Dreams about peeing, pooping, or trying to are some of the most common dreams I’ve come across—I can’t even remember all the pee or poop dreams I’ve worked with clients over the years. In fact, there’s a good chance you’ve had one. It’s not that surprising—all humans do this every day, multiple times a day.

But what does it mean when you have a dream about having to pee, or pooping in all the wrong places?

As always, there are no absolutes and no definitive answers when it comes to deciphering symbols or actions within dreams. There are often multiple layers at work with bathroom dreams, but often themes of vulnerability, control, and a need to let things go arise with these dreams.

One of the most common scenarios with bathroom dreams is needing to pee or poop and not being able to find a suitable place and/or using the restroom in an unusual, normally public place. Embarrassment, shame, and anxiety often come up here. Perhaps you ended up peeing somewhere you would never pee in real life, making you feel exposed and vulnerable.

A good place to start as you feel into the visceral experience of the dream is to ask yourself, are the feelings in the dream familiar? And not just the feeling of needing to pee—but on a more symbolic level, when do you feel this way—anxious, urgent, searching for somewhere to let go, desperate for some privacy?

On a societal level, the cloud of shame that hovers over going to the bathroom is everywhere. Ever seen a commercial for “poo-pourri”? We are all socialized to believe their completely natural behaviors of farting, pooping, burping, and peeing are gross and disgusting—things we have to hide from others. It makes a certain kind of sense—pee and poop are waste, we are supposed to dispose of it. But that doesn’t mean we are bad just because we have it at all.

The metaphor is common enough—our ‘shit’…being in ‘our shit’…dealing with other peoples ‘shit’…meaning the places where we get caught in our own illusions, act out, feel heavy or weighed or burdened, stuck or confused or lost or in despair. It’s not to say that we should embrace these states—but when we are too anxious or embarrassed and feel we have to hide this shit from everyone around us, how can we ever release it? The shit is not the problem—it’s a natural part of the cycle—and our bodies naturally dispose of it. It’s the shame we attach to it that makes it so hard for us to feel like we have the space we need to let it go.

On the other hand, I know there are plenty of folks out there that have had bathroom dreams where the feeling of release is heavenly! Or maybe you found yourself going to the bathroom in public without any concern, and felt empowered. For dreams like that I would say embrace them fully! These dreams are truly a gift, an internal aspect of your experience that your dreams want you to celebrate.

In the end, it’s just crap. There is going to be more where that came from. And there’s one more obvious thing about bathroom dreams: they can sometimes be pretty funny. If you’re willing to laugh at yourself, the bathroom dream you received might go over a lot more smoothly. Just feel into the content of the dream understanding that the shit in your dream is a metaphor for the internal shit you struggle with.

If you’d like to go deeper with your dreams, click below and receive my FREE 14 min guided Dream Journey and worksheet that was created to help you receive the deepest wisdom of your dream right here and right now.
how to deal with bad dreams