What does it mean when you struggle to open your eyes in a dream?

‍When you dream, you often experience things that are strange and unusual.

Dreaming is a very personal experience, so while certain dreams are universal, what each of us interprets from them will be different.

If you can’t open your eyes in a dream, it can be unsettling.

When I experienced this dream repeatedly a few weeks ago, I looked into it – what could it mean?

What I found was quite interesting – so I want to share it with you!

1) Sleep paralysis

If you can’t open your eyes in a dream, it could be associated with sleep paralysis.

Sleep paralysis happens when you are falling asleep, or when you are waking up.

During these times there is a brief period when your body is paralyzed.

This is because those two moments are transitional stages when the body is on the cusp between two different states.

As an evolutionary survival mechanism, it prevents us from acting out our dreams, or from moving into a state where we are unable to move and remain safe while sleeping.

During this time, most people experience a sensation of being unable to open their eyes, even though they are conscious and fully aware of their surroundings.

Sleep paralysis is a very common human experience, and has been experienced by people throughout history.

However, that doesn’t make it any less scary.

You see, sleep paralysis is a terrible thing, it feels as though you are being watched, and that you can’t move.

When this happens, it usually coincides with a feeling of dread.

It’s not uncommon for people to experience sleep paralysis alongside a sense of dread or terror.

It is also common for people to feel as though they are being suffocated, or that someone is sitting on their chest.

Not being able to open your eyes in a dream could be related to this, but there are many other reasons you might be having this dream:

2) There is something you don’t want to accept in your life

When you experience the inability to open your eyes in a dream, it could be that you are in the process of accepting something in your life.

You may be struggling with or denying the fact that something is over or no longer exists in your life.

You may want to deny that your relationship with someone has ended, or that you are no longer in the same place in your career.

You may want to deny that you don’t have the same energy level, or that you are aging.

There could be a lot of things that you are in denial about, and in your dreams, this shows up as you not being able to open your eyes.

You see, for me, this was spot-on. Even though I didn’t consciously admit it, there was something in my life I was in denial about and this was the message my unconscious mind was sending me.

The thing is, on a subconscious level, we already know that there are certain things we need to accept in life.

It’s our conscious minds that are often the issue.

Our conscious minds just don’t want to face these things.

It’s not fun to accept that you are growing old, or that your relationship with someone is over.

These kinds of things can often be a real blow to the ego.

However, when we are able to accept this kind of change, life gets a whole lot easier.

When we are in denial about something and try to escape from it, it is like trying to run away from ourselves.

We can’t do it for very long, and when we stop running away from these issues, they aren’t so threatening anymore.

3) You are Coping with Change

When you dream that you can’t open your eyes, it could be that you are trying to cope with a huge change in your life.

This could be a life-changing event, like the death of a loved one, a divorce, the loss of a job, moving, or having a child.

It could also be something more minor that is causing you to feel out of your comfort zone, such as starting a new job, taking care of a new baby, or moving to a new house.

Dreaming that you can’t open your eyes could mean that you are struggling with the idea that you are no longer in your comfort zone.

You see, humans love to be in their comfort zone, it makes them feel safe. Any big life changes feel threatening at their core.

We feel vulnerable.

But change is a good thing! It allows us to grow as people.

Dreams can be a great way to help us cope with change.

If you dream that you can’t open your eyes, it could mean that you are trying to deal with the changes in your life by running away from them.

You may be pretending that things are really not changing, or at least not changing as much as they really are.

This is your mind’s way of making you feel better.

This is why it’s so important to work on facing your dreams and understanding what they mean!

You see, when we face our dreams, we are able to move through the feelings and emotions that come up for us and we actually get closer to dealing with whatever change has come into our lives.

So the next time you have a dream that you can’t open your eyes, don’t panic!

4) You feel insecure

When you can’t open your eyes in a dream, it could mean that you feel insecure or unsure of yourself in real life.

There may be something in your life that you are afraid to try or experience because you lack confidence in your abilities.

Perhaps a new job, or a new relationship.

You may feel that you don’t have what it takes to do something, or don’t have the right experience to succeed.

Feelings of insecurity are very common and nothing to feel ashamed of.

After all, confidence is something that we build up over time and we learn more about ourselves as we go through life.

If you are experiencing feelings of insecurity in your life, you can use your dreams to help build up your confidence.

You can do this by writing down the situations that make you feel insecure and then using your dreams to work on these issues.

For example, if you are feeling insecure about starting a new job or moving out on your own, you can use your dreams to work through these feelings.

When you dream that you can’t open your eyes, it could be a sign that there is something in real life that is making you feel insecure.

It’s important to take the time to understand what it is and how it makes you feel so that you can start building up some confidence in yourself!

5) You want to protect yourself from the discomfort of life

You may be trying to protect yourself from the anxiety that you feel about real-life situations when you can’t open your eyes in a dream.

Something in your waking life may be causing you a lot of stress or anxiety.

You may be trying to protect yourself from the discomfort of feeling too overwhelmed or stressed out, so you close your eyes to it, literally.

You see, life can be overwhelming and stressful, but escaping is not the answer.

Instead, you should deal with your stress head on.

Dreams can help you to do this by bringing up all of the emotions that come up for you when you are stressed out.

These dreams can help you to move through those uncomfortable feelings and get closer to a solution to whatever is causing your anxiety.

It’s important for us to remember that, although we may not be ready for something in real life, we need to take the time to deal with it and not run from it.

6) You need to have courage

When you dream that you can’t open your eyes, it could mean that you need to have courage in real life.

You may be facing something that you are afraid of, or that you don’t feel you have the ability to do.

You may have been given an opportunity or been put in a position where you have to do something that terrifies you.

You may have to be the one to make a decision or stand up for yourself.

Either way, you need to have courage and your dream is letting you know that right now, you are not showing that courage, yet.

Become braver and you will be able to open your eyes!

7) You lack experience in something

Sometimes we may dream that we can’t open our eyes because we lack experience in something.

You could be dreaming that you are unable to open your eyes because you are lacking experience working in a new field or career, or be in a situation where you feel you don’t belong.

You may not have the necessary skills and knowledge to move forward in your life.

You may feel like you need to get more experience in life before you can move forward.

The good news? You can always gain more experience!

If you know that you lack experience in something, it’s quite easy to find a remedy for that – simply learn more about it!

8) You feel your intuition

You may be having a dream that you can’t open your eyes because you are experiencing your intuition.

Your intuition is that inner knowing that we all have, and is a powerful force that is always guiding us and helping us to make the best decisions in life.

Sometimes we ignore it or are not in tune with it, but when we are, it often happens in the form of a dream or intuition when we can’t open our eyes.

When you listen to your intuition, a lot of things in life become a lot clearer!

Your intuition is your inner wisdom, a voice inside of you that tells you what path to take.

9) You don’t want to face reality

If you dream that you can’t open your eyes, it could mean that you don’t want to face reality.

You may be avoiding facing some difficult situations in your life, or be putting things off that you know you have to do.

You may be trying to ignore a situation that you know is likely unavoidable, or that you know you will have to deal with soon.

You may fear the unknown, or what the future may hold.

This was definitely the reason I kept having this same dream – I was trying to avoid facing the reality of my life.

I was in denial that I had a problem and was unable to face it.

It took me years to figure out that I had a problem, and even more time to be able to make changes in my life so that I could finally open my eyes.

However, once I faced the issue I was trying to hide from, things got a lot easier, all of a sudden.

10) You feel helpless

When you can’t open your eyes in a dream, it could mean that you feel helpless in real life.

You may be feeling like you have no control over a situation, or that you are unable to help someone you care about.

You may be feeling like you don’t know what to do, or that your life is out of control.

You may feel like you are being forced into a situation where you feel you don’t have any other choice than to go along with it.

You may also feel helpless because of a situation where you feel you have no control over the outcome.

This is not a fun feeling, we want to be in control of our lives, at least to some extent.

But feeling helpless is sometimes inevitable.

You see, you need to learn to accept that you can’t control everything that happens in your life, and that there are some things you just can’t change.

Once you do, you will feel less helpless in your life, and you won’t have to keep dreaming about not being able to open your eyes.

11) You are in a period of transition in your life

When you are having dreams that you can’t open your eyes, it could be because you are in a period of transition in your life.

You may be going through a major life change, like moving to a different city, getting married or divorced, having a baby, changing jobs, or graduating from school.

Transitions can be very stressful and overwhelming and can cause you to feel very anxious.

You may be having dreams where you can’t open your eyes because you feel out of control, and these dreams are a way to try and make sense of the changes in your life.

These transitions might be scary, but they also catapult you to a new level in your life! Trust me, it’s a great thing!

Accept the transition and go with the flow of life. Sooner rather than later you’ll notice that this is much better than resisting the change with your whole heart.

12) You are trying to make sense of a situation

Sometimes we have dreams that we can’t open our eyes because we are trying to make sense of a current situation.

You may be trying to understand the meaning behind an event or decision that is happening in your life.

This is a very common type of dream and is often associated with anxiety and stress.

You may dream that you can’t open your eyes because you are trying to make sense of a relationship, decision, or event that has recently happened in your life.

If so, you are probably very confused and unsure of what to do next.

You may also be trying to make sense of a decision or event that happened in the past.

This is common in people who are struggling with regret or remorse.

However, it’s okay to feel a bit confused at times.

This is your chance to get to the bottom of how you feel!

13) You need to be more aware in real life

Some people have dreams where they can’t open their eyes because they need to be more aware in real life.

This could be because you are spending too much time in a fantasy world, or are reading too much fiction.

You could be living in a dream world where you are not facing reality, and you need to snap out of that and be more present in your life.

You may also be dreaming this way because you are spending too much time on social media, and not enough time being present in real life.

There are so many different ways in which we can distract ourselves nowadays, and sometimes this leaves us feeling disconnected from the real world.

If you are dreaming that you can’t open your eyes because you need to be more aware in real life, then this is a wake-up call to start living in real life!

What is your reason?

After reading all of this, did any of these reasons resonate with you?

Dreams can have several meanings, and sometimes, your dream might even come to you for more than just one reason!

Either way, I hope that these have cleared up your situation a bit and you now know what to do in order to make sense of this peculiar dream!