When 46-year-old Julie Detwiler from Roselle, Illinois, was 4-years-old, her family lived in Little Rock, Arkansas.
“My only memories of that time are hiding from tornados,” she says. “We would either sit in our hall closet with the door closed or go into the bathtub in the bathroom on the lower level. While I don’t recall experiencing any direct damage, I do remember how scared I felt.”
When her family moved to Illinois when she was 6, their home did not have a basement. During tornado warnings, they would take shelter in the utility room on the first floor, near the garage. “I was always worried the garage door would somehow open and we would get sucked out!”
Since she can remember, Detwiler has had dreams about tornados. They often include her looking for a place to hide as the tornados are visible in the distance. Sometimes she is in a car and other times she is walking while the tornado approaches. “But there is always a building in the distance that I am trying to reach. Once I reach the building, I continue to try to find a good place to take shelter. However, there is always an issue,” she says.
On a surface level, Detwiler believes the dreams are a reflection of the trauma and emotions she experienced as a child while hiding from storms. “On a more philosophical level, I think it mirrors the feeling of everything being out of my control and there is nowhere to turn to feel safe,” she says.
Whether you have experienced a tornado or not, dreams about tornadoes can be terrifying, and may leave you wondering what exactly those dreams mean.
What Purpose Do Dreams Serve?
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was an early proponent of the idea that dreams have real meaning. “Freud’s studies on the nature of dreams shifted scientific fields and the general public from thinking these were nonsensical nighttime imagery, to appreciating them as deeply meaningful storylines,” says Deborah Serani, PsyD, psychoanalyst and professor at Adelphi
University.
As Freud analyzed his own dreams, and then the dreams of his patients, he began to teach the rest of the world how to learn the value of dream analysis.
Jane Tersea Anderson, dream analyst and author, says dreams are the result of processing waking life experiences, helping to either build fresh perspectives or consolidate current or older ones.
“Think of dreams as updating both the conscious and unconscious mindset,” she says. “Dreams process our emotions, beliefs, memories, patterns of behavior, and much more. Dreams also work toward problem-solving.”
Some research argues that dreams are connected to needs that are fulfilled or unfilled during waking hours.
Analyzing dreams is a large part of the work that goes on in psychology sessions with Serani.
“Many analysts believe that dreams underscore issues, traumas, or unresolved themes that we need to address in our waking life,” she says. “In the field of psychology, psychoanalysts tend to value the insight gained by dream analysis more so than other psychology orientations.”
What Do Dreams About Tornadoes Mean?
Because everyone’s dreams are unique and personal, Anderson says people should not take a dream dictionary approach to analyzing dreams about tornadoes. “Your unique unconscious mind provides the symbols based on your personal experiences,” she says.
However, she adds that many people may think of tornadoes in similar ways, and therefore, may find that tornadoes in dreams represent feelings about actual tornadoes (as opposed to a symbolic meaning).
A person who has a severe anxiety about tornadoes may dream of them because they are processing that literal anxiety, and looking for a solution to the problem.
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JANE TERSEA ANDERSON, DREAM ANALYST
So is the case for Detwiler, who has seven different weather apps on her phone and is signed up for weather alerts. She also invested in light bulbs that remain charged during power outages, camping lights that can be charged with solar or plugged in, and a weather radio.
“Being weather-aware does provide me with a sense of security. I can prepare for the weather, even if I can’t necessarily control the outcome,” says Detwiler.
For most people, dreams about tornadoes might not be as literal, and are more likely related to processing specific emotions, says Anderson. “Feelings of being out of control, blown around, or fearful of what we can’t control, uncertainty.”
In some cases, people may not live out these emotions while awake, but they are revealed in dreams. For instance, they may navigate life well, but with high stress, and their dreams may show them that they have unconscious beliefs about chaos, such as ‘”chaos must be kept under control, I will never be chaotic,” says Anderson. “Such a person will live a very ordered life on the surface but the unconscious fear of chaos will cause havoc with their stress levels.”
Other people may use ‘winds of change’ in their waking life vocabulary and their dreams may use tornadoes to represent change. “Dreams use word play: another person might be feeling torn apart,” Anderon says.
How a person feels in a dream is another way to make sense of it, she notes. For example, the dreamer may feel that the tornado cleared away a lot of stuff and left them with a clearer view or fresh start.
How to Understand the Meaning of Your Dreams
Serani says one effective way to understand your dreams is to follow Freud’s theory. First, note that every dream has a story on the surface, what Freud called the manifest content.
“This part of the dream contains all the thoughts, emotions, and other content you remember when you awaken,” says Serani.
However, there is something beneath that story that signifies the real meaning of the dream.
This is what Freud coined the latent content.
“The way to interpret the real meaning of your dream is to allow yourself to think about the symbolism in the story, looking deeper at the layers, and allowing yourself to associate freely to these things,” Serani says. “Each and every aspect of your dream will have more meaning than the original story.
Ways to Cope With Dreams About Tornadoes
If your dreams about tornadoes are bothersome, Serani suggests the following.
Recognize the Symbolism
Try to teach yourself that the story of a dream involves symbolic language or imagery to convey themes. “So if something scary like a tornado, or an accident, or if you or someone you love die in a dream, it doesn’t mean you wish bad things to happen to them or yourself,” says Serani.
Instead, the story of your dream reflects something more complex. While there are many cultures
that say dreams about cars, wolves, or losing teeth mean something specific, she says what matters most is your own interpretation of the dream.
Keep a Dream Journal
Write down remnants of dreams you have right when you wake up and then add more detail later. Serani says make sure you get the manifest content, the original story of the dream without reflection, in full detail. Then look for the latent content, the deeper meaning of the message in the dream.
“This should help you get a sense of what kinds of issues you’re dealing with,” she says. “Over
time, you’ll likely see both the manifest and latent narrative of your dreams shift and change as you heal or gain control of your life stressors,” she says.
Allow Time to Interpret Your Dreams
As you try to grasp the symbolism of your dreams, be patient by allowing yourself to think about what is going on in your life day to day or month to month, and how the imagery may reflect those themes in the dream.
When dreaming about a tornado, Serani says think about the tornado itself. “See if you can view it from your dream’s perspective.” Consider questions like:
- Is it a big tornado or little tornado?
- Is the cloud swell dark?
- Is the tornado’s funnel filled with items or things?
- Where is the tornado happening? Is it a familiar place?
- What is going on beyond the tornado or just below it?
Then ask questions that relate to your waking hours like:
- How do these things relate to you?
- Is the tornado something out of control in your life?
- Are you the tornado, feeling twisted and out of control?
“These detailed questions will lead you to more detail, and in turn, you will begin to link the dots to your own life,” says Serani. “It takes a little practice, but soon you should be able to understand what your sleeping life is trying to tell you in your waking life.”
When to Get Professional Help
Having bad dreams occasionally most likely does not require professional intervention. However, if you have repetitive, intrusive dreams or nightmares that keep you from getting restful sleep, consider mentioning this to your doctor.
“Some medications can cause nightmares. So, knowing if scary dreams are a side effect of medication can help reduce stress by adjusting the dosage or changing your medication,” says Serani.
If medical conditions are ruled out, and you keep having terrifying dreams that prevent sleep or create disruptive insomnia, consider finding a mental health therapist that works in the fields of psychoanalysis or psychodynamic psychotherapy.
“Together you can help identify what might be going on in your life that is creating such
disruptive dreams,” Serani says.