Sarah,
The recurring nightmares you had as a child featuring a menacing figure emerging from a mirror and the sensation of being pulled by gravity as you tried to climb a staircase are quite symbolic. The mirror often represents self-reflection and identity, while not recognizing the man in the mirror could symbolize unknown aspects of yourself or your life that you might find unsettling or difficult to understand. The 'fetty wap eye' detail suggests a distinctive feature that stood out to you, indicating a specific fear or anxiety that has made a strong impression on your subconscious.
The gravity pulling you back as you ascend the staircase might represent feelings of being held back or fears of progressing in certain areas of your life. It's also telling that your family members are giggling upstairs, locked away, while you struggle. This could reflect a sense of alienation or emotional distance you felt from your family, or perhaps a fear of not being taken seriously by them. Their laughter in the face of your struggle might indicate a feeling of not being supported or understood.
It's interesting to see the impact this dream has had on your waking life, leading to superstitions about mirrors and sleep disturbances. This shows the profound effect that our dreams can have on our real-life behaviors and beliefs. Your adoption of specific strategies to cope with these anxieties, such as covering mirrors or removing them from your sleeping area, is a direct attempt to manage the residual feelings and fears stemming from those nightmares.
Looking at your previous dreams, there seems to be a recurring theme of seeking connection and experiencing frustration when your needs or desires are ignored, as seen in the dream about being hungry after the Wagamama takeaway and not being able to satisfy that hunger. This echoes the sense of helplessness and seeking support that was present in your childhood nightmares. Both instances involve a desire for comfort or assistance, which is not adequately addressed by the people around you.
In summary, your nightmares may reflect underlying anxieties about self-identity, fears of progression, and a need for support that you felt wasn't fully available. Your previous dreams suggest that these feelings could still be present in your subconscious, influencing your dream narratives today. Your dreams provide a vivid landscape where you can explore these emotions, even if they manifest in fantastical or exaggerated scenarios.
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