Background information: I had a baby with a guy who ended up being a heroin addict, and who also thought he was a vampire. I haven’t talked to him since I was four months pregnant. Our daughter is now 21 months old. I write and produce independent films. I am having trouble finding a job I like, and have been through a few jobs this year. I am currently not working. I am a recovering bulimic, and have a social anxiety disorder for which I’ve been taking Zoloft and Paxil since last October.

I had a strange dream that my current boyfriend and I were sitting at one of our regular hangouts and just talking. He brought up something about leaving because he wanted a baby and I couldn’t do that yet (because of bulimia). I became really angry and just kind of lost it.

I dreamed that I woke up and I was strapped down to a bed in a hospital and couldn’t get up no matter how hard I tried. My boyfriend came in the room and told me that I had tried to kill myself and he had stopped me and called for help and that I would have to stay in that place for a while. Then he told me that this might straighten me out to where I can have his baby, so he’s the one that signed for them to keep me. He left the room and I started screaming and struggling with the straps. I woke up then and haven’t been able to get that out of my head since!! Should I be concerned?

—Sheila, age 22, dating seriously, Louisville, KY

Hi Sheila—

I don’t think you have to be concerned about waking up in a hospital, but I do think your dream is a strong indication of your desire to take control of your health.

Babies in dreams often represent literal and symbolic concerns. For example, in real life you may be worried that your current illness (bulimia) is making you unattractive to a potential future partner, because you believe you are unable to bear children in your present condition. If this is true, then your dream may be a simple, literal, reflection of some of your private concerns. Will your boyfriend grow tired of waiting for you to get better, and begin looking elsewhere to start a family?

At a symbolic level, babies in dreams often represent the “product of a relationship” between two partners. In this understanding of your dream, the baby you wish to share with your partner may represent the hopes and expectations you hold for your current relationship. If you feel that your illness is a stumbling block to its success, your dream appears to dramatically represent the constraints your illness puts upon you. You are tied down to a hospital bed! Will you ever be able to leave this illness behind, and move on to a healthy and rich emotional life?

You deserve warm congratulations for removing yourself, and your daughter, from the sickly and destructive presence of a heroin addict. If your current boyfriend has extended a hand to help you overcome this next challenge in your life -- coping with bulimia and panic disorder -- your dream shows you are ready to accept his help.

What’s the message of this dream? It’s time to start working, full time, on getting healthy. This is a hospital bed, and a dream, you want to leave behind!