THE DREAM I dreamt that a shark bit me. It was my right hand-inside the palm. It was sort of sewn shut by the doctors. I couldn't see the stitches, only a little where the flesh underneath my pinkie finger is. My ex boyfriend was in my life but totally unavailable. No caring or nurturing from him. I don't remember being bitten or chased by the shark. It wasn't scary in that sense. It was as though I'd already been bitten but no memory of what the experience was like. I feel like I was showing off my wounded hand to everyone I'd come in contact with. It was an exciting feeling. I was proud. I survived.

GUESSWORK The most prominent issue in the dreamers life was her breakup. She was still living with her boyfriend but they had split up. She was now dwelling on if this was the right decision. She concluded that he had not been there for her. He was emotionally unresponsive towards her.

ASSOCIATIONS AND DREAM SYMBOLISM The following associations and symbolic meanings can be applied to the dream.
1. The dreamer felt that her ex boyfriend was not there for her. He was not emotionally very giving. If a crisis occurred she thought he would not be there for him. That was repeated exactly in the dream.
2. Shark attack. This could represent any crisis were the dreamer needed her ex boyfriend to support her.
3. Survive. This could represent any emotional situation that we have survived. The dreamer had just got through a break up. She had survived that and felt a similar sense of self satisfaction. 4. The dreamer felt a similar sense of being proud of herself as she had got through the relationship and was already looking to the future.

DREAM ANALYSIS The dream seems to deal with the following themes.
- The dreamers ex was unresponsive and useless in a crisis.
- The dreamer was over the relationship and proud of herself.

If you weave together the various symbolic meanings and associations and relate them to real life then you find the dream captures the following feeling - "I have broken up with my boyfriend and I really believe that it was the right thing. He is not emotionally very responsive. He has never been very nurturing and close. If a crisis had occurred he would have been useless. I am proud of myself for breaking up with him. It was the right thing to do and now I am looking towards the future."