Dream About Being Robbed: Thieves & Stealing Dream Meaning

Having a dream of being robbed by a thief can be an unsettling experience. Today I wanted to talk a little bit about the dream symbolism for thieves stealing from you and what it might mean in your everyday waking life. 

What Does it Mean to Dream About Being Robbed?

When you dream about a robbery, it typically involves someone breaking and entering into a place where you thought was secure and stealing your possessions. A burglary can leave you feeling invaded and violated.

These dreams understandably can be very scary and make you feel a little apprehensive. If you’ve ever been a victim of a real-life robbery, the same feelings of unease you experience afterwards can be present even if the experience was only a dream.

Dreams about getting robbed might make you worry about your own safety and security. The good news is dreams usually are not predictive in nature. Instead, they are a means for us to process our own feelings about our experiences in life. 

When I do a dream analysis for someone who shares a dream of thieves and robbery, there are usually three main themes that present themselves to me. Sometimes all of these are true for the dreamer, but typically only one or two apply. 

A Need for Privacy

When we have a dream about being robbed, it can mean that feel like we have no privacy in our life. 

Think about your current situation in life. Do you know someone who is always asking a bunch of nosey and prying questions? Do you feel like other people are eavesdropping on your conversations?

Sometimes this dream will happen if you live near neighbors who are very noisy or disruptive. You may wish for more space or for a place that is not subject to neighborhood turmoil.

Sense of Safety and Security

Security is a basic need for our survival. We as humans feel an instinct to protect ourselves and our surrounding environment so that we can stay alive.

Think about your current lifestyle: Do you lock the doors of your house? Do you lock the doors to your car? Do you lock the screen on your iPhone?

Chances are you lock all of these things to protect them and yourself from others intruding. You may have valuable possessions you don’t want someone to steal. 

In our dreams, our sense of safety and security leaves the physical world and instead crosses into the mental and emotional realm.

Trust & Vulnerability Issues

Getting robbed in a dream can mean that you have a hard time trusting others. You may be dealing with your own insecurities in relationships with a partner or family member.

Being vulnerable to others is not easy, but often a necessary step in connecting on a deeper level to build healthy relationships. If you feel like you are insecure when meeting new people, the dream may be a symbol to remind you that it’s okay to let your guard down once in awhile.

Sometimes this symbol will appear in a dream after you experience a situation where you feel cheated afterwards. You may feel like someone else has taken advantage of you in some way.

Some examples of this:

• Did you recently pay too much for an item, only for it to be made of low quality materials and break?
• Did someone else get credit for a project you did most of the work?
• Has someone close to you recently lied to you about something?
• Did you let your guard down recently only to be hurt?

Paying attention to the other people and symbols in the dream can help you understand where you feel vulnerable or have a hard time trusting someone in your everyday life. This person may be doing something that makes you feel suspicious about their behavior.

Questions to Ask to Understand Dreams About Being Robbed

There are a lot of ways to interpret this dream and it’s important to pay attention carefully to other people, actions, the setting, and the details. Here are some questions to ask to help you understand more about this dream:

Where did the robbery take place?

Robberies can happen anywhere, so pay attention to the setting. Was it a place of business? Your house or apartment? A place you no longer live? Your car or a city sidewalk?

Being robbed at a business almost always relates to some aspect to your current career or job, whereas being robbed at home may be a symbol for your own current feelings in life.

Dreaming about a place you no longer live can be a dream to help release past feelings of being cheated or taken advantage of, or could also be helping you to process trauma of a time where your trust was broken with another person.

Dreaming your car or items in a vehicle were stolen: This can symbolize that you feel out of control by current life events or that you are having a hard time trusting others to move ahead in a positive direction in your life. See Vehicle Dream Meaning for more on what this dream may mean.

What Was Stolen?

While most robbers go for valuable items, in dreams you can have people stealing anything. Here are some examples of what different scenarios mean:

Dreaming of someone stealing your clothes: This can mean that you are feeling vulnerable and others are not giving you the respect you deserve. It may be a sign to re-evaluate your current relationships with others and set healthy boundaries. See Laundry Dream Meaning for more insight.

Jewelry Robbery: Jewelry is valuable, and this could mean you have lost a sense of self-respect or self worth. It could mean that you are processing the grief of losing someone very close to you, especially if the item was a ring or necklace of sentimental value.

Garbage Thieves: Believe it or not, people steal trash in real life and in our dreams. This could mean that you are holding onto a lot of excess emotional baggage and are having a hard time letting go.

Stealing Cash: Money is another common item that is stolen in dreams. This can pertain again to your own feelings of self-worth or can be a symbol for not feeling safe and secure about your financial future. You may be experiencing feelings of insecurity about changes in your career.

Who Are the Thieves?

Thieves and robbers in our dreams can take on many different appearances. While pirates or the classic movie-style thug all dressed in black might come to mind first, many times in our dreams we know the thief in question.

Dreaming of a friend stealing from you: If you dream of a friend robbing you or stealing something from you, it often symbolizes trust issues and communication problems with that friend. You may have a hard time letting your guard down, or you may feel as if that friend is not trustworthy in your life.

Dreaming of family stealing from you: Family members are supposed to be caring and nurturing but as we all know life doesn’t always work that way. You may feel a need for better privacy, or you may feel as if your family has let you down in some way. Taking the steps to establish healthy boundaries may be necessary.

Dreaming of being robbed by strangers: Strangers appear in our dreams and can often signify either the Rebel character archetype or may even appear as a part of ourselves in the dream. You may feel as if you are cheating yourself from your own true potential or be uncertain about your own sense of safety and security in waking life.

Have you had a dream about being robbed by thieves? What did they steal from you? What do you think the dream means? Share your dreams and interpretations in the comments section below!