Hi Jaime—
I am sorry to learn about your distressing dream. It is every mother’s greatest fear that she might lose a child.
Dreams of being threatened by strangers, of course, are common. If we feel vulnerable in our waking lives, we often experience dreams of being chased and attacked. The question we seek to answer, upon awakening from these dreams, is whether our attacker was “generic” or “specific.”
For example, if Joel is a dream character only, he most likely represents a general fear of strangers, and perhaps of attack by men. If Joel is someone you know in real life, you may feel that, despite his appearances of being outwardly polite, inwardly he is actually hostile to you, and controlling of your father.
As the mother of a young girl, your safety concerns are endless. In addition to worrying about having your baby strapped safely into her car seat, having her always by your side in a crowded shopping place, keeping her away from swimming pools, balconies, ledges and cliffs, and keeping her away from the neighbor’s dog—you also need to be wary of strangers, who may wish to perform some malicious act upon her.
Your dream reflects three of these fears specifically. In the first instance (inattention), you run upstairs to find Madelaine strapped into her car seat, but apparently she has choked herself from falling over, and suffocated. When you examine her more closely, however, you find that her death was not accidental (malicious intentions). Someone placed rubber bands around her neck, closing off her airway. At the end of your dream, the theme of the car seat is repeated. You are traveling on a dangerous roller coaster ride with your daughter (carelessness), and realize that neither you nor her are strapped in.
Your dream, happily, is not precognitive. To the contrary, it is a simple reflection of some of the myriad concerns of motherhood—concerns about lapses of attention, carelessness, and harmful acts from strangers. The roller coaster in your dream also suggests a difficult period of emotional “ups and downs.”
As you gain confidence in your ability as a mother, and as Madeline grows steadily into a blossoming young woman, these dreams will vanish gently into your past—and the “roller coaster” ride of motherhood will grow much smoother.
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