Emotions can be heightened as changing events cause us to be more easily distracted and ill-prepared to handle them. Many people dismember objects in their dreams because this brings a sense of order and safety. The pieces are meaningless, just like the people who have lost their purpose, power, and values – piece by piece they are falling apart or getting disconnected from the rest of society. These people have lost their way and put themselves into a perpetual search for satisfying those needs in different ways and nothing seems to work anymore.
When you dismember something it reveals someone else’s vulnerability – it shows how underdeveloped they are emotionally and stunted with cognitive functioning. At the same time, there is an airiness about these people as if everything is happening too quickly for them so they feel more detached from reality as time goes by.
Dismemberment in dreams can symbolize being losing control. You may not feel empowered or connected to others or things that you once were close with. Loss of power and feeling disempowered are common among victims of abuse where the abuser is higher up on the social ladder. Another interpretation for dismemberment could take note of the difference between literal horror in nightmares vs psychological horror in dreams: the pain from literal dismemberment and death is far more than psychological pain associated with dreams.