First, let's begin by
dispensing with the myth that if you hit the ground in your dreams you
will die. There are plenty of fully alive human beings who have reported
hitting the
ground during their dreams of
falling. The fact that these people were around to report this situation
is proof that this legend is merely that — a legend.
Dreams of falling are most
often interpreted as an indication of unresolved fears, anxieties,
instabilities and insecurities. The person who experiences
recurrent dreams where he or she is falling
may be feeling overwhelmed by and unable to control certain situations in
his or her waking life.
For instance, the dreamer may feel
that his or her home or work life is out of control, and that he or she is
unable to remain on top of the situation. This kind of generalized
anxiety can easily manifest itself in a
dream where he or she is out of control, such as a falling
dream.
Falling often represents a
loss of control, or feelings of helplessness on the part of the
dreamer. After all, when you fall, you have no control over your
direction or your pace.
This feeling of being out of
control and falling often represents similar feelings in the dreamer's
waking life. Therefore those who are troubled by such dreams
should be encouraged to
examine their life for the source of anxiety and fear, and to confront the
situation head on. Doing so often results in a lessening or even
an elimination of dreams of
falling.
Dreams of falling can also
represent a sense of inferiority or a sense of failure in your persona
l or professional life. This fear could be a fear of
failing in school, failing at your job,
losing your social status, or failing in a relationship. People
experiencing these situations are often troubled by dreams in which they
are falling. These dreams of falling can
represent a perceived failure to measure up to expectations, or a fear of
losing your status, losing an important person in your life, or just a
generalized fear or failure.
The strict Freudian interpretation
of a dream of falling was that such a dream indicated that the dreamer was
contemplating giving into a sexual desire or sexual
impulse.
Dreams of falling are most likely to take
place during the first stage of sleep. That is because dreams at
this stage are often accompanied by spasms of muscles in the arms, the legs or even the whole body. These sudden
muscle contractions are known to science as a myclonic jerk. The dreaming
mind can interpret these muscle spasms as
falling, and thus incorporate falling into the dream state. Often
when dreamers experience this myclonic jerk, they awaken at feeling their
body twitch. This fast reaction is part of the evolutionary mechanism that allows us to be awakened
quickly in the presence of a threatening environment.
Those who do biblical and
religious interpretations of dreams often see falling dreams as meaning
that the dreamer is taking his or her cues from the world of man instead
of
turning to God for guidance and
advice.
