In some dreams I am in a classroom-like setting and all the kids I know are throwing me around in a bag and laughing. And most of the time I’m naked inside the bad. It’s so weird, I don’t understand it. What does it mean?

- Lori, Age 14, Kansas City, KS, USA

Hi Lori -

What a dream! No wonder you’re confused when you wake up...You’re probably still dizzy from being tossed around in that bag! :-)

Actually Lori, your dreams are pretty common among people your age. Peer pressure can be pretty rough at school - and I think your dreams are showing you a bit of the confusion and vulnerability that you sometimes feel. When we dream that we are naked - it usually means that we are feeling vulnerable and exposed. I imagine too that sometimes your feelings are getting all jumbled up. This is what the “tossed around in a bag” feeling that you get in the dream most likely represents.

It’s important to have your own set of friends in life. Why don’t you think about who your good friends are at school - the ones who support you and make you feel comfortable - and stick with them more? That way you won’t feel alone or intimidated when other people laugh or try to put you down. Also, remember that people who try to make themselves feel better or more important by teasing other people usually are insecure themselves. Stick with your own group of friends - and with what’s important to you in your life - and see if you can’t “tune out” this noise from these other kids!