Sometimes you've gotta choke your boss!

Our Dreamer Writes:

Dear SMYD,

I’ve hesitated to send you this dream because it has some pretty risqué elements in it.  But my curiosity has overcome the surprise at my own dream.  Here it is!

I dreamed about seeing my boss, Julie, in the restroom at work.  First, her normally brown hair was bleached blonde and cut very short.  She seemed perky and energetic, but I just didn’t believe it.  Then her hair was dyed black on top and the under layer of her hair had been buzz-cut to make an ugly shaved band around her head about 2 or 3 inches wide.  Also, while she dresses beautifully every day, in the dream she was naked!  Her body looked a saggy.  I remember thinking, well, she’s 53 years old and she looked about right for her age.  Then, I was choking her!  I had my hands around her neck and was shaking her back and forth.  Her hair was shaking as I shook her head!

Julie and I are actually pretty good friends.  She is my boss, but I feel like she looks out for me at work, even if her motive is to keep me there when she knows I’m unhappy and feel stuck in a bad situation.  If I did get another job, I’d feel guilty about leaving her.  In other words, I really like her and can’t imagine why I’d have such a dream.  What do you think?

Signed,

Awkward, but Curious 

Dear Curious,

Your dream offers several angles of approach for understanding.  We can start with the direct and to-the-point attitude that this dream is referring to your views about your job.  Since you find yourself in a private place, the restroom, at work, we can surmise that your dream is bringing to the surface your private thoughts about work.  The fact that your boss (your work) is naked suggests that privately, you see things at work for what they are, not covered up with beautiful clothes that hide the facts below. 

Similarly, your boss’s hair is bleached and unnaturally perky and energetic.  But you are not fooled by this façade.  If we accept the metaphor of hair representing thoughts (flowing from the head or brain) then your dream seems to say again that you see the artificial nature of what’s she says to you.  Next, when her hair turns black, the change from one extreme to the other may speak to your own changeable thoughts and emotions about how to do what you want and need to do without hurting her.

Your dream shows you her scalp, stripped bare and just below the surface of the situation.  Julie/the job is not all sunshine and enthusiasm, as she might want you to believe for her own reasons.  Choking her suggests you’d like to cut off the dialogue that makes you feel guilty for wanting to go. 

Take care of yourself Dear Dreamer.  After all, would Julie stay in a bad job for you?

Sweet Dreams to You!