Dreaming of Being Chased with My Father

Dream: First, let me introduce myself. I am a 31-year-old married female doctor with no children and good family relationships. This dream was exceptionally vivid, with every detail clear, which made me curious. I kindly request the assistance of experts in dream interpretation.

In my dream, I was with my father in a small city for some errands. After arriving, we looked for a place to eat and came across a restaurant with a pleasant atmosphere and green decorations. However, there were no customers. We went in and sat down, and a middle-aged woman resembling the restaurant owner came to greet us. We ordered a pot of tea and were considering what to eat when the woman started annoyingly rambling. I found it particularly irritating and shouted, "This is so annoying!" Then my father and I stood up and left, saying we would eat somewhere else. The restaurant owner was taken aback and quickly ran away. It turns out she went to call some troublemakers.

In the dream, both my father and I seemed to know some martial arts. We quickly fought off the troublemakers, but I was worried that they would come back with more people. However, my father believed they wouldn't and insisted on eating at a nearby restaurant. As soon as we went upstairs, another group of people arrived, this time armed. However, we managed to fight them off, although it was more challenging this time.

Both my father and I began to feel that danger was approaching, and more people would come. We decided to escape, but as soon as we stepped out of the restaurant's door, we saw many people rushing towards us. We couldn't find a car, so we had to run for our lives.

At that moment, we ran into an alley and saw a big gate that seemed to be a police station. We thought we were saved and hurriedly knocked on the door. However, the guard said that the people living there would be sold the next day and asked if we wanted to stay. If we refused, we would be beaten to death by those people. So, we had no choice but to stay first. After entering, we found a room and went to sleep. The next day, people indeed came to buy individuals. I was chosen by a family to take care of their daughter, and I thought at least it wasn't being sold as a wife. Later, they allowed me to go back for a few days during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, and I finally managed to escape.

From that point on, I swore never to go back to that city again. The dream ended here.

Dream Analysis: Hello, the dream already displays a structure of an Oedipus triangle involving the dreamer, the dreamer's father, and the "restaurant owner." The dream content may correspond to certain aspects of real life (as a reflection of the past) or be entirely opposite (as compensation for what is lacking).

The restaurant owner symbolizes the mother, a supervisor in the context of a father complex, with a nagging and forceful demeanor. The dreamer has a strong father complex, and as an adult, she consciously cannot accept certain aspects of her relationship with her father, leading to suppression and fear, as well as guilt towards her mother. The dreamer has been avoiding confronting and resolving this complex, so it manifests in the dream as a group of troublemakers who chase and disturb the father and daughter, allowing the dreamer to experience and release her feelings of fear.

Perhaps the dreamer has undergone psychological counseling or has confided in friends, her husband, or relevant organizations about her inner struggles, hence the emergence of a "police station" to seek help in the dream. However, she feels betrayed as they "sell her out," and the outcome is a narrow escape. The interruption caused by the "holiday" suggests a detachment similar to counseling, implying that the dreamer is not willing to confront her past. The gatekeeper represents the dreamer's preconscious, warning her of the danger of being betrayed, but the dreamer decides to accept it.

Due to the inability to face and resolve this complex, the Oedipus triangle will be replicated in the dreamer's own life, possibly in the form of a triangle between the dreamer's two facets (or dual personalities) and her husband.