Metaphoric Drowning dream?

[Erii]

A few nights ago I was extremely stressed and having bad anxiety when I was going to bed, I had a dream where I jumped into a lake, but apparently there was a concrete slab chained to me I didn't know about? And once I got to he bottom I was like paralyzed. I was trying to swim back to the surface but was weighed down and I was reaching up and I felt extremely scared, I woke up and I felt really heavy and the dream was just stressful. I also was thinking "maybe I'm dreaming" but then threw that thought away when I couldn't reachthe surface. Do you think this is a metaphoric dream on how I was trapped in anxiety when I went to bed?

[juroara]

Oh this is interesting. Water has symbolized emotions for a long time. There's nothing wrong with deep water in a dream, or swimming around in deep water. Sometimes in dreams, that can even be a good symbol. But that concrete slab weighing you down, that's the problem. The next time you're lucid, try to lighten the load. Even though this happened a couple of nights ago, negative or stressful emotions can linger without us knowing. Even taking off your shoes when your lucid can make a huge difference between struggling to fly and soaring.

[Dannon Oneironaut]

Try lightening the load right now or anytime you are awake. We imagine things with our cortex primate brain and our reptilian brain responds to these imaginations as if they are real, flooding our system with stress chemicals. Try lightening the load, not worrying about the future. Our cortex frontal loads can extrapolate threats to us from the future that are not here and now yet. These are not problems yet, but our bodies are worn down by the stress chemicals and the adrenaline released into our systems. There are herbs that can support this process of healing from stress. Nervine herbs which support the nerves, like catnip, hops, chamomile, passionflower, valerian, and my favorite: skullcap. Oh yeah, and my other favorite: Kava. These are anti-anxiety herbs and they make you feel good. Also, listen to your dreams like you are doing, and take juroara's advice and work with your dreams.