I was back in Florida where my boyfriend Brad lives. I saw Brad, but they’d found a new roommate in the house we used to live in together. Every time I tried to come back in, they shut the door on me.

I cried and cried and cried. I took off my clothes and ran into the ocean to kill myself.

—Samantha, Age 18, Bradenton, FL, USA

Hi Samantha—

It’s not too hard to figure this dream out. You’ve moved away from Brad, and you feel like the door is closing on your relationship. Brad’s new roommate represents your fears of being “replaced” in Brad’s life by someone new. The closed door symbolizes your fear that Brad himself has “moved on” —and doesn’t want you back.

The pain of this realization is so great you’re ready to kill yourself. Taking off your clothes symbolizes emotional vulnerability (your feelings are exposed). Running into the ocean to kill yourself, though, is at once a symbol of death and rebirth.

Your dream shows that at a subconscious level you already know that your relationship with Brad is changing. Diving into the ocean shows us that you feel emotionally overwhelmed, and that you want to “drown in your emotions. ” (You can’t take it anymore!) But death in dreams also is a symbol of rebirth. Are you prepared to release your emotions—and move on to brighter horizons (and romances) in your future? Your dream indicates that you are ready to leave the past behind!