Background information: Last night I asked my boyfriend to leave, after two and a half months of living together. He packed and went to stay with his father for a few days

My Dream: I had lots of moles on the right side of my chest that are not really there in real life. When I told my friend to look at them, I said that I needed to get them removed.

I noticed one on my left arm and I reached to touch it, and this is when I discovered that they were ticks. They were huge and beige; and when I pulled them off, I saw blood and asked my friend to help get them off of me. I just remember pulling them off -- and bleeding everywhere that I pulled them off.

—Pamela Lee, Age 38, Divorced, Fort Worth, TX, USA

Hi Pamela Lee—

It's another one of those confusing "body dreams" -- but this one has a clear message for you and your boyfriend.

Can you think of the significance of having huge ticks attached to the right side of your chest? Our chests, in real life, contain our hearts. Ticks also suck our blood, and blood is a vital fluid in the body. Is it a coincidence, then, that your dream occurred on the same night that you broke up with your ex? Was you relationship with your ex "draining the life force" (symbolized by your blood) from your heart?

Your dream shows that your relationship with your ex was physically and emotionally unhealthy. In your dream, you call upon friends for support, to help remove his presence from you. Nevertheless, this "transition stage" in your relationship (removing the ticks) is not without pain. The blood you shed in your dream symbolizes the pain you feel in your waking life.

What's the meaning of this dream? Before you become involved again in a relationship that is difficult to leave, think twice about the consequences of emotional attachment. If we let someone "under our skin," we want to make sure it's the right person!