Poop. It’s not exactly something most people want to think about, let alone dream about. Yet for many, dreams about poop can be surprisingly common. If you’ve woken up pondering the meaning behind one of these unsavory night visions, you’re not alone.
Dreams have long been viewed as windows into the subconscious mind. Some psychologists even consider them the mind’s way of processing emotions and experiences. When strong symbols like poop appear, it’s often a sign your subconscious is trying to send you a message.
Common Meanings Behind Dreams About Poop
Poop, in all its various forms, is one of the most universally recognized symbols for negativity across cultures. It’s associated with qualities like bad smells, germs, and dirtiness. This strong connection means dreams about poop may represent unconscious feelings of:
- Guilt or shame over a situation
- Feeling unclean physically, emotionally, or spiritually
- Fear of losing control
- Anxiety over not “having your s*** together”
Poop dreams can also symbolize a need to rid yourself of old ways of thinking, toxic relationships, or bad habits that aren’t serving you anymore. Your subconscious might even use poop imagery to point out behaviors you subconsciously know are “crappy.”
More specifically, here are some common poop dream scenarios and what they could mean:
You’re Pooping Somewhere Inappropriate
Perhaps the most universal poop dream is finding yourself pooping uncontrollably in a public setting. This often signals anxiety around a loss of control in your waking life. It may relate to finances, work, relationships, or an opportunity you feel is “slipping away.”
Dream analysts often liken this to the notion of being “caught with your pants down,” reinforcing feelings of vulnerability or embarrassment. The location you’re pooping – say at work or church – can also reveal where you feel a loss of control.
You Keep Pooping and Can’t Flush
Dreaming you keep pooping overflowing toilets or clogged pipes likely relates to something in your life that feels “stuck.” There’s a recurring problem you want to eliminate but keeps coming back. Processing and releasing this “crap” is necessary for growth.
Inability to flush poop down the toilet can symbolize that you are consciously aware of an unwanted situation or emotions, but feel powerless to manage it. Like poop clogging up plumbing, you may feel blocked from resolving an issue.
Playing With or Eating Poop
Dreams about handling poop in inappropriate ways can reflect guilt over a demoralizing experience. Your mind might also associate the poop with money, indicating financial concerns or feelings that a money-making venture is “dirty business.”
Eating poop in a dream points to possible absorption of negativity – taking in toxic ideas from others or exposing yourself to demoralizing scenarios. It’s a sign you need to be more mindful about what you’re “consuming.”
Poop is Abnormally Colored or Textured
Seeing poop in strange hues like blue, green, sparkly, or an unusual texture symbolizes your discomfort with processing weird or unfamiliar emotions/experiences. The color or texture might offer clues about the root issue.
For example, red or bloody poop can represent anger, green may signal jealousy, and black can symbolize fear. Glittery or colorful poop might point to feelings of confusion around a situation.
You’re Stepping in Poop
Stepping barefoot into poop can warn of contact with someone/something that could “taint” your psyche or life direction. It cautions you to watch where you’re “stepping” to avoid pitfall situations.
Waking up with the imaginary sensation of poop still on your foot indicates feeling “stained” by a recent experience that’s left you demoralized or ashamed.
Being Unable to Find a Toilet
Dreaming you’re desperately searching for a toilet but can’t find one reflects a sense of urgency to deal with a stressful problem but uncertainty about how to resolve it.
Getting Poop on Your Hands
When poop gets on your hands in a dream, it can warn of coming into contact with disagreeable people or situations. It suggests feeling emotionally “soiled” after involvement in problem interactions.
Psychological Reasons for Poop Dreams
Beyond general symbolism, dreams about poop can have psychological ties to specific issues like:
Potty Training
For some, dreams of poop connect to memories of potty training. This time represents gaining independence from parents while learning to control natural bodily functions. Poop dreams may signal difficulty navigating boundaries in relationships.
Potty training mishaps can also leave embarrassing memories that resurface later as anxiety dreams about uncontrollable pooping. Trauma or too much pressure around potty training may be at the root.
Anxiety
Anxiety sufferers often report dreams involving loss of control over pooping. This represents their waking fears about losing control in ways that could lead to embarrassment or being judged.
Anxious individuals commonly have perfectionistic tendencies and experience severe distress when unable to control situations to their standards. Dreams of pooping publicly mirror this anxiety.
OCD
Those with OCD obsess over cleanliness/order. Dreams about being unable to control pooping or eliminate it entirely can symbolize their desire for control paired with fear of contamination.
The poop represents the threat of imperfection and chaos invading their regimented systems. This manifests in obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions around cleanliness.
Digestive Issues
For those with digestive problems like IBS, Crohn’s, or diarrhea, dreams about poop may simply reflect the body’s constant state of discomfort/urgency. The mind is processing the stressful physical symptoms.
People with these conditions often report nightmares about poop accidents in public due to chronic anxiety over bathroom access. Their dreams visualize a common waking fear.
Trauma
Past traumas can sometimes resurface in the form of poop dreams. For example, childhood sexual abuse survivors may dream of poop symbolizing feelings of body shame or powerlessness.
Other trauma that left a sense of violation might manifest as poop dreams where one feels loss of control over their body and environment.
Poor Body Image
Struggles with body image may also contribute to dreams about poop mishaps. Poop represents the body’s least glamorous functions, contradicting airbrushed media images. Dreams can visualize insecurities about not meeting unrealistic beauty standards.
Spiritual Interpretations of Dreams About Poop
Some spiritual philosophies also explore poop dreams from a metaphysical perspective. A few notions include:
Releasing the Old
Poop’s role in elimination makes it a symbol for processing and releasing old patterns, emotions, or ways of thinking to make room for new growth.
Dreams about poop can mark a need to “take out life’s trash,” shedding negativity that weighs you down. This makes space for more uplifting energy.
Facing the Shadow
Dreaming about poop could represent facing your “shadow self” – the buried, unresolved issues in your psyche. This encourages healing those wounded parts of yourself.
The shadow encapsulates painful emotions like shame, fear, or trauma. Poop is the perfect symbol for finally acknowledging and eliminating this psychological waste.
Humility
Poop humbles even the most esteemed among us. Thus dreams about it sometimes arrive as reminders to let go of the ego and stay grounded.
Poop’s messy nature cuts through illusions of human glamour and grandeur. Its presence in dreams can reflect a need for honest self-appraisal and greater humanity.
Rebirth
In mystical traditions, poop dreaming symbolizes rebirth. By voiding waste, you create space for new energy and life force to enter.
This notion connects to principles of death and rebirth cycles in nature. A forest fire destroys old trees but enriches the soil for new growth. Poop dreams similarly mark the end of a life chapter and preparation for the new.
While no one dreams of poop because it’s pleasant, exploring the underlying meaning provides valuable insights. With an open mind, you may uncover the important messages your subconscious is revealing through these unpleasant symbols.
Poop dreams can indicate areas for self-improvement, recognize unwanted influences, or prompt you to release emotional baggage. They show that even life’s “crappiest” parts have significance if you dare to look.
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