Bullying dreams are, by definition, anxiety dreams, since the bully most often symbolizes our deep, subconscious fears of being forced (by people or by circumstances) to do things we do not want to do.
Bullying dreams generally represent your relationship with a particular person. Bullying dreams happen when your dignity in real life is constantly injured, or you are forced to do something you don’t want, by a person with emotional or legal power over you such as a lover, parent or boss.
Is there a chance you feel powerless, exploited or vulnerable in your waking life? If yes, your bullying dream might be hinting at these emotions and that they should be resolved.
At a spiritual level, dreams of bullying suggest our sense of dignity has been violated. Perhaps you have been criticized or shamed for your beliefs or principles, but do not have the resources to survive and fight back against such criticism.
A bullying dream can portray emotions associated with emotional bullying in everyday life.
On the other hand, someone else being bullied in your dream might symbolize you treating someone unfairly in real life.
Symbolism and meaning of the dream bully
Generally, people see themselves as the victim in a bullying dream rather than identifying with the bully. When you dream about a bully, you may be recalling painful school memories. Another possibility is that the bully represents an abusive or domineering partner, parent, or perhaps even aspects of your own personality that dominate your behavior.
The subconscious symbol of bully represents the idea that the spirit is always stronger than the body. Consequently, you should evaluate your relationship with this bully symbol in a wider sense than whether you bully people or are bullied yourself.
It is also worth considering whether the bully in the dream could have been your psychological shadow. You might want to ask yourself why you dislike this person. Often times the subconscious mind attaches personal flaws you dislike about yourself onto others, so your dreams could be trying to tell you to face this unpleasant aspect of yourself.
For example, take a moment to consider whether you give up on people and things too easily in waking life.
According to most psychologists, bullies are cowards who want to stop others from discovering the true nature of the bully. When your dreams feature a boss, teacher, or gang of thugs bullying you, maybe your subconscious is telling you to stand up to their bullying.
Are you scared to stand up for yourself or do you cringe in fear?
Physical fights in your dreams may represent different sides of your personality, or two positions that need to be balanced.
Dreams that have a clear winner suggest what your subconscious mind is telling you to do.
If you know who the dream bully is, then your dream might hint that you feel true hostility towards that person.
If you do not know the bully’s identity, the dream may symbolize you’re not in control of your waking life, or that you are feeling insecure about something.
If you are bullied (or bully someone else) in the dream, were you accusing yourself of something? Have you done something wrong recently, or been rude or hostile? Pay attention to your attitude in the dream since it can reveal much about how you handle being intimidated in real life.
Feeling bullied in dreams sometimes suggests you’re feeling harrassed in daily life by stressful situations or unfriendly people.
To be bullied in a dream might even be a sign that you will be involved in a legal dispute.
If a young woman dreams of abusive language or being bullied, it could represent a hidden fear that she might be victim to someone else’s jealousy or envy.
What if you are the bully?
To dream you bully a person suggests you will be unfortunate in your affairs, and end up losing good money because of overbearing persistence and stubbornness in your work relationships with others. Bullying others in this way means someone will take advantage of you.
Dreaming you’re bullying your own children verbally signifies success in love, since it implies you first had a romantic partner.
A dream in which you verbally attack someone may be urging you to put your energies elsewhere. If someone is hurling abuse at you, you should consider if you have caused someone to become angry or if you are accusing yourself of something in your waking life.
Hidden anger toward someone can also be revealed by sudden discharges of gas or flames from a container — a bottle, box or container in dreams often represent feelings that are bottled up. Other hate-filled images such throwing rotten eggs at someone can reveal that you urgently need to deal with your pent-up rage.
Resources and references:
- A dictionary of symbols by Cirlot, Juan Eduardo
- A dictionary of symbols by Chevalier, Jean
- Dictionary of symbols by Chetwynd, Tom
- A dictionary of dream symbols : with an introduction to dream psychology by Ackroyd, Eric
- Illustrated dictionary of symbols in eastern and western art by Hall, James
- Dictionary of symbols and imagery by Vries, Ad de
- Symbolism : a comprehensive dictionary by Olderr, Steven
- Dictionary of mythology, folklore and symbols by Jobes, Gertrude
- The complete dictionary of symbols by Tresidder, Jack
- The dream dictionary from A to Z by Francis-Cheung, Theresa
- 1001 dreams by Altman, Jack
- The Watkins dictionary of dreams by Reading, Mario
- Dictionary of dreams : interpretation and understanding by Colin, Didier
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