Bitter

Feeling: Usually expressive of a resentment or hurt that still has energy. The dream may well define what the bitterness is about. It may be connected with emotional hurt, rejection, being unfairly treated, feeling disadvantaged in life, having a poor opportunity, bad result from a lot of effort, etc. It might also be about a bad feelings or enmity in a relationship.

Taste: Usually refers to an experience that is either difficult or painful to swallow, or reminds one of bad past experiences; something being met that is difficult to meet – ‘swallow’. Maybe something you dislike or have an aversion to.

Example: Just moments before I am to graduate to become some kind of policeman or officer in a ceremony, I am rejected. I feel bitter, having gone through all this training. I literally go underground in a series of tunnels (subway?) and become some sort of rebel outside the law. This goes on for years. I carry on a ‘war’ against my former, almost employers. Then I find this woman who becomes my wife and over a period of time she calms me down and I make my peace with her if not with others. P.

Example: My drive to reach out for anything had gone. It had left me feeling empty and motiveless. But the emptiness was sometimes angry or bitter. When I observed what was happening inside me it defined as a strong feeling of loss. The emptiness returned with a deep sadness and withdrawal. It was like a quiet depression, and I sat bowed by the feeling of pointlessness. I was able to verbalise some of these feelings with my wife’s help. It was that I was feeling loss, and it was particularly about the loss of people. I had lost my mother when young, and now I felt as if I were forever losing people. I wanted to die as there was nothing left to live for. A. T.

Useful Questions and Hints:

What is the bitterness connected with in the dream, and what connections do I have with that?

Is there something I am finding difficult to take at the moment, or that I feel unhappy about?

Can I trace the feeling in the dream to a waking experience?

See Victim and How can I face my fears