Last night, I had a vivid and terrifying dream that left my heart racing when I woke up.
In the dream, my mom and I were shopping at a Dollar Tree at night. Afterward, she offered to drive me home, and I agreed, telling her, “When we get to my place, you can reconcile with my husband,” since, in the dream, she and I were finally on good terms.
As we were driving, I asked her how she had been since she now had my nephew in her life. She became really excited and started digging into her purse to show me a picture while driving. I panicked and begged her to stop and focus on the road, but she didn’t listen. She ended up losing control and crashing into a bridge. I screamed as we fell over the edge, and just before the impact, I woke up—my heart pounding with fear.
This dream was so intense and unsettling. I haven’t spoken to my mom in five years, and our relationship has been strained since I was 14. Growing up, my sister and I had a rough time with her—she belittled us, called us cruel names, and even seemed to take pleasure in the idea that we would struggle in life. My dad never stood up for us, and our youngest sister eventually cut ties with all of us, including our parents.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot. Could that be why I dreamed of her? But why was the dream so extreme and terrifying? What does it mean?
This dream likely reflects deep-seated emotions surrounding your relationship with your mother. A car often symbolizes the direction and control of one’s life, and in this case, your mother is the one driving—suggesting that there may be lingering feelings about her influence over your past and even your current emotional state. Her distracted driving, despite your warnings, may represent unresolved frustrations—perhaps feeling that she never truly listened to you or considered your well-being. The crash could symbolize your fear that reconnecting with her (or even just thinking about her) could lead to emotional turmoil or loss of control in your own life.
The fact that this dream happened while you’ve been thinking about her more often suggests that your subconscious is processing these emotions. It may not necessarily mean you want to reconcile, but rather that your mind is trying to make sense of past wounds and their ongoing impact on you. The terror you felt could be tied to the unpredictability and instability of your relationship with her—perhaps a fear of repeating the same painful cycles if you were to engage with her again. This dream might be urging you to process these emotions, whether through reflection, journaling, or even talking to someone you trust.
