Dream of being robbed

Robbery is different from burglary. When you are burglarized, it means somebody broke into your house while you were gone. They violated your space and took your belongings. This is different from robbery, which involves somebody threatening you with harm to take your stuff.

Given how stressful both of these situations can be, it is no wonder most people freak out when they dream of being robbed. Whether you dream about being shot in a robbery or dream about someone trying to kill you with a knife, it’s a traumatic image because you’re threatened with death.

It’s not a pleasant experience. You have no choice, and what you think doesn’t matter. A decision has been made for you. You only have two choices: give up your stuff or possibly give up your life.

It goes without saying that most people don’t want to find themselves in such a situation. Dreaming of being in exactly this type of setting or something close to it, it’s perfectly natural for you to feel tense, emotionally distraught, or freaked out.

Getting robbed in the waking life

There are a lot of things going on in a robbery. It’s not just a simple case of people taking your stuff. Most people are kind enough that if somebody they know or the situation is right, they will give at least part of what they have.

It all boils down to how you ask. Losing stuff is not the issue. A robbery is emotionally traumatic because it involves another kind of robbery: people violating your will.

When you have a gun pointed at your head, the robber uses your natural fear to take your power of choice and autonomy away from you. That is the real robbery. This is the part that is hard to shake off.

This is the core of the main or general dream interpretation of robbery. But as we will explain below, there are many nuances and details that you need to focus on that can change the real meaning of this type of dream.

General interpretation and symbolism of dreams about getting robbed

A robbery dream could mean free will

As mentioned, the general symbolism of a dream about being robbed revolves around your sense of autonomy and choice. This is at the root of any feelings of safety and stability.

You feel safe and secure because you have freedom; you have a choice. You can move around and make decisions. But when that freedom to make choices is taken away, how safe and secure are you?

A robbery dream could mean bereavement

Similarly, when you see yourself being the victim of a robbery in your dreams, it can indicate a fear of loss. As I mentioned earlier, the sense of autonomy is the issue. But it has many different associated emotions, and one of them is the fear of loss.

In many cases, people are more afraid of losing something than going without that piece of property. It seems paradoxical, but if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. It’s not much different from donating stuff.

When you are in control, you can choose the stuff you can do without or with less. You’d be surprised as to how much stuff you can give up, but you have to be given a choice. When you are the victim of a robbery, you don’t get to make that choice. And this is where your fear comes from.

It’s not the thought that you will lose something that gets your goat but not having a voice. Unless you’re thinking clearly, many people have generalized anxiety, and they automatically associate this fear of loss with concerns about their safety and security.

They are different from each other. You can then extend this to fearing for your family members. Your subconscious is telling you, through these dream symbols, that you fear a loss in a certain area of your life.

It doesn’t involve any crime being committed against you. Robbery is a mental analogy. Maybe you’re fearful of things going on at work. You may be thinking that your business is not doing all that well.

Maybe there’s somebody who is making changes in an area of your life, and this doesn’t sit well with you. Either you see things changing for the worse, or you’re afraid of change. Whatever the case may be, the fact you feel you don’t have a voice in it makes you uneasy to the point of dreaming that you’re a victim of a robbery.

A robbery dream could mean insecurity

On a related note, witnessing a robbery in your dream means that you feel threatened because whatever is happening to people you know might happen to you. But it’s not as clear-cut as you think.

Depending on the context, this general theme of witnessing a robbery could symbolize that somebody you know wants to harm you in some way. Again, this doesn’t necessarily mean they want to take your stuff.

If you think about it, your most important possession is not your stuff. It’s something else. It could be your peace of mind or a long-held idea that forms a key part of your identity. You have to start thinking along these lines so you can fully hash out to get to the heart of the meaning of your dream of being robbed.

Common dreams about being robbed and what they could indicate

Now that we have the general direction out of the way, let’s drill down into the specifics of this type of night time vision. You have to look at details because they color the overall direction and ultimate meaning of your dreams.

What makes this challenging is many of these details that we’re going to talk about are very easy to miss. I can’t blame you because you had a gun pointed at your face in your dream. All you can see is the barrel of the gun and the robber’s itchy finger on the trigger.

At that point, nothing else matters. But if you experienced this dream several times, chances are you would be so emotionally worked up that you would wake up and be able to make out some details.

I suggest that you write down your recurring dreams and try to record as many of the small details and settings as you can. With that information, take a careful look at the common meanings and motifs involving robbery described below.

What does it mean when you’re dreaming of being robbed?

Assuming that you’re the victim of a series of robberies in your dreams, this can be a sign that your subconscious is detecting quarrels or misunderstandings in your present surroundings. It can be personal or can be related to your job.

It usually is not as bad as you think. In the imagery involved in multiple robberies in different settings, your subconscious tells you to be more careful when interacting with others.

Are you the type who freely gives their opinion even when the one you’re talking to didn’t ask for it? You might want to start there. Are you the type who readily shares what other people think about the one you’re talking to? That could be an issue too.

The interesting thing about nighttime visions of being a victim of robberies is that your subconscious is trying to draw your attention to certain behavior and how you talk and think about other people.

You know, deep down inside, there’s something wrong. Maybe you’re being selfish and looking at these people based on how they make you feel and how they can serve you. Start looking at them as their own persons.

Allow them to be themselves and have their own set of quirks and imperfections. You’d be surprised as to how many of the conflicts you have set up in your mind quickly disappear when you do this.

A dream about a robbery can also be a sign that you feel that your job is under threat. Maybe there’s a recent announcement about reorganizations and changes in job roles. Maybe a team member lost their job for no apparent reason.

Maybe your company merged with a larger company which might seem like a good thing on the surface. But when mergers happen, some divisions are viewed as redundant, and you know what that means.

Regardless, your sense of security as far as your livelihood is concerned is under threat. It may be just in your head because it’s based on some misunderstanding, or your subconscious is picking up on signals that your waking consciousness is either blind to or in denial about.

None of these situations is good. If you keep seeing yourself as a victim in a robbery several times, sit up and pay closer attention. Look at situations that you feel vulnerable. Start with those and get to the bottom of those situations.

What does it mean when you dream of being robbed and something goes wrong?

The worst-case scenario in a robbery, of course, is when the robber points a gun to your head and tells you to hand over your wallet, cellphone, credit cards, and everything else of value. This happens very quickly. Sometimes it even feels like a blur.

One detail that people don’t usually understand is that often, the robber is more scared than they are. Normal people don’t pick up a gun and threaten to kill other people. We can all safely make that assumption.

Usually, people who commit robberies are desperate. Maybe they have a drug addiction to feed, their livelihood just got destroyed, or people they always counted on are unavailable. One thing we can all agree on is that robbing is an act of desperation.

When the robber is scared, and you do something that prolongs the robbery, or you send mixed signals, you risk being killed. The robber may not intend to pull the trigger or stick the knife in, but given the intense fear and desperation they’re under, anything can go wrong.

So when you see this and there somebody’s screaming, and there’s some emotional crescendo before you see yourself splayed out on the concrete floor with blood all over and brain chunks on the pavement, don’t freak out.

I know that’s easy to say because when people see themselves killed in a robbery, they blank out, and the next thing they see is the ceiling as they wake up. They’re sweating and shaking.

Seeing this indicates that there’s going to be a life-changing event on the horizon. Your conscious mind is aware of this but in broad outlines. Maybe you’re too busy with other things. This often happens because we can have misplaced priorities.

We focus on the small stuff. Little do we know that big stuff that we need to deal with and can drastically change the trajectory of our lives is already here. It’s no longer a theory or some faraway concern. It’s here.

But we’re so good at ignoring the 800-pound elephant in the room that we could barely see it. It barely registers in our consciousness. This happens quite a bit when it comes to issues involving health, relationships, financial or money problems, and family matters.

How many couples do you know who surprisingly broke up? It may seem like a surprise, but when you talk to them, it turns out that the seeds were already there and had been sprouting for quite some time.

They just didn’t want to deal with it because they feel they have so many things to worry about, like their kids, schoolwork, careers, making the mortgage payment for their house, and so on and so forth.

Pretty soon, just like that image of yourself bleeding to death on dirty concrete, the consequences of past mistakes appear in the most dramatic way possible.

A robbery dream could indicate privacy and boundaries

One distinctive line of interpretation for robbery dreams involves another aspect of personal autonomy. I’m talking about your privacy and boundaries. As the old saying goes, “Good fences make for good neighbors.”

Put simply: you know a good neighbor is not up in your business in your own house. They’re not eavesdropping on you or gossiping. They’re doing their own thing, minding their own business. This is only possible when there are clear guidelines between you.

The same goes for your friends. When you dream of being robbed, this can symbolize that there are people who routinely violate your space. Parents do this sometimes.

Sometimes you’re in a transition with someone who started as an acquaintance. There will be awkward situations when someone goes from a tier-one friend to becoming a best friend. Why? You’re getting used to them getting very close to you.

They know more of your secrets, and sometimes, they don’t know how close they are getting to you, so they behave the way they used to behave as a tier-one friend. You may feel offended when they’re too loose when talking about your stuff.

Now, you see them as your best friend, so you’re more likely to tell them your deep secrets. But since they see themselves as a tier-one friend, they are more likely to be open or casual with your secrets.

This is a situation where privacy and boundaries are up in the air, and your subconscious tells you about it through this dream of robbery.

How do you resolve this? It boils down to trust. If you think you can fully trust them, they would be open to your telling them what your boundaries are. This shouldn’t be a problem if you respect each other and the mutual admiration is there. But it starts with trust.

Dreaming of being robbed could mean vulnerability and identity

When someone robs you in real life, there is total disrespect for your boundaries and your ability to define who you are. None of that matters in the robber’s mind because your value in that time and place can be reduced to your possessions. Nothing else matters.

When you dream of being robbed, and there are indicators that the robber is in a hurry or cursing at you, your nighttime vision can mean a deep sense of disrespect. Not only was your autonomy violated, but your sense of identity has also been stripped.

There’s a part of you that is outraged, offended, and deeply hurt by the fact that the only value you have in that situation can be reduced to your possessions. When applied to your waking life, this interpretation can signify that your subconscious is telling you may be sending the wrong signals to the world.

For example, a guy who keeps flashing cash, driving around in fancy cars, posting about his luxurious house, and bragging about his riches can’t complain that all he attracts are gold diggers. To put it bluntly, the quality of the fish you catch depends on the kind of bait you use.

If your possessions and financial status are the only way to attract friends and lovers, don’t blame them when things go south. You used the wrong bait. If you don’t feel valued for who you are or you feel disrespected because people around you only know how to take and take, pay close attention to how they became close to you, to begin with.

Maybe you sent out the wrong signals. Maybe the relationships you’ve developed are shallow because you’re buying friends and affection. There is nothing wrong with this if you know what you’re doing.

But you can’t turn around and be hurt all of sudden as if all of this is a mystery. A little bit of self-awareness when it comes to others’ perception of your value is crucial. If you keep dreaming about being the victim of a robbery, and you feel cheap at the end of the dream, consider this dream interpretation.

A dream about robbery and emotional security

Usually, when people dream about getting robbed, the first things that come to mind are safety and physical security issues.

But just like with many signals that we receive from our dream world, rarely do we get a one-to-one correlation between what took place in our dreams and what will happen to us.

Your subconscious is speaking in code. If you want to get to the bottom of the dream meaning of robbery, pay close attention to the range of emotions you feel when you’re the victim of a robbery in your dream.

Were you focused more on the sheer terror of the incident? Or were you outraged you were there in the first place? Maybe you were saying in your dream that it’s the kind of thing that doesn’t happen to you because you’re not the type that gets victimized by these types of crimes.

Being emotional in your dream means that your sense of emotional autonomy and the ability to define yourself is under threat. Maybe you just found a new partner, and that someone can be narcissistic or tends to assume things about you that they didn’t talk to you about.

It’s as if you’re only an extension of their personality since you’re physically attracted and have fallen emotionally for them. You might feel that you want to go along so you can get along. That’s a normal response if you’re infatuated with somebody.

Your unstated hope is that once your emotional bond gets stronger, your partner will try to understand you for who you are and be accepting and loving. But you know that is not what’s happening.

The person you’re involved with likes to push around to test your limits. This doesn’t mean that they’re a bully or there’s something wrong with them. Maybe that’s just their personality. The last thing that you should do is to sit back and be quiet.

Speak up if you have a sense of emotional autonomy or have inner space you’d like to define within your bond. Don’t let your fear of losing them win. This is a crucial juncture in your intimacy, and you have to be careful about this.

Pretty soon, your partner will get used to bossing you around or defining terms for you. It will quickly become a habit. If you speak up in the future, it will seem like a betrayal to them, and this causes unnecessary drama.

Please understand that if you keep seeing yourself being victimized by robbery in your dreams, and you wake up with very strong emotions, look at the personal autonomy and self-definition aspects.

What does a dream about being robbed with a weapon mean?

In the eyes of the law, any robbery is a grave offense. Did you know that you can rob somebody and be sent to prison even if you just balled up your fist and threatened to bash somebody’s face in?

Even just holding somebody by the collar and pulling them up counts as robbery. Dubbed as strong-arm robbery, this type of crime doesn’t involve weapons. But the law has a special place for an armed robbery or robbery that involves weapons.

Is it a gun? A knife? A blunt instrument? Pay close to the weapon being brandished while you or somebody else is being robbed by somebody who is armed. Depending on the specific weapon, it can represent degrees of betrayal.

For example, if somebody were to rob you at knifepoint, they have to get up close. On the other hand, if they have a 45-caliber magnum pistol, they can stand at some distance from you to threaten you.

If you don’t give up your wallet and cellphone, they can kill you. You may think there’s no big difference in terms of weapons, but there is. It’s all about proximity.

When your subconscious tells you that your sense of autonomy and ability to control your situation is under threat, focus on the distance factor. If you’re being robbed at knifepoint, it means that your subconscious feels smothered by people close to you.

Maybe they’re getting too comfortable and taking your ability to make decisions about your future or special demands for yourself for granted. They assume that you will go along. Usually, this takes place in the context of parent-child relationships, but it can also happen in other types of relationships.

If the robber stands at some distance, it can represent people who are not your tier 1 or tier 2 friends. They have some influence on you, but you care about their opinions less. It can also represent your boss or people who have authority over you.

Regardless, you feel that your ability to control your existence to some degree is being threatened. To dream of robbery from a distance indicates more distant relationships. You should be careful and pay more attention to being robbed at knifepoint.

This represents your family or loved ones: people who take your higher priority. In many cases, you might even feel that you owe them your existence, and they play a central role in your being. Paradoxically, the ones who are closest to us are the ones who can hurt us the most.

If you think about it hard, this makes a lot of sense because they know who you are. They are in a position to know your character, and when they say certain things, it can cut deep and profoundly affect our feelings. They are in the best position to know your vulnerabilities.

Put in symbolic terms, they know where to place the knife in your back to end your life as quickly as possible. Of course, this is only figurative speech.

What does it mean to see someone being robbed in a dream?

When you see somebody else get robbed in your dream, pay attention to the identity of the one involved. Is it your sibling? Your significant other? Your parents or grandparents? Or is it somebody more distant? Is it an acquaintance?

The victim’s identity plays a big role in the proper interpretation of a dream where you see someone robbed. If it’s somebody you know intimately, your mind tells you that something’s wrong with their personal life.

You’re driven by concern. You may have seen their problems for a long time now, and things have come to a head. On the other hand, if the dream involves somebody you don’t know all that well or is only an acquaintance, it can signify your concern about some group project that you’re a member of.

There are control issues whether you joined a club or were assigned to a team at work. Maybe things are poorly defined; that is, it’s unclear who is going to do what or who is accountable for what.

When you see a third party get robbed in that context, your mind is only expressing frustration at lack of direction or bad management. Again, this doesn’t apply only to your workplace. It can apply to any group you’re a member of.

What does it mean when you witness a robbery in a dream and fail to do anything?

When you see this type of dream and the focus is on your ability to do anything, it can represent feelings of powerlessness regarding your relationships. In your dream, maybe you were trapped in a car, or the situation was so horrendous that you were frozen in your tracks.

You might be thinking that there’s not much you can do because you’re only a junior partner. Please note that the relationship doesn’t have to be romantic. It could be your friends, coworkers, study buddies at school, or other people related to you.

Whatever the case may be, you see things play out in front of you like a movie. You feel that you don’t have much say when you’re with other people because you think they don’t take you seriously.

If you bottle up those emotions for a long time, then you get this type of dream. It does bubble up. The dream can also symbolize that you’re insecure about making the first moves in many situations.

Maybe you feel that it’s not your place, or people might get upset, or a part of you is lazy. You don’t want the spotlight. Worse yet, you don’t want the blame if things go wrong. It’s easy to live a passive existence.

Don’t be surprised if you don’t do much of anything if you always think about what you stand to lose or any negative feedback. When you witness a robbery in a dream, again and again, sit up and pay attention because your subconscious is telling you that it’s a serious issue.

Your passivity is causing you to live in a way that you might greatly regret later on.

What is the dream meaning of robbing someone?

This is a weird dream because it doesn’t indicate the most obvious meaning people would like to give it. When you see yourself as the robber, maybe you’re pointing the gun and yelling commands at your victim and stripping them of their valuables, it can be a sign that you’re going to have great opportunities up ahead.

This could be seen as a breakthrough dream image because successfully robbing somebody takes planning, focus, dedication, and the willingness to risk it all. In most US jurisdictions, robbing somebody through the use of a weapon can get you a prison stay of at least 5 to 20 years.

That’s quite a commitment. When you see yourself robbing someone in your dream, and the main focus is on your participation, and nothing else bad happens to the victim, this can represent an individual breakthrough.

Maybe you’re fairly passive, or you’re the type who thinks that somebody else will take care of your issues, but there will be an opportunity disguised as a challenge entering your life in the near future.

It seems that the emotional equipment you need is well-positioned to achieve a breakthrough in terms of your ability to chart the direction and progress in life that you want for yourself. Is it going to be nice, clean, and well-organized? Probably not.

Just like with most people who go through development, you’re going to be groping around in the dark. Most people struggle in uncharted territory. The good news is they end up at a higher level in their lives if they can make it through.

And if you keep at it, you will achieve momentum and finally start living the kind of life you feel you deserve. Quite a change from a passive mindset, right?

Dreaming about being the robber may feel that you’re frustrated with having to wait. This is not a small thing. If you’re in a relationship that you truly prize, it’s very annoying to wait for your partner to step up and be more mature.

You love them and know that you will be there for them but have to wait for them to grow up essentially. You can nag them, but you know how that worked out and will work out if you tried it again. So you wait.

The same applies to your friends, career, education, and anything else worthwhile for you. When you see yourself robbing people in the dream, and you don’t end up killing them or harming them in any way besides stealing their property, this indicates a deep sense of impatience.

This is a warning sign. There are so many things you can do to improve your character while waiting for other people. You can’t push things along too aggressively because you might start a chain reaction that unleashes consequences you may not be ready for.

What does it mean to dream about a car robbery?

If you see the central image of a car while dreaming of getting robbed in a dream – either as a getaway vehicle or as the main venue of the crime – it indicates a feeling of constriction. You’re cooped up in a certain area of your being.

Part of you thinks that your best years are behind you because you’ve been spending all this time within these close parameters. Maybe it’s a relationship that hasn’t matured as you had hoped, or it’s a financial opportunity that feels more like a dead-end or an education that you think doesn’t open enough doors of opportunities. Whatever the case may be, you seem to be split and can’t quite make your mind up.

On the one hand, you feel that you’re in a position to speed things up and get the kind of rewards you feel you have coming your way. On the other hand, you still are in an enclosed space under somebody’s control, dealing with many variables that you don’t have power over.

What does dreaming about someone close to you stealing mean?

This type of dream doesn’t indicate robbery. Maybe they’re shoplifting or committing burglary. This dream may mean many things depending on the details. Are they stealing something you own or somebody else’s stuff? Are you a participant in the crime or witnessing it through a CCTV camera?

If you are part of the crime, this means that you feel you are helping somebody in your close circle achieve an individual breakthrough. Now that sounds great on paper, but it’s messy in real life. People don’t change by simply going from point A to point B.

It would be great if that were the case, but life is not a Hollywood movie. It’s never that clean, smooth, painless, and easy. Often, somebody’s struggling with an addiction or has problems with relationships zigzags.

You think they’re out of the woods, but all of a sudden, they relapse. It’s a mess that can take up a lot of your time and focus. If you see someone close to you steal from you, that’s another thing entirely.

You have invested so much time and emotional energy in this person, but the relationship is lopsided. They may not be stealing your material possessions, but they are taking something far more valuable, which is your emotional energy.

You probably have this kind of pal. Someone who breaks up with his girlfriend and then talks to you for four hours. What if you had a deadline to meet? What if you’re running a business? How do you get those four hours back?

You may be thinking that it’s just an hour here and there. But if you’re making a thousand bucks an hour, that’s 4,000 that went up in smoke. Pretty soon, this bond would feel constricting because you know the value of your time.

You understand how opportunity costs work. Every second you’re on that phone emotionally babysitting your buddy, you are not doing something that could be putting food on the table or increasing your earning potential, like taking online courses, getting a certification.

I hope you understand how this works. You have to be careful. Many people think that time is expendable because it’s intangible. They think there’s more of it where it came from, but no. Time is the raw material of life.

Why do you think people hired you? Do you think your boss is giving you money every two weeks because he’s a good guy? No. He’s renting your time because they’d rather devote their time to something else. That’s how they leverage money.

And here’s this person taking up your time and, worse yet, your emotional focus. When you see someone close to you stealing from you in your dream, sit up and pay attention because lopsided relationships may be draining you of the necessary resources you need to live up to your potential.

What does a dream about a robbery involving a stolen car mean?

If you see somebody rob you or someone else in your dream and hop in a stolen car and speed away, it can be a warning about missed opportunities. Focus on the speed. You may be thinking that you’re in a relationship or an organization or in a certain phase of your life where you’re not getting the proper return.

This can be a turning point in your life because if you properly decipher the true meaning of a robber with a stolen car, you might be able to achieve a breakthrough. How? You can get more value for every second of your life that you invest in doing something instead of another.

A car robbery is a much deeper symbol than you think.

What does dreaming about a robber stealing jewelry mean?

Jewelry often indicates surplus wealth. Generally, people don’t buy gems because of their industrial use. Its main value is in its status symbol and monetary value.

When a robber steals jewelry after threatening people’s lives in your dream, it can be a warning that there are areas of your life where you feel your potential is being wasted. This is similar to the image of a robber using a stolen car to get away.

Pay close attention to the nuances and other secondary signals to properly determine the real meaning of a robber stealing jewelry. Almost always, it has something to do with imbalances in how you spend your time, which is reflected in your potential.

What does it mean to dream of stopping the robbers?

If you’re stopping the robbers in your dream vision, it can mean that you are finally getting tired of being robbed of your time, emotional energy, focus, and loyalty. It can represent a breakthrough in your life.

You’re no longer going to take things sitting down. You have many visions that you’ve been dreaming of, and you’re finally tired of stealing potential from yourself by being lazy, passive, dependent, and weak.

You have to understand that nobody can take that process away from you when you work on something in your life and put in the time, effort, and sacrifice to make it happen.

Sure, the object of your efforts can be stolen. But the process of becoming and the journey from having ideas bounce in your head to creating something that people can see, touch, taste, hear, and smell is irreplaceable because it summarizes a series of positive changes in your journey.

You have become somebody. You don’t necessarily have to be a billionaire or famous, but nobody can steal that from you. It has become ingrained in your character. When you see yourself stopping the robbers in your dream, it indicates that you are taking action.

You said to yourself that you believed in these things for the longest time, but you know that’s only lip service. When you trust enough in your dreams to take action on them, that’s when all that positive energy gets turned into real results.

What if you’re dreaming about knowing the robber?

When you see in your mind’s eye a crime unfold, and it’s obvious that you’re agonizing about knowing the robber, it can indicate a ham-fisted message from your subconscious that you don’t fully trust somebody close to you.

One symptom of this is lopsided conversations where you’re just a piece of furniture, and the other person is the main character. The whole conversation is about their fears, hopes, dreams, and worries. Your job is to play the audience.

They’re robbing you of your value as a friend. If you’re a true pal, then you’re a peer. In other words, my needs are never more valuable than yours because I see you as my equal. That’s how I can love you because you are my equal. You’re equally worthy of my attention. It’s a two-way street.

You know you have a problem with your buddy if they treat you as an audience. They are Ariana Grande, and you’re just another face in the crowd. Your value is to keep the dollars flowing and the applause going. You have to be careful about these situations.

That’s a deep sense of betrayal because you can develop a relationship with somebody else who sees you as someone worth being friends with, not because of your money or the doors of financial opportunities you can open.

They want to be friends with you for being yourself. That’s the essence of a positive and real relationship.

What does it mean to dream of robbery in your street?

When you see this type of dream and see the landmarks and geographic features that indicate that you live in that street, it can mean that something is getting close to home. You feel that your family’s security is threatened, although the threat is not necessarily physical.

Maybe there’s been a fight between your siblings or parents or somebody close to the family. This threatens the security and peace of the people you love the most. There’s not much you can do about it except to be a channel of communication.

Sometimes people say stuff they don’t mean. Maybe they’re hanging onto their pride, or they feel that they have to draw first blood emotionally for them to retain their dignity. There’s a lot of that going on.

When in doubt, be the first adult on the scene. Be the sacrificial lamb that lays the foundation for a mature and adult understanding of the conflict. The worst thing that you can do is to take sides.

Dream Example #1

Sunday night arrived fast. My parents and siblings were already fast asleep. Not me, though. At least not until one o’clock in the morning.

Humming one of my favorite songs by Lionel Richie, I later fell asleep.

Drifting deeper into my slumber, I had a dream.

I was at an ATM spot to withdraw money. It wasn’t crowded because it was late at night.

Dragging myself there with no bag or wallet, I inserted my card and punched in my digits. I didn’t seem to observe my surroundings.

So after withdrawing, I put the money in my side pocket and headed towards the street beside the bank. This is about 15 minutes walk to my house.

Bypassing the main route and taking this bushy path, I walked on.

I thought of nothing else but my bed and was so eager to lay on it. The thought of resting my weary bones after a long day was priceless. So I doubled my steps.

Walking into the dark and lonely road was depressing but I thought to myself, “at least I’ll get home on time”. Right then, a vehicle stopped beside me.

A guy stepped out of the vehicle. He greeted me politely and asked for directions to Asari Eso Layout. This happened to be just a few blocks from where we were.

As I tried giving him directions, I noticed there were two other persons in the vehicle. The driver, exclusive. I became uneasy to the point I was now stammering.

Right then, the car doors swung open and the two guys dashed out. The driver stayed put. Scenes were already beginning to play in my head.

“Where’s the money?!” The skinniest of them all shouted.

Feigning ignorance, I responded, “Which money?”. I did my best to hide my fear.

The fear of going hungry for weeks if this money leaves me. This was to be my means of survival till God-knows-when. I had just withdrawn the last dollar in my bank account. I was officially broke.

In a flash, it dawned on me. They’d been following me all along.

What followed was a blow to my face. Another followed. Yet another, this time, to my tummy.

I didn’t get the chance to speak as I was now keeling over. Coughing and trying to regain balance, I didn’t bother fighting back.

Those guys are mean. I was in so much pain at that moment I couldn’t feel my legs.

I then managed to utter a few words of plea to the boss. The hunkiest one had to be the boss. It felt like the stupidest move. Following up with a “shut up!”, he brandished a shiny silver pistol. At that moment, beads of cold sweat burst onto my skin. I froze.

So they searched my pocket, took the money and my phone as I lay mortified on the ground.

As they reentered their car, one of them kicked my left leg with so much viciousness, I felt it as I woke up.

I found I kicked my leg against the nearby glass stool beside the couch.

Thank God it was only a dream.

Dream Example #2

For the past two weeks, the cases of robbery were increasing in our small town. Housebreaking in a small town is a huge issue due to fewer security advantages.

The middle-class people were worried about their belongings like cars which they use to park outside. Recently the robbers robbed the car wheels and alloys from our neighborhood.

Things scare you more when you are alone. Due to the sudden death of my uncle, my parents have to go to attend the funeral.

They were also worried like me. But they have to go. They left with a promise of coming back as soon as possible.

I said goodbye to them and engaged myself in my work. The home that seems that small to me now sounds too big. Later, when I finished my homework, I started waiting for them. It was 4:30 in the evening.

I was getting bored and lonely, so I started binge-watching Netflix.

I saw someone inside my home. I found they were planning to kill me. I didn’t know from where they came.

It was uneasy to guess who they are by their appearances. But I was afraid. It seems like they were trying to harm me. I looked around and took the plank of the desk in both of my hands.

I have prepared myself for their attack. I was right. They started coming near to me with knives in their hand. I then took a wooden plank and smashed them as hard as possible.

The two of them again stood up with a knife. I ran towards the kitchen. I saw my mom in there.

The oil on the stove was boiling. They followed me to the kitchen. I immediately grabbed the spatula and dipped it in the boiling oil fry pan.

They were trying to come near towards us. I thrashed them with the hot spatula. They were trying to snatch that spatula. But I again put it into hot oil and hit them.

They were trying to snatch that spatula. But I again put it into hot oil and hit the robbers. I screamed a lot for help. Nobody came to help me.

Then I decided to run. In an instant, the whole home turned into fire. I have never had such a tragedy.

I was trying to escape everything. As I run, My heart rate was getting faster. My fear has occupied more space than my intelligence.

I was wet with my own sweet and was lying unconsciously on the grassy land. My mom and dad were trying to wake me up.

Then a disturbing sound came. The sound was getting multiplied each time. It was dark everywhere when I opened my eyes. The time was 8:30 p.m. And the lights of the entire home were off.

I realized the doorbell of the house was ringing continuously and hurried to open the door. It was mom and dad. I thank God for keeping me safe. In life, I will never sleep while watching T.V.

Dream Example #3

I had this dream shortly after my wedding in 2004. December 15, precisely.

My newly-wedded wife and I were occupying a 2-bedroom flat in a community called Ulakwo in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, at this point.

It was a village on the outskirts of the state near its border with Imo State.

I did not bother watching a late-night movie before retiring to bed on this night. I was still observing my honeymoon then.

If I had any intention, it was to get my new bride pregnant as fast as possible; this matters to relatives and friends where I come from.

My last act was to take the dregs from a keg of cold palm wine which some of my elderly friends told me helps in such matters. I was even feeling a little tipsy.

Incidentally, I had this dream even before ‘touching’ my wife on this night.
Here’s how things played out.

I retired to bed as early as 9 pm to conserve energy for my new bride and soon fell asleep with her watching a local movie in the sitting room.

The dream was so vivid, I still shudder anytime I recall it.

Four heavily built masked men, armed with Dane guns popularly called ‘sakabula,’ suddenly broke down my front door and, holding my wife at gunpoint, shoved her from the sitting room to the bedroom.

“Help! help!” I heard my wife screaming and looked up to behold the terrible sight.
“Darling, don’t do anything stupid, ” my wife said as soon as they entered the bedroom. “Let…let…let us cooperate so they can take what they want and leave us alone, ” she stammered.

“What…what…what do you want?” it was my turn to stammer.

“Your money or your life!” one of the armed robbers who I suspect to be their leader demanded with his gun pointing at my head.

I knew I had to be composed; one does not show fear before his wife where I come from.

“You can take our money and get out!” I said boldly prompting the man to hit me with the gun on my head. I started bleeding from a cut I sustained there instantly.

“Who are you shouting at?” he demanded in the process.

“Just take what you want and leave peacefully, ” I said almost in a whisper this time.

“That’s better. How much do you have in this house?” he asked.

“Enough to get you out of here and never return, ” I replied moving towards the drawer.

The one I assumed was their leader who had been talking to me, followed cautiously from a distance as if to ensure I don’t pull a gun out of the drawer with his gun still pointed at me.

Even though I don’t keep large sums of money at home in real life, there was a million naira in the drawer in that dream.

“Take the money and leave, ” I said.

I assumed from the awkward silence that followed they must have stopped to catch their breath and thank their stars at the large sum of money they were staring at in the drawer.

“Terror!” the leader eventually called out. “Transfer the cash to the bag!” he commanded prompting one of the marauders to march towards the drawer and feverishly start transferring the money into a ‘Ghana-must-go’ bag he suddenly produced.

As soon as this was over, the leader turned to my wife and told her to “undress.”

“What…what…what did you say? I stammered again.

” Shut up!” he shouted at me and repeated the order looking at my wife.

I could no longer take it.

“You have taken all the money in the house. Why not – ”

“Shut up!” he interrupted me.

He gave a signal and one of his men started tearing off the clothes from my wife’s body.

I have seen all of Bruce Lee’s movies but even he didn’t fight like me in any of them like I found myself doing in that dream.

I was kicking, punching, scratching, somersaulting, and shouting.

“You can’t touch my wife! you can’t try that! no way!” I was screaming and attacking the robbers with sweat all over my body in the dream and real life.

You can therefore imagine my shock when I opened my eyes to see my wife staring at me ‘demonstrating’ on the bed.

Our eyes met and it dawned on me I have had a nightmare. To say I was relieved is an understatement.

I went around the house to ensure everything was intact and retired into the bedroom with my wife.

Of course, it was a memorable night; she didn’t see her menses that very month and for 8 others!

Dream Example #4

It was 21:00 on a Friday night. A very busy weekend for the city people going about their activities. The environment was moist and airy.

What happened was unexpected at this time of the day. I never knew such thing could happen to me as there was no sign, no previous occurance, no security bridge about the environment, but it still happened.

It was along a major road with traffic, commuters, lightenings, shops, petrol station, in fact, it was a very busy night and people seemed not ready to retire for the day, yet.

Hence, I said there was no sign before the attack. Yes, I was attacked.

I’ve been on a yearly leave from work, which should last one month and haven been home and resting for two weeks, I do decide to take strolls every evening.

I was well dressed, I topped all with a long jacket which I bought from outside the country. Then a new shoe I just bought from an online store, just for the Friday night should incase I run into someone I know and we decide to hang out.

Then, at about 21:15pm, a car, I guess a camry 2013 saloon car pulled over in front of me and a man, likely in his mid forties, sneaked out his head from the drivers side.

He waved me to stop. I did anf he asked for directions to a particular location. He had long beards, with an afro hair, fair complexioned, and we’ll dressed for the night.

The location he asked for was a popular one around town and I was elated to assist him. However, I noticed that when I tried to give him directions he always tried to make it difficult, which got me a little pissed.

Suddenly, two men walked close behind me, one by either side, and both walked uncomfortably closed.

I demanded they kept their distance only for me to realize they had weapons with them. One had a gun and the other a large chopping knife.

I could see the fright on my face from the blade of the knife. My heart seemed to make a record high jump.

Then I realized I was held hostage. I was asked to get inside the car and drop all my belongings.

For a second, I thought I could do a Jason Statham on them, but this was reality, not a Hollywood movie. So, I did as they said.

I dropped all I had on me; phones, ATM, business card, my jacket, new shoes, just everything they asked for.

It was terrible. As the car drove off, I was thrown out from the moving car, and that was when I woke up from this nightmare.

I felt better after I saw my phones by my bedside. I reached for my wallet. It was still intact with all of its contents. I went to my wardrobe and saw my beautiful jacket and shoes too. What a relief I felt!