Lately, a series of strange incidents have been happening around me: My cousin texted me in the middle of the night, her voice trembling, saying she’d been dreaming for days about the kitchen floor covered in blood, like puddles that wouldn’t wipe clean no matter how hard she scrubbed. She was so scared she couldn’t sleep all night. Not two days later, a colleague casually mentioned over lunch, “I dreamed the sofa was covered in blood yesterday. I felt awful when I woke up.”
At first, I thought it was just coincidence. But as I heard more similar stories, something felt off—why were multiple people dreaming about “blood”? Especially menstrual blood? So I decided to stop brushing it off and seriously dug out my dream journal, which I’d kept for three years, to see if there was any pattern behind it.
Treating Myself as the “Test Subject”: Finding Clues in the Journal
I spent a weekend combing through every dream involving “blood”—menstrual blood, nosebleeds, cuts and bleeding—and jotted them all down. Then I analyzed them using several questions:
- Where did the blood appear? On the bed? On clothes? Or in a public restroom where others could see it?
- Were other people present in the dream? Was I alone, or did a crowd stare at me?
- How did I feel? Panicked or surprisingly calm?
- What happened in the final second before waking?
Just reviewing my own records wasn’t enough. I quietly asked in a few trusted friend groups: “Have you had any dreams about menstrual blood lately?” To my surprise, within half a day, I received over seventy replies. Many said:Oh my god, I’ve had that dream too! I thought I was the only one!“
Spreading Out the Dreams Reveals Patterns
I printed out these replies and spread them across the living room floor, piecing them together like a puzzle. I marked them with different colored highlighters:
- Pink: Any dream where I felt ‘embarrassed’ or ”afraid of being found out” was marked pink;
- Blue: Dreams involving wiping blood, mopping floors, or washing clothes;
- Yellow: Any mention of “nervousness,” “anxiety,” or “heart palpitations.”
Crawling around marking them nearly wrecked my knees, but gradually, four distinct patterns emerged.
The Four Most Common “Blood Dreams” All Point to the Same Thing
First: Fear of Exposure
Many dream of blood appearing in public spaces—like subway seats, office chairs, or school bathrooms. These dreams often stem not from actual menstrual concerns, but from hiding secrets: reckless spending, relationship troubles, or workplace mistakes. The blood symbolizes impending exposure.
Type 2: Your Body Urging You to Prioritize Health
Some dream of sudden, unstoppable bleeding or finding blood on their underwear without knowing why. These dreams often surface when you’ve skipped a physical, are stressed enough to disrupt your menstrual cycle, or are anxious about pregnancy. Though your body isn’t speaking, the dream is shouting: “You need to take care of yourself.”
Type 3: Past Embarrassments Resurfacing
Many women dream of menstruating unexpectedly during school, staining their pants red while classmates laugh. Such dreams often surface after real-life “socially mortifying” incidents—like forgetting to mute during a video call or a child throwing a tantrum in public. The dream signals: You haven’t fully processed that memory, and it’s resurfacing now.
Fourth Type: Feeling Completely Out of Control
The most common examples involve unstoppable bleeding that won’t wipe clean, or a broken faucet mixing blood with water. These dreams almost always surface during periods of extreme life stress—looming work deadlines, family crises, handling divorce paperwork… The dream is saying: “You’re about to break. You need help.”
Dreams aren’t scaring you—they’re helping you “see” yourself
When I shared these four scenarios with my cousin, she replied: “I hit number four—roof leak, can’t reach the repairman, and the fix costs fifteen thousand.”
As for the colleague who dreamed of blood on the sofa, she later confessed: “I accidentally sent an important email to the wrong person the day before and couldn’t bring myself to admit it.”
See? Dreams never act recklessly. They use seemingly frightening imagery to tell you: your emotions, stress, and fears have been ignored for far too long.
Next time you dream of menstrual blood, don’t panic. Ask yourself:
Has anything recently made you feel like you “can’t hold on”?
Is there a secret weighing you down so heavily you can’t breathe?
Is your body quietly crying out in exhaustion?
Dreams aren’t prophecies, but they’re honest. They’re just another way for you to hear your inner voice.
