Feeling the urge to poop can be quite uncomfortable, and it’s even more unsettling when it occurs while you’re in bed. Often, if you’re caught between sleep and wakefulness with an overwhelming need to poop, it might simply indicate a real-life necessity to use the bathroom. It’s wise to make a trip to the toilet before settling back into bed.
However, if you’re deep in slumber and dreaming about needing to poop, the dream could hold a deeper meaning. Dreams involving feces are actually quite common, according to Michael R. Olsen, a researcher, speaker, and author on sleep intelligence.
“A feces dream often revolves around how we dispose of—or fail to dispose of—psychological burdens, such as thoughts or memories that are cumbersome to carry,” the researcher explains. Just as holding in your poop can be uncomfortable, so can holding onto thoughts, responsibilities, feelings, or memories that weigh you down, causing frustration, heaviness, and restrictions.
It might mean that you need time to process things
Often, life moves at such a fast pace that we transition from one task to another without fully understanding the previous one. This lack of self-awareness can lead to feelings of constipation, according to Jungian psychotherapist Satya Doyle Byock (via The Salome Institute of Jungian Studies). “Every day, the emotions, experiences, memories, relationships, stimuli, information, and conversations in our lives can’t all be fully digested because we lack time, get interrupted, or face work deadlines,” she explains.
Byock suggests that dreams involving excrement relate to one’s “psychic digestive system”—how we absorb, process, and then eliminate waste. “When life demands more of our attention, poop dreams often arise. These dreams point to the need to digest something, fully assimilate it, or highlight issues with processing,” she writes.
Dreams about needing to poop can also signify being stuck in a developmental stage that must be completed before progressing to the next, as highlighted in a 2011 study published in Counselling Psychology Quarterly.
It could mean that you need to let go of some things
Bathroom dreams might be tied to the habit of holding in frustrating emotions or refraining from expressing yourself. These dreams could signal a need to release. According to clinical psychologist Dr. Nancy Irwin (via Bustle), “If you’re urinating, the dream might be about releasing some anger, letting go of what’s bothering you. If you’re defecating, it could mean you’re shedding some burdens from your life.”
Moreover, the location of your dream could hint at the real-life area that requires attention, according to Michael R. Olsen. “The location of the bathroom can indicate whether it’s at work, home, or another place where you need to rid yourself of burdens, or identify the source of your negative emotions,” he explains.
Just as the smell of your poop can reveal health insights, dreaming of needing to poop offers a glimpse into your emotional and mental well-being. Approach life mindfully, process your emotions, and let go of things that don’t benefit you. This might be the message your dream is conveying.
