Similar Dreams: Hospital, Idle, Ghosts, Bed
Dreaming about paralysis can be frightening for the dreamer and there are many who report being awake while struggling with sleep paralysis.
It’s important to make the distinction between paralysis in a dream and sleep paralysis.
Being paralyzed in a dream comes with its own meanings (which are explored in more detail below). Sleep paralysis is when you are unable to move, yet you are aware of your surroundings.
There are also many who believe that seeing frightening or disturbing things during sleep paralysis marks the presence of negative entities or energies while you are sleeping.
Understanding Sleep Paralysis
Paralysis or the feeling that you are paralyzed in a sleep or dream state is a state felt by almost every single human, but not as many of us remember this experience. If you have experienced a feeling of paralysis while you were sleeping, that is because you actually were.
This happens to us every single night when we sleep, as we enter the deepest phase of sleep called REM, our brain tells our body to slow down to a point of near-paralysis and immobility, so as not to disrupt our brain waves during this very important period of sleep.
So if you have experienced this dream symbol, then you are experiencing something actually happening to you at that moment. This is almost a lucid dreaming state because you are both awake and asleep at the same time.
You want to pay very close attention to what else you are experiencing at that moment because your subconscious has ensured you are conscious of this paralysis for a very important reason. The message is around you if you pay close enough attention. Sometimes meditation can help to recall dream events and details, especially in the dreams where paralysis is involved.
Have you had this dream more than once? Check out the meaning of recurring dreams.
Dreaming of Being Paralyzed
The main meaning behind being paralyzed in your dream is that you feel constricted or ‘pinned down’ in some aspect of your life.
You may also be feeling unable to control events in your waking life, in which case this will also manifest as the paralysis in your dream. You may need to cut out things in your waking life that are leaving you feeling trapped or pinned down.
Expressing what you are experiencing to those in your life is a perfect way to come out of this experience of paralysis, in both dream and waking states.
Dreaming About Someone Else Being Paralyzed
The circumstances of this dream are important. If you dream that someone else is paralyzed and you are taking care of them, it can indicate your desire to help someone in your waking life but that you feel unable to do so.
If someone else is paralyzed in your dream but you are simply observing them, this can be a sign that someone around you is in need of help but they are not reaching out for it. They may be keeping it to themselves and feel too afraid/ashamed to reach out.
Dreaming About Healing From Paralysis
If you dream that you have healed from paralysis (for example, being wheelchair-bound and suddenly you can walk again) it is most likely a sign that you are breaking free of the restrictions holding you back in your waking life.
It is likely this will be of an emotional kind. There may be a thought process or energy within you which has made you feel confined or restricted and now you are in the process of freeing yourself.
This is a positive dream and points towards a good outcome for you where you are able to move forward from the chains that bound you.
Learn more about Dream Interpretation here.
