Clogged and Overflowing

Clogged and Overflowing

The toilet is nasty again, clogged and overflowing. It always starts the same way.. I enter this little public bathroom bearing all the traits of a rundown stall; wall paint chipping and peeling, 1 light bulb with no cover and a steel ball chain for operation, small mirror or no mirror, cheap crooked seats, size no bigger than a public bathroom stall.

There are several variations, usually I never get to finish my business, either the seats are gross with some sort of liquid on them, or it's clogged with some forms of solids that I rather not think about in detail.

Then comes the water, the flush, I push that little silver lever and up and up and up the level rises until to my horror it overflows the seats and over the sides and finally the water makes its way toward me....

Then I wake up.

I've had numerous dreams of toilets overflowing. It finds its way to the plots one way or the other. What does it mean?

So this morning just about ooh say 20 minutes ago, I woke up again from an overflowing toilet nightmare, either that or it's because my bladder is full.. not sure which did it this time. Regardless, I have decided to find some interpretations, so, Google work your magic.

Let's recap my problem - waking up from dreams of overflow toilets.

Following are excerpts of interpretations on the web. During my search, I have discovered there are many others like moi, who are troubled by toilets. It's quite comforting to know I am not alone.

From http://dreemmoods.com/:

Toilet
To see a toilet in your dream, symbolizes a release of emotions or getting rid of something in your life that is useless.

To see a clogged toilet in your dream, signifies that you are holding in and keeping your feelings to yourself. Your emotions have been pent up too long.

To see an overflowing toilet in your dream, denotes your desires to fully express your emotions.


From http://www.lifetreks.com/lifetreks3/dream01_199705.asp

Dr. Holloway's Comments:

Dreams of searching for a usable toilet are surprisingly common, particularly for women. Lavatories often represent a place where one can be private and attend to personal needs. Being unable to find a toilet except in the open may indicate a lack of privacy (either physical or emotional) in waking life. Finding "overflowing" toilets often symbolizes a situation in which other people's needs take precedence over yours. They may get to "unload" or process their feelings, but when it's your turn, there is somehow no opportunity for you to express yourself, or talk about what you need. Sometimes life seems to overflow with other people's problems, thoughts and conversation. This type of dream is common for women who are in the habit of taking care of others, or whose work places them in the role of caretaker. Although startling, these dream images do not indicate a problem, but may be a signal of the need to place your own needs higher up on the list of priorities.


From http://www.edgarcayce.org/dreams/categories/rooms.html

Dear Dreamer

The dream is fairly common. Most often a bathroom is symbolic of things that need to be eliminated. However, a bathroom can also be associated with personal privacy. From the imagery in the dream it suggests that you often feel under personal scrutiny and donÂ’t feel like you have enough time for personal privacy. An alternative interpretation could be that part of you desires to eliminate something from your life but you havenÂ’t found a way to do it that makes you feel comfortable. -


From http://www.g-gej.org/6-2/dreamwork.html

Now this is one interesting article, best if you go to the source and read its entirety, but in a gist it's a conversation between 2 psychotherapist friends talking about dreams of overflowing toilets. It looks at the dream from another angle - taking responsibility.

She asked "how does my dreaming of these toilets translate into my life?"

I said that Gestalt theory takes each aspect of the dream as being a part of the self. "You could talk about yourself as a toilet."

.....

"Try starting with "I am an impossible toilet." (We both laughed).

"I am an impossible toilet. I am impossible, so that you don't do something that isn't safe. I stop you from getting into situations you wouldn't want (like wetting your bed). I exist to protect you."

"You know, I think that does apply. I am like that, surrounded by impossible situations that stop me. It's alright for some things where I need to stop myself; however, there are times when I can't take risks because of that. Things just look impossible to me, so I don't try."

The conversation then went further. We both started to talk about the development of the authentic self. We both and maybe most of us, face a void, which is the empty space of life, full of potential. This can only be filled through our own self-support, our creative and aggressive selves. Sometimes, rather than being active and responsible I find myself depressed, unmotivated and blaming; wanting someone else (once my mother) to come and get me moving. I behave in such a way as well so that another person will control me, give me a boundary or spur and inspire me to action. It was someone else in my dream who would not let me pee, and I resented them for it, felt that I was being punished, yet what they did was necessary. It was useful to me.


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What did I learn from these overflowing toilets?

1 - I feel repressed
2 - I blame/create factors surrounding me for feeling repressed and helpless


Is this true? yes, but that's for another post.