Your Subconscious RUNS your show. You may THINK you want something (love, success, professional acclaim), but if you keep settling for less than what's gonna make that aim accessible to you, there's a deep fear in you that exists inside on an unconscious level, that keeps you circling the drain and never attaining it.
Life is sorta like our dreams. Our subconscious mind brings us solutions to problems, insight into our issues, and helps us work thru struggles, but it cloaks much of this information in symbolism.
Oftentimes, when a familiar face is represented in our dream, but we awaken feeling terribly confused, due to our not having issues with THAT person, it's because the dream and your real feelings, have nothing to do with him or her. This is your Subconscious 'cloaking' information it wants to give you, but is waiting to see if you'll get help to interpret who it is you actually have issues with~ which your CONSCIOUS mind may not be quite ready to accept.
If you don't have someone in your life (preferably a professional) familiar enough with the MEANING of dreams and the ability to interpret Yours so you can start to emerge from your fog, you're missing out on a huge potential for healing and growth.