Dear SMYD,
My family tells me I'm back from the dead! I have severe sleep apnea. Every now and then it causes me to quit
breathing and my heart completely stops. When I’m that in that state, I’m considered to
be "clinically dead." My
family knows this and always keeps an ear tuned to my bedroom. They’re afraid I won’t wake up!
In my dream I was trying to get my car started
because the engine failed. It finally
started but it was running weak until two unknown guys pushed on the valves to
make them move.
With the car running, I kept on dreaming in a
sound and peaceful sleep until there was a knock on my door. It was my cousin. I could detect a bit of panic in her voice as
she was saying, "Are you alright?!"
She told me later that I was so slow to answer her knock that she was
afraid my sleep apnea got the best of me.
It's a great day to be alive!
It's a great day to be alive!
Signed,
Sleeping Too Soundly
Dear Sleeping,
Perhaps you’ve seen past columns in which we've said to dreamers that it makes good sense to consider a literal meaning to their
dreams. So, if this were a literal dream
showing that the valves in your car are stuck, now would be a good time to
check those valves. Consider your car’s
condition. Does it need a tune up?
Your dream isn’t literal, Dear Dreamer, though
its message is straightforward and should not be ignored. This important health dream uses your car as
a metaphor for your body. It illustrates
how your sleep apnea can cause your engine - your heart - to fail! WebMD reports that untreated sleep apnea can
cause hypertension, stroke, or heart failure. This is a dramatic statement of the danger
you are in!
In your dream, your “engine” stops running and
you can’t get it started again without the help of a couple of guys pushing on
the valves. You didn’t mention what those
unknown guys were wearing when they helped you. I wonder if they wore white doctor’s smocks!
Dear Dreamer, if your car wouldn’t start or if
its performance was weakened by sticky valves, I’m sure you would get it into the
shop right away. Your dream is speaking in the same terms
about your most precious personal possession, your body. Give yourself the same level of
care! Get right into the doctor and have
yourself checked out. Don’t keep living
in a weakened state.
And don’t leave your survival to the chance of
a family member knocking on your door at the critical moment. The expectation that they will always keep an
ear tuned and constantly remain at the ready to save your life is an unfair
one. You are responsible to yourself and
your family.
As you said, it’s a great day to be alive. Take care of yourself and stay that way!
Sweet Dreams to You, Dear Dreamer!
SMYD
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