When you wake up crying real tears, or simply feeling profoundly sad for no apparent reason, it’s because you have finally touched upon some buried grief through a dream. You may have released it all, or there may be more to come. Either way, this is good and healing. (Don’t you always feel much better after a cry?) Even if you don’t remember the dream, rest assured that tears are better out than in, and although you may become more aware, in the next few days, of a past event that caused you grief, you are well on the way to finally letting it go and moving on.
There will be times, in your past, where you were unable to express your grief, or where you felt you should try to hide it.
There will be times, in your past, where you were unable to express your grief, or where you felt you should try to hide it. Perhaps ‘boys don’t cry’, or you were advised to ‘keep a stiff upper lip’, or you accepted a hurtful situation as normal or something to be endured, so you packed grief away, out of sight. Or perhaps the only way to get through a situation was to pretend to yourself that it wasn’t happening, or wasn’t important, or that you were coping wonderfully, or needed to smile for others, or that you had already healed.
The deeper wound still hurts, affecting how you live your life.
These, and other forms of denial, are like bandaids. They work on the surface, but the deeper wound still hurts, affecting how you live your life.
One day the grief finally breaks through – perhaps accompanied by a dream of a dam bursting, or a tsunami breaking – and you wake up crying.
If you can remember your dream, look for clues about your grief, as understanding the past will help you to accelerate your healing.
What age is the child?
Look for a young child or younger person who seems sad, or hurt, or trying to cover up his or her feelings.
What age is the child?
Ask what happened for you at that age, or that number of years ago. It doesn’t matter whether the child or person looks like you. He or she most likely symbolises the event or your hurt.
Also look for historical markers in your dream, perhaps cars, houses, clothes, or numbers that help to give you a time period to explore.
When you have found the source of your grief, do this dream alchemy practice:
Visualise hugging and comforting yourself as you were back then, or hugging and comforting the child in the dream.
Close your eyes, and visualise hugging and comforting yourself as you were back then, or hugging and comforting the child in the dream. Let her cry all her tears dry, then let her smile and laugh and grow strong and happy. Tell her how wonderful her life will be now that her tears have washed it all away, and see her growing, before your eyes, changing and becoming a strong, happy, powerful, and relieved new you. Merge with her in your mind’s eye, and take her, fully healed, into your heart.
[Extract from 101 Dream Interpretation Tips, Jane Teresa Anderson]
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Hi Isabella, Thank you for contributing your dream. There’s a mention of doing (a lot of things to do) and being (I just want to be), suggesting issues around doing vs being and family expectations. I’m glad my article helped.
Jane Teresa
The dream i had last night was i was running from the cops and then i got away and went to my babysmamas house and went to talk to her and told i had to go so i said later to her boyfriend and then as i was gonna say by to my babysmama i started crying saying by and then i went to go say by to my son and told her to take care of my things and ill see u agian sometime… Is it like telling me something.
Hi Albert, You can learn a lot about yourself and your life, and discover solutions to problems, when you know how to understand your dreams. You might like to start by looking at some of my ebooks: http://janeteresaanderson.com/ebooks/
Jane Teresa
Hi Jane,
i just woke up crying and sobbing like crazy.
i took a 2 hrs nap from 7 pm to 9 pm.
my dream started inside a classroom and there’s another room inside that classroom 2 of my friends Mc and Vangie was inside the other room. And then suddenly cops came in our room and told us to go cuz there’s a bomb and the cops were telling me to go but i dont want to cuz my friends are still inside the other room but the cops told me to i really gotta go. so i ran and took my school backpack, my phone and i saw vangie’s phone and took it with me and then i saw Mc’s phone and took it with me too. and i was running out and saw my youngest sister and so i take her with me and i get her backpack and we started running. after we got out of the room, we were under a really big castle like in a basement or something. and the next thing i know is im in this big field. one side is all guys and the other side is all girls. i dont recognize anybody there and i dont know why but they were playing volleyball and i was hit twice with the ball and then i just started crying and then this other girl started crying with me and this one girl just puts on stickers on me and the other girl crying with me i dont know why. and then i woke up sobbing and tears falling. im freaking out why that happened. please help
-Hillery
I need help or at least feel that way. I have not been having bad dreams I rarely dream and even more rare of a occasion I will remember them. These last few weeks I have not been able to sleep more than twice without waking up hysterical and its not like a panic. It is almost like I am too sad not to cry. I usually wake up happy and late. Now I beat the alarm by hours just to sob.I never cry or really have a reason to cry. I am just confused with these emotions and I scared if it get worse.
Thank you for contributing your dream Hillery/Faye. The fact that you cried in your dream suggests you are releasing some sad feelings, and that is good. I don’t interpret on this blog (I offer consultation services for a fee), but I do encourage you to read more of my articles on this blog – or perhaps download an ebook – to learn more about dreams. The more you read, the more you will begin to understand dreams such as this one.
I hope this helps,
Jane Teresa
Hi Mike,
The sadness you are feeling will be sadness you are not acknowledging in your day to day life. It’s likely that recent events have triggered some sadness and grief you repressed long ago. It’s possible that you are dreaming about this, but because you don’t usually remember your dreams you’re just left with the sadness. Tears are always healing, so even if you don’t understand where they’re coming from it’s worth just letting yourself cry. Picture a rainbow, the beautiful colours that emerge when the sun comes out after the rain. That’s how you can feel when you allow yourself to cry away unexplained sadness.
Hope this helps. You might like to book a consultation with me to go further into this.
Jane Teresa
Thank you, this helped me tremendously. I woke up this morning crying in my dream. I was crying cause I missed my good friends in highschool. When I woke up I felt empty that I needed them so bad, it made me cry even more. When I read you passage I closed my eyes and tryed remembering my dream, I pictured me about my daughters age, 8 hugging me and I felt my pain and confusion in why I was not conforted, and just told as a child everything is ganna be ok. I could see this pain now that I had relating to when ive seen my kids in sarrow and in pain. It was like I didnt realy ever see how painful my child life was.i didnt know what pain I was feeling when I was a chil, it was normal the. …WOW, WHY DOES A CHILD HAVE TO FEEL PAIN? I tryed to hold my as I cryed telling me it was ok , everything was ok. Rubbing my head, and back, it felt so good ….i tryed to picture her growing up into the person I am now, but only got to my teenage and it faded into seeing my kids and conforting them.the lil girl iny dream was in pain and hurting, looking for her freinds for comfort …..I see why I confort my kids so much…..
Hi Tammy, Thank you for sharing your experience of doing this dream alchemy practice, and the breakthrough understanding and healing you received as a result. Many blessings.
Jane Teresa
Hello Jane,
My daughter is twelve years old and she’s been waking up crying for a while. One dream was about her father selling drugs- which is completely false must I add- and he went jail and woke up crying. Then the next one was about a boy she fell in love with but the thing is that he’s imaginary and he left her. She has also been distant and lately has stopped eating with us and saying she’s not hungry. What do I do and what’s happening?
Thank you,
Michelle
Hi Michelle, Your daughter is clearly comfortable with telling you about her dreams, so she must be feeling safe with you, wishing to share at least that detail. Because she’s ok with talking about her dreams with you, you might like to start by helping her to understand that dreams are not what they seem, that her father is not the man in her dream, that the boyfriend is a dream character, not an actual person. Help her to see these dream people (father, boyfriend) as symbols of her own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about life. Help her to see that the drugs and the jail are also symbols of her own thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about life. Ask her what overall feeling she experienced in each dream – it looks like feeling abandoned – but let her come up with the feeling that is right for her. Then help her to relate that feeling to a situation in her waking life. Talk it out.
At 12, as you will remember if you think back to being that age, there’s a lot going on, body changes (I’m thinking about the eating) included.
I can help you to understand your daughter’s dreams and give you some suggestions about how to talk about her dreams with her if you’d like to book a consultation with me:
http://janeteresaanderson.com/consultations/phone-or-skype-consultation/
I can also talk with you both if your daughter would like to join you.
Either way, I hope my suggestions here give you some help.
Jane Teresa
So i had this dream this morning where i woke up crying. What i was experiencing in the dream was: i was holding my ex girlfriend, holding her tight. I could feel myself sobbing, then reality slowly faded in and i was crying the same cry in my bed. (My ex left me for another guy)
This tells me that i have great feelings for my ex, right? I was involuntarily crying
Any help with coping with it?
Before i went to bed my mom yelled at
!
Me and slammed her door (idk if this could be a factor) anyways,
In my dream there was alot
Of frustrating things going on, and at the end of the dream my friend had past away, there were signs
Everywhere and i wanted them down..
I left my dream and woke up while crying to a circle of old friends. When I woke up it was as though I was crying alot..
My face was drenched in tears and eyes red. Anyways, 2 days ago prior to my dream.. I found out a girl i acted with 5 years ago had passed. Just thought I should share
Also in regards to the last post id like to add that i meant in my dream there were a circle of friends i was crying too. Also the past fee months ive been having really bad dreams.
thankyou so much 
2 of which possession has taken place to myself and my dog.. The
One with me was very scary and I still remember it! Also i have such strong dreams that im often scared
To sleep! Yesterday during the day i had an hour and a half nap and i got hit over the head with something and i couldnt wake up.. I was trying to but its as though im lost and cant.. Eventually i woke up with an extreme headache and woke up half way during my nap from this nightmare.
This is only a few..
Like 2 weeks ago i think i had a lucid dream and i couldnt really wake from
It it seemed.
Also remember falling through a time warp or something similar.
It seems that im exhausted
From my dreams..
Especially waking up this morning soaked in tears..
Was shocking! Any input would be awesome