What a dream about your boss or a celebrity really means. A top psychologist reveals how what happens in your sleep can reveal your darkest secrets...

It is a common ­misconception that we have no control over what happens in our dreams. But in fact, we are entirely responsible for creating those night-time escapades.

When we sleep, the logical, sense-making part of the brain switches off, but the ­unconscious mind remains active, allowing us to create the ­fantastical experiences, stories and characters that appear in our dreams.

It can be confusing to dream about some outlandish interaction between Taylor Swift, your boss and a neighbour, but those seemingly random ­characters will have been selected for their abilities to help us process emotions.

The sooner you realise that you are the person sitting in the director’s chair, the faster your dreams will make sense. Here, I help you decode what these characters symbolise...

We typically experience emotional tension in the workplace and seek to resolve this in our dreams

Family member

When your mother, father or one of your siblings appears in your dream, ask yourself what that person represents to you.

If it’s your mother, perhaps you are seeking to call on her ­caring nature. If your father was a ­disciplinarian, you might be trying to bring that sense of order into your waking life.

The appearance of family members in your dreams could indicate that your subconscious is looking to those ­closest to you for inspiration on how they might deal with a problem you’re facing.

If you are still struggling to understand why this person appears in your dreams try speaking or even walking like them — this can help you engage the part of your psyche that is being reflected by them.

Old school friend

If someone from school appears in your dream, it could symbolise a lesson that your subconscious feels you need to learn. School often symbolises learning and being judged on how well we can perform in a skill. It could mean you could be judging yourself too harshly or being too self-critical.

Think about what made that friend stand out when you were at school. If they were good at maths, it could be a sign you need to be more ­calculating, or if they excelled at geography perhaps you should be thinking about surveying a specific situation and looking at it from a ­different perspective.

Boss or colleague

We typically experience emotional tension in the workplace and seek to resolve this in our dreams. Ask yourself what stand-out qualities that colleague exhibits that your subconscious might have latched on to. Are they relaxed? Good with people? Efficient?

If your boss appears, don’t worry, the dream is not about them specifically, it will be something to do with the qualities you associate with your boss — good or bad.

Stranger

When a stranger appears in your dream you are likely becoming aware of an unfamiliar part of your own identity or a characteristic that you haven’t encountered in anyone you know.

Strangers often appear in dreams when you’re facing a big opportunity in your waking life that requires you to ­perform in a way that might be ­unfamiliar to you. It’s a good sign for your self-growth.

Strangers often appear in dreams when you’re facing a big opportunity in your waking life that requires you to ­perform in a way that might be ­unfamiliar to you

Romantic encounter

The language associated with sex is the same as that we use for creativity and procreation; you sow the ‘seed’ of an idea, it gets your ‘juices flowing’ and becomes a ‘labour of love’.

So, the character in your ­sexual dream will have been placed there by your subconscious to help you create an idea by employing whatever traits you associate with that person.

A romantic encounter with someone outside your gender preferences does not make you gender curious. It is more ­likely to indicate that you are ­becoming more comfortable with your own femininity or masculinity.

You may surprise yourself by falling deeply in love with someone in your dream. The person will embody a character trait that you find desirable, though usually not in a romantic way, and the surge of joy and excitement you feel in the dream is explained by your subconscious realisation that you also have the potential to demonstrate this quality.

It’s important to remember that just because you have a romantic dream about someone, this does not mean you have romantic feelings about them in real life.

Celebrity

It is common for celebrities to appear in our dreams — and the choice of famous person can be surprisingly random.

When this happens, think about the qualities you associate with that celebrity. Creating this character in your dreams could indicate a desire to ­rekindle a talent you haven’t used for some time.

It is no coincidence that when The X Factor first launched, Simon Cowell appeared in many people’s dreams, because his role was to liberate ­dormant talent on the show.

Evil person 

Dreams are an opportunity to face up to powerful forces in your waking life. A scary dream about a serial killer, for instance, is unlikely to signify doom. Try to engage with the dream at a symbolic level and ask yourself ‘what is my ­subconscious ­urging me to kill off?’

If you dream about trying to hide from evil forces, ask yourself if there is some pursuit or ambition in your waking life that you are hiding from that’s stopping you from achieving your full potential.

Being chased by soldiers could indicate a need to adopt some of those disciplined, aggressive traits in your waking life and be more assertive.

Would your waking life be improved if people followed your orders and demands?

• Ian Wallace is the author of Decode Your Dreams (£14.99, Quarto).

• As told to Louise Atkinson.