Nightmare Interpretation

I had a nightmare a few nights ago and I can't seem to get it out of my head so I'd like some help understanding what it might mean. It's pretty horrible.

The dream started with me being asleep in my home. I woke up to find an intruder in my house. He was a man I had never seen before and when I asked what he was doing in my house he told me there was something that belonged to him that he needed. He was breaking through a wall in my house.
Then I remember fighting the man. It was just kicking and punching. We were both fighting and the police showed up and took him home. In my dream he only lived in the house across from me.
Then I was asleep again the next night and I heard him again in my house so this time I went in swinging..here's where my son comes into it - I'm a single mum and I have a nearly 2 year old. I started screaming at him that I have a toddler and he can't keep breaking into my house. I smashed a glass table so I could use the glass as a weapon.
I just kept screaming "I have a toddler, I have a toddler". I got away from him and hid so I could ring the police.
When I went back out to where the man was, he was gone and my son was laying there covered in blood, face down on the couch. I thought the man had killed him. I picked him up and he was still alive but the man attacked him with the glass from the table. I also had cuts all over me from smashing the glass but I didn't care.
I ran outside and there was an ambulance waiting so I forced my son at them and told them just to take him and save him, not to worry about me. I refused help.
Then I went after the man. Then what I remember from my dream after that is finding the man and cutting his throat with the glass he attacked my son with.
Then I went to hospital to be with my son and let them treat me.
It just keeps playing over and over in my head and I have no idea what it means. It's really bothering me.

It is important to remember that dreams are metaphorical and not literal. This dream does not mean someone is going to enter your house and try to kill your son. What it is, however, is a warning dream that concerns you and your son. The man represents the 'strongman' that comes like a thief in the night seeking to kill steal and destroy. There is someone who is seeking to take from you what is most precious to you. it could be custody or financial debt. You will put up a fight with your maternal instincts, however the dream is warning you to remember what is most important. In other words, don't get carried away out of fear fighting that which rises up against you otherwise that which is most precious to you will suffer. Stay calm, weather the storm and hold onto what you love.

Although in order to provide a more accurate interpretation it would usually be best to have some additional general background information about you and a description about recent events, an intruder in dreams most often symbolizes an aspect of the dreamer that is being ignored too much.

This part of the personality therefore “breaks into” the normal awareness of the personality as symbolized by the house, causing upsets such as bad dreams and potentially physical and/or psychological problems.

In this case, you “being asleep” on two occasions appears to emphasize this idea of being “unconscious” regarding a part of your personality which apparently feels it has something of value to offer which is being “walled off” in some way (man breaking into wall to get something that belongs to him).

The police who arrive could possibly represent some issues regarding wanting to “control” and “contain” certain issues etc. which are uncomfortable to you in some way.

Also, the police in dreams can symbolize a too strict adherence to “rules” and “beliefs” etc., so maybe at times, you’re trying to keep feelings that are contrary to your general beliefs out of your awareness by sticking too firmly to certain accepted opinions about what’s “right” etc.

While doing so can make a person feel more secure, it can also tend to limit the search for a unique outlook on life and how to live it fully.

In addition, police officers, from the point of view of dreams, can represent an attitude which is mainly concerned with keeping things running in a very collective and orderly way, maintaining a sort of tidy conventional behaviour, for example, that will not be shocking to anyone.

But trying to get rid of upsetting thoughts, feelings or fantasies etc. without trying to understand and accept them usually doesn’t work (the man breaks in a second time).

It looks like it might be best if you take your time and be careful in uncovering any such situation inside yourself because of the ferocity of your intended attack on the man.

The very difficult result of not being able to solve any such problem that might exist underneath is that your sense of enterprise, curiosity and determination etc. (as symbolized by your young son) might be badly “hurt” in some way.

The sad thing is that it’s possible an attitude or belief etc. which you have could potentially contribute directly to any such situation (e.g. you broke the glass table on purpose, inadvertently providing the frustrated man with the means to hurt your son).

The hurtful opinion etc. that might exist possibly relates to a mostly unconscious thought along the lines of “My feelings and who I am are not important because I must only care for others”.

This idea could be supported by the fact that you have cuts all over but don’t care, and you tell the ambulance workers to take your son and not help you etc.

You then kill the man and go to the hospital for treatment, thinking of course that everything will now be OKAY but unfortunately, it’s possible that nothing is really resolved and another “intruder” could appear on the scene at some point in the future.

So your likely very trying circumstances in being a single mom with a very young child might be causing you to feel that you must be “perfect” in raising him and to forget about yourself and your feelings.

Any such situation would be very understandable but probably the dream is showing that it’s not a good one to continue along in and maybe there are resources which you could reach out to in order to lessen the worries you may have about being able to do a good enough job in raising your son.

Anyway as mentioned, without knowing anything much about you, this way of looking at your very upsetting dream might not fit your personal circumstances very well if at all, but I hope these ideas can be helpful in some way.

Please feel free to ask any questions or to make any comments about this particular way of looking at your dream.