""When did you have this dream?" I began. "I understand you felt disgusted. Did you feel anything else? And can you tell me what comes to your mind when you think of maggots?" Amelia responded, "I had the dream during the day while I was resting a bit at work at my desk. I felt disgust, like something was smelling. A very bad smell. I felt like vomiting.""
"She added, "To answer your question about maggots, they are these small, whitish, wormy-looking things. You would usually see maggots in a garbage, or on food that's rotting. I know maggots can be found on dead bodies, too. Gross. I was both nauseated and afraid of them, but then my boyfriend distracted me because he didn't want me to feel afraid.""
"I observed, "So we could be looking for a situation in your recent life that has you feeling disgusted and afraid. It may not be something very scary, but tell me what comes to your mind: What in your life is making you feel disgusted and, at the same time, nervous or scared?" Amelia offered, "I started up a small business, and just the thought of it makes me feel positively frightened. Will I prosper with time?""
Amelia dreamed of maggots covering her boyfriend's room and felt intense disgust, nausea, and fear. She pictured maggots on garbage, rotting food, and dead bodies, which heightened her revulsion. In the dream she clung to her boyfriend, who distracted and comforted her. Questioning revealed that the image of maggots paralleled a waking anxiety tied to starting a small business. She feared both failure and poverty, and the dream made clear that those fears produced simultaneous disgust and apprehension. The dream also pointed toward coping: relying on close support and examining specific fears to manage the challenging situation.
Read at Psychology Today
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