Dream Of Drowning? Here Are 7 Things It Could Mean + What To Do About It

Dreaming about drowning tends to be the latter, and whether you've just had this dream or you've been having it repeatedly for years, here's what it could be telling you, plus what to do about it.

Whether it's your job, your relationship, your family, or your own emotional baggage, something is weighing you down, and this dream is your subconscious' way of playing out these feelings, Loewenberg adds.

Loewenberg also notes that this dream can be directly connected to the fact that you are feeling all alone in life. "And that may be because you're not letting it be known that you're in this situation," she adds.

On the flipside, if something in the dream is pulling you down, such as a net, a heavy weight, or even a person, that's a big clue that something external in your life is causing you stress. Something you deal with regularly is weighing you down or creating a sense of struggle within you, Loewenberg says.

This is especially relevant if you tend to be someone who doesn't like to admit when they need a hand, feels uncomfortable accepting someone else's kindness, etc. As Loewenberg explains, "Allow yourself to have help, whether it's in the form of advice, financial help, emotional support, or someone taking on some of your responsibilities—it's time to take some of the load off and it's OK if you need to ask for help."

"If you see something that can save you, that is your subconscious reassuring you that help is available to you and a better situation is right around the corner—you got this, and it's OK," she says.

"I've been told many times that at some point in the drowning dream, some people will actually realize they can breathe underwater, and that's actually pretty common," she says, explaining that this would indicate your subconscious is letting you know you can survive the real life situation the dream represents.

If the thing that stands out most in the dream is a felt sensation of being dragged or pulled down, Loewenberg tells mindbodygreen this can indicate depression or negative emotions. Water in dreams often does represent our emotional world, so feeling weighed down by the water itself is symbolizing drowning in negative emotions, she says, "when your psyche is saying, 'No, pull yourself up.'"

It's also worth noting, according to professional intuitive Catharine Allen, that drowning dreams and other dreams about death could be related to a past life. As Allen previously wrote for mindbodygreen, "Let's say I had a dream that I died in the water, drowned when I fell into the sea. If I felt peace and calm in my dream and like my spirit was at rest, I might come to the conclusion that this dream was about a past life."

Some questions you might consider asking yourself include:

Check out our full guide to working through recurring dreams for more info here.

Drowning dreams are scary, stressful, and can definitely leave you wondering what it actually meant. More often than not, it's a big sign you're stressed out or "in too deep" with something in your life. Figuring out what that is and doing what you can to lighten your load will help rest easier—sans drowning dream.