Dream question: Why can’t I speak in my dream?

This was a dream question sent to me for answer: If you’d like a chance for your dream question to be answered find out more about the The Dream Download™ here. I also explore topics like this in my book Answers In The Dark: Grief, Sleep and How Dreams Can Help You Heal.

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“I had a dream where I was trying to speak but nothing would come out.  When I touched my mouth, I noticed there was a string hanging out.   I pulled on it and it was like this never ending piece of bunting.  What does this mean?”

This may be a common dream for people who are struggling to communicate.  That doesn’t mean you’re not articulate, just that someone around you may not be getting the message.  In some people’s dream, the object in the mouth is cotton wool, tissue, socks, or their teeth falling out.

This, like the never-ending bunting you’ve described, can symbolise the difficulty speaking or getting your point across.  You may also feel like you’re being silenced by someone who doesn’t want you to hear your story or version of events.

One important point to make, is that when we are dreaming we are also to some extent physically paralysed. Some people may get a sense of this this when, on waking, they realise they’re unable to move. This used to be known as Old Hag Syndrome but more is more commonly called Sleep Paralysis today .  

This is why for many people when they try to speak in a dream nothing comes out. It can sometimes feel as if you’re straining to talk, and your bed partner if you have one, may even describe strange noises you make.  Again, this can symbolise the stress or frustrations of trying to communicate with someone (who’s just not listening or paying attention) but also recognising the physiological nature of the dreaming process, which means you physically can’t speak at that time. Sleep Paralysis is an uncomfortable though thankfully temporary experience, which I explore in the video below.

Make sure you’re managing your stress and having conversations that need to be had during the day, especially if you’ve found yourself making sacrifices to keep someone else happy. As I explain in Answers In The Dark, what we’re not dealing with during the day may well show up for as at night.

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Delphi is the author of Answers In The Dark: Grief, Sleep and How Dreams Can Help You Heal, out now on Amazon and Hive. The Dreams Maven™ is part of the Helping You Sparkle™ portfolio. You might also like Monday Mojo™.

Keeping a dream diary can be useful to help you understand why you have these dreams when you do.  I talk about this and offer a template in my book Answers in the Dark.

Copyright Delphi Ellis 2017, updated 2021.