What It Really Means When You Dream About Pooping

Everybody poops. Yes, even the seemingly flawless and rich Victoria's Secret runway models and Bella Hadid herself do it. And although saying the "p-word" is taboo and often preferred to be described with euphemisms like "dropping a deuce" or our favorite, "make like Snoop and 'drop it like it's hot,'" going number two is a normal, everyday occurrence. So much so that many people dream about poop. In fact, it's almost just as common as doing the act itself, according to dream scientist Michal R. Olsen.

And while waking up from a poopy dream sounds like a nightmare, the meaning behind it may be the opposite. However, it's important to note that dream interpretations can be different for everyone depending on individual circumstances. "For example, if someone recently lost their job, a certain dream about not being able to find their shoes might mean something very different to them versus someone who recently went through a divorce," behavioral sleep medicine expert Michelle Drerup told the Cleveland Clinic.

If you tend to have vivid or weird dreams and can't help but research what they mean, you aren't alone. And most of the time, you will find a meaning that makes sense and rings true to you. If you wake up from a dream involving poop, there may be a handful of reasons, but one general meaning is often associated with it. And you'll be happy to know it's not at all stinky!

When you poop, you free your body from the waste it collects and forms within you. Therefore, that act of freeing yourself from something or someone can be correlated when you dream about taking a poo (per Labex Cortex). And this can have many different interpretations! Whether you are freeing yourself from toxicity in your life, a bad situation, unhealthy habits, destructive thoughts, or a harmful relationship, dreaming of poop symbolizes your act of releasing it.

If you dream about wiping your poop on someone else, that can also correlate to your need to let go, but it can often symbolize your fear and insecurity of doing so (via Dream Obsession). You may often tell yourself you can't, shouldn't, or are not good enough to. It may also symbolize your need to walk away from certain people or your intuitive understanding that your decision to free yourself may impact those you choose to release.

When letting go of negative things from your life, you make room for prosperity. And as told in Scottish mythology, dreaming about poop may symbolize an incoming of financial wealth and money (per OA Publishing London). But this prosperity may not just be money focused. It could also signify internal wealth and comfort. Who knew dreaming about something so gross could be so good?

While, in general, dreaming about taking a poop can be a rewarding and spiritual symbol, there are other meanings associated if it's not you taking the poo. If you are cleaning up poop in your dreams, that may indicate you are "clearing out all of the clutter in your life," according to the world's largest psychic website AuntyFlo.

Conversely, watching someone else pop a squat on the potty, as awkward as that seems, may symbolize your need for closeness with that person or people in general. And if you dream about smelling poo, especially a nose-hair frying stench, that may represent your need for "a new phase in life," per AuntyFlo.

And while some dreams about poop have these brilliant, deep meanings that may give you hope or ponder life's existence, it may just be because you have to poop (per MillersGuild). Just like your body wakes you up in the night to get a glass of water or go pee, having a poop dream may be nothing more than that. So the next time you have a dream about taking a poop, freedom, money, or internal fulfillment may be coming your way. Or, you may just have to hit the loo.