I have sexual dreams about my father

It’s not about sex. There’s something about yourself you have to come to terms with, says Pamela Stephenson Connolly Last night I had a sexual dream about my father. I don’t often have sex dreams but when I do, my dad features in them quite a lot. In the dream it is never taboo or unpleasant, but I wake up feeling disturbed and disgusted with my subconscious. In real life I have a good relationship with him and I’ve never been abused. I’ve had a couple of satisfying sexual relationships with guys my own age (I’m in my mid-20s) and am not aware of any issues relating to this topic except that my dad came out when I was a young teenager, and for a while I was worried anyone I ended up with would also turn out to be gay. Could the dreams be confronting that fear? Or is it fairly normal to have taboo dreams? It is certainly common to have dreams depicting taboo acts, but their meanings are usually more complex. Your recurring dreams are not really about having sex with your father. Dreams give an insight into the unconscious mind. If your father in your dream represents a part of you, which part would it be? Perhaps it’s a part of you with which you have a strong, unconscious desire to connect – but of which you’re afraid. The feeling of the dreams is pleasant, so if there is something about yourself you have yet to come to terms with (whatever your father in your dream represents) it’s something you’ll eventually welcome on a conscious level. • Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders. •Send your problem to private.lives@guardian.co.uk Sex Relationships Pamela Stephenson Connolly guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 28, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.