I’ve received several dreams that can only be characterized as abandonment dreams, a type of anxiety dream. One person in particular described their dream-self wandering alone in a cold, dark, and featureless landscape.

Your unconscious may be giving you messages regarding what needs to be kept and needs to be let go. Traditional dream interpretations say that if you are the one being abandoned in your dream; you may experience reconciliation or recovery from trouble or illness. 

Remember that the unconscious is attempting to compensate for an imbalance in the conscious. For example, if you are overly attached to someone in daily life, in the dream state you may be abandoned by him/her. This may be an attempt by the unconscious to make you aware of your dependency or the strong need to control others for fear of being abandoned.

To dream that you are abandoned, may suggest that it is time to leave behind past feelings and characteristics that are hindering your growth. Is it time to let go of your old attitudes? A more direct and literal interpretation of this dream may be that you have a fear of being deserted, abandoned, left alone, lost, rejected, or even betrayed. It may stem from a recent loss or a fear of losing a loved one. Note that the loss can also be a loss of trust. The fear of abandonment may manifest itself into your dream as part of the healing process and dealing with losing a loved one. It may also stem from unresolved feelings or problems from childhood. 

Abandonment might also suggest that you are not feeling supported in some endeavor or in some belief. It can also signal an unacknowledged feeling of loneliness, detachment, and/or depression.

Alternatively, the dream may indicate that you are feeling neglected, that your feelings are being overlooked or that you lack intimacy. Perhaps the dream is a metaphor that you need to approach life with “reckless abandon” and live more freely. To abandon others in your dream, suggests that you are overwhelmed by the problems and decisions in your life.

Some mystics have suggested that one needs to abandon their attachments to things, beliefs, and ideas to see their true self; to see reality as it really is. However, unasked for detachment can be a signal of something more serious, something that needs to be talked over with a trained specialist, or shared with a close friend, or doctor.