You dreamed of being chased, attacked or frightened. You opened your mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Almost everyone has experienced this. According to the Dream Dictionary at GotoHorscope.com, when you are unable to scream in your dream, it actually indicates that you are unable to express yourself while awake. "In waking life, you feel a variety of emotions welling up inside you, and [people] urge you not to express them," Dream Dictionary explains.
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If you're having trouble screaming properly in your dreams, it's worth looking at what you're not saying when you're awake. Dreams are often not real - you may not be chased or find yourself unable to scream in reality. Dreams are metaphors, they are the way your brain processes information while you sleep.
"Theories about dreaming suggest that dreams embody memory consolidation processes, with learning and unlearning occurring during different stages of sleep, particularly slow-wave and REM sleep," writes Dennis Rosen, Ph.D., in Psychology Today. "As new information is integrated into memory, the strengthening of synaptic connections and the loss of other connections results in the generation of images that manifest as dreams."
If you're emotionally blocked, you may not even realize that you're not expressing yourself. But while you're asleep, your brain is processing this information and storing it in your memory. If you don't handle your emotions well in real life, this may be why you can't scream in your dreams no matter how hard you try.
There are tons of posts on Reddit and other message boards about not being able to scream in your sleep, which means a lot of people are suppressing their emotions. When you can't yell or scream in your dream, "it's hard for you to express your point of view, defend yourself, or ask for help in real life. Maybe when you do, you feel like you're not being heard." sound," noted Reddit user ohbodes.
The Curious Dreamer website reports that not being able to call for help in a dream means you feel helpless in real life. This may indicate that factors such as pride, shyness, or self-sabotage are preventing you from seeking help when you need it most. Dreaming that you have lost your voice, cannot speak, or scream means that you feel you have no control over your life, feel ignored, or are afraid to stand up for yourself.
If you are unable to authentically express your suppressed emotions, GotoHorscope.com recommends that you express them in other ways. For example, scream into a pillow or go to a place where screaming is encouraged, such as a concert. "You really just have to scream and let it all out so you can stop having those dreams where you can't scream," the site says. You can also be like Christina Albergh in Dead to Me Christina Applegate plays the same character, turning up the music and screaming in the car .
If you keep losing your voice in your dreams, consider evaluating your life and identifying situations where you feel powerless, where you don't express yourself to others, and areas of your life that feel out of your control. If you find yourself overwhelmed during this process, don't be afraid to ask for help from a friend or even a therapist. Once you start acknowledging your emotions and expressing yourself fully, the dreams should stop.