.

Additionally, a pregnant woman tends to wake up much more frequently throughout the night to use the bathroom. It is common to remember the most recent dream when one awakes, so more nighttime bathroom runs= more awakening=more dream memory.

Pregnancy is a period of great emotional, hormonal, and physical change. Fear comes up when humans face change and is an expected and natural response. The unconscious mind communicates symbolically through dreams and can help us navigate our fears.

The changes you are experiencing or anticipate experiencing are not simply processed in a conscious and “logical” way. Because symbols have multiple meanings and may mean different things to different people, they are worth exploring to gain deeper insight.

Carl Jung has helped millions of people explore their mind on a deeper level. Personally, dream exploration has changed my life. I used to have a recurring nightmare (for years) that negatively impacted me. Once I learned how to examine the dream according to Jung’s techniques, I felt peace and happiness that what I thought it meant was not true and I never had the dream again.

Instead of trying to shut out bad dreams, whether you’re pregnant or not, write them down. Explore the symbols and work with someone who can help you understand them more deeply. You will be amazed by what you learn about yourself and will feel more peace and happiness.