Thread: What is this recurring dream about a crocodile?

I have this recurring dream recently. This is two months after ending a four year relationship, just for some context.

I'm in the middle of this swampy area and parts of the water are deep and others have little islands of land that I'm jumping between. I can't swim so deep water really scares. I end up in the water every time, kicking around and trying to stay afloat. There's an huge crocodile approaching me, but I'm not really scared and it almost seems like the crocodile is about to swim pass me and ignore me completely.

But I swim in front of it and place both my feet on each jaw and I'm desperately trying to pry the crocodile's mouth open for some reason. I wake up when the desperation gets to the highest point. The crocodile never tries to attack, just struggles and resists my attempts.

I grind my teeth in my sleep pretty often, and this dream really has been waking up with swollen jaws and gums because of the stressed grinding in my sleep.

I'm really interested in what this dream may mean, because I don't dream of animals often. I also found it odd that I could not find similar dreams anywhere online. Just people being chased or bitten by a crocodile.

Any ideas?