I had a dream that I was standing in an old house, abandoned and worn. It was storming outside and it grew very dark. Suddenly it started to hail. I felt as if a tornado were coming. A faceless person was with me.

Then the hail started to come through the ceiling. Hundreds of pieces fell like rain, making holes in the roof and walls. The hail would stop and hang in the air for a second. I pulled one from the ceiling and showed it to the person with no face.

Then I went outside and through a bit of haze, I could see a satellite floating in the sky. I thought the ozone layer was gone. The satellite was very close to Earth. Then I went back into the house and started having sex with a doctor, that in real life I work with. I dream of having sex with this doctor often. He is married, and I am attracted to him.

—Tina, Age 34, Married, USA

Hi Tina—

Houses in dreams are symbols of the self. They also can represent projects and relationships in our lives—especially if we are starting a new business, or if we are “building a relationship” with a loved one or spouse.

The poor condition of your dream home alerts us that you feel a certain area of your life feels neglected and “run-down.” It also is significant that the storm in your dream—symbol of an approaching emotional outburst—contains hail, and not just rain. Water in dreams symbolizes emotions. Frozen water, accordingly, indicates “frozen emotions.” Has a romantic relationship in your life recently grown “emotionally cold?”

The hailstone that you capture and show to a faceless person represents an attempt at communication with a person who is unresponsive (faceless). The tornado symbolizes fears of separation from family. Next your dream depicts the“end of the world,” with the lowering of the ozone layer and the nearby satellite. The meaning of end of the world dreams is that we feel uncertain about the future. Our current “world” (a stage in our life) appears to be ending—and we are unable to see what is next.

After you observe this symbolic “end of the world,” you re-enter the building and begin to make love to a doctor whom you acknowledge you are attracted to in real life. Because doctors in dreams represent status and authority, having sex with him may represent attraction to these qualities that he possesses, in addition to literal, romantic feelings.

This dream, Tina, leaves us little doubt that your marriage is in serious trouble. Will you write back, and provide us with the details of your “broken home?”

Dear Dream Doctor—

I am amazed at the accuracy of your interpretation. I am married to a younger man. He is 24; I am 34. I have often told him that we do not communicate at all. I doubt my relationship daily, even though he is a nice man and doesn’t cheat or stay out late at bars. I often feel awkward making love with him because of his age.

I feel like I am drifting through life and although I am married, I am waiting for something better so I can move on. I can almost bet within a year or two, I will not be with this younger man.