Can We Dream About Our Health?

One of the most common forms of dream imagery are those related to health, illness and recovery. This is when a dreamer has images relating to a health condition occurring in waking life. For example, a man who suffers migraine headaches may have images relating to foods that trigger the condition. A woman with digestive issues may have imagery relating to situations that cause stress, which in turn, trigger digestive problems. Dream images in this form are very helpful for alerting dreamers to situations that can help health-related conditions in waking day. By paying attention to one's dreams, information about health and possible solutions to healing will be revealed in imagery. A second and most helpful form of dream imagery is the "prodromal dream" which is alerting the dreamer to a health condition BEFORE it appears in waking day. A woman is alerted to a pain in her leg in her dream and then suffers the condition several days later. A man finds himself waking from a dream with food-poisoning only to discover this very situation a few hours later. How can this be? Several theories offer explanations of these dreams stating that the body "knows" of the condition before the conscious mind has it in awareness. The body may be sending signals to the mind that the condition is developing yet symptoms have not yet manifested. No matter what the reason, prodromal dreams can be very helpful for early detection and treatment of illness. If we pay attention to the imagery and are alert for the condition, it can be treated quickly and effectively, rather than being completely blind-sided by it. So once again, dreams occur because they are helpful to the dreamer, no matter how difficult or challenging the imagery may be. If the waking day situation cannot be changed, the imagery will help the dreamer to cope with the challenge. If the situation can be changed, the imagery will provide a road map. Either way, this complex and varied form of sleep mentation will act as a guide for navigating one's waking day life in terms of health and healing.