Do you have a recurring dream? What is it? What do you think it means?

[BossAttack]

I've noticed I've been have a recurring dream lately about being chased by the police as part of a manhunt. You know, something straight out of the movies like The Fugitive. I haven't done anything wrong in these dreams, at least I don't think I have. But the why I'm being chased in never important, it's the fact that I AM being chased. And, it results in myself being constantly stressed as I try to stay on step ahead of the police. What's amazing about this recurring dream is how "realistic" and hard I make it on myself since the "surveillance state" has information on all of us and everything these days. I know that every store has security cameras, that I'm at a higher risk of being randomly stopped for being black, that I can't drive a stolen car too long because they can run the tags as soon as its reported stolen, that I can't hide in the woods for days because they'll sick dogs on me and if I leave the woods after spending days there then I'll smell and look horrible causing me to stick out to onlookers, etc.. It's really fucking intense and stressful.

I've never been caught in these dreams...yet, but I don't get away either. I'm just constantly panicking, trying my best to survive and make it outside of the search zone the police have set up. I typically wake up panicked as all hell as someone may have spotted me.

Naturally, to me the meaning of these dreams is obvious, the police and the whole manhunt represent my current stress due to life problems and responsibilities. I'm trying to run away from or stay on top of these problems, but I just can't seem to stay ahead and fear being completely trapped or overrun by them. It doesn't take a psychologist to understand these dreams have only started to increase in frequency as I've become more tired of my current job and stressed about finding a new one soon.

Your turn. What's your recurring dream?

 

[Deleted member 54320]

Honestly, no idea what it means but I often have a dream that I have a single wobbly tooth.

Very confusing.

 

[excelsiorlef]

Once a week I dream of Jeannie

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Tornadoes and atomic bombs...sometimes happening all at once.

It's not pleasant. No idea what it means as I'm not particularly afraid of either.

 

[Medica II]

Just the classic "its the last week of the semester and I forgot to drop that one class" dream.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

I have a recurring dream format where I am taking shelter with a crowd of people during an impending apocalyptic event. Sometimes it's a big area, like an urban college campus, but other times it's small, like a warehouse full of plumbing utilities. Usually I am trying to protect one other person from being hurt or lost from the human element of the chaos. But I will also feel like it's pointless because we are all going to die anyway. Usually I wake up just as the cataclysm happens.


My dreams are also very weird in general. I posted about this before. Semi-related:

I have continuity in my dreams.

Often my dreams will pick up where another one left off. The situation or scenario will just continue as if the first dream never stopped. This can make it very difficult for me to wake up from nightmares because I will wake up, fall back asleep, and the dream will just pick back up and continue as if it hadn't been interrupted. Because of this, when I have nightmares, I usually can't go back to sleep.

This makes dreamspace feel very interesting for me because the continuity between my dreams makes it feels like a separate universe. Sometimes dreams will even call back or reference things that happened in older seemingly unrelated dreams.

It also has the weird phenomenon where it can cause me to remember a dream I forgot, but I'm not 100% sure that's what's really happening.

For example, let's say I have a dream about a roller coaster. I have the dream but forget it when I wake up - either right away or as the day goes on. I can't remember "Roller Coaster 1" at all. Another night, I have a second dream that picks up where Roller Coaster 1 left off. Suddenly, in Roller Coaster 2, I will regain my memory of Roller Coaster 1. If I wake up, I will now have the complete memory of Roller Coaster 1 and 2 combined.

I'm not sure if I am actually remembering a dream I had previously, which is how it feels, or if I'm simply fabricating the memory. It's weird.

Click to shrink...

 

[Br3wnor]

The only recurring dream I have is where I'm taking a college class and realize I didn't go to class or do any work for the last few months and it's the end of the semester. I always panic as I realize that I'm going to fail and not graduate.

I know where it stems from, I almost didn't graduate because I got cancer my last year of College and had to take incompletes where I had trouble getting everything in by the deadline the next semester. Then my final semester I had to do my senior thesis late and almost missed the deadline. In the end it all worked out but I was super close to having to repeat my last semester/year. I get the dream now as an extension of being generally stressed, it's always such a relief when I wake up and realize I haven't been in College for years.

 

[SurrenderDorothy]

I sometimes dream of reuniting with friends from years ago. We all gather in the same room, just talking shit and are genuinely happy to see each other.
Thing is, they're all friends from different periods of my life, some from boarding school all the way from Malaysia, some from the local college, some from visits abroad. It's always the same room, with the same people.

Eh..probably just yearning to reconnect or something.

 

[jml]

Just the classic "its the last week of the semester and I forgot to drop that one class" dream.

Click to shrink...

Yep, I have something like that all the time. I've skipped class all semester, I'm failing, and now I'm taking the final exam. In real life I've been out of school for 8 years.

 

[astro]

My recurring dream is this one person defending TDKR on some online forum over and over... it's bizarre because that film is indefensible!

(ho ho ho)

I've never had this, I have the same types of dreams but never the same dream.

 

[BossAttack]

Honestly, no idea what it means but I often have a dream that I have a single wobbly tooth.

Very confusing.

Click to shrink...

That's interesting. I tend to have the more classic, teeth falling out dream.

I notice that a lot of my recurring dreams tend to stem from a fear of "losing control." Which means dreams like:
-Driving in a car where the brakes don't work no matter how much I furiously push on the brakes.
-Teeth falling out.

I also used to have a recurring dream about old friends from HS, but those stopped once I met back up and hung out with them. The dream was basically screaming at me, "man, you just sorta stopped talking to these people. You should talk with them again, they were your friends." Those dreams immediately stopped after I hung out with them and realized why I stopped talking to them. LOL.

I sometimes dream of reuniting with friends from years ago. We all gather in the same room, just talking shit and are genuinely happy to see each other.
Thing is, they're all friends from different periods of my life, some from boarding school all the way from Malaysia, some from the local college, some from visits abroad. It's always the same room, with the same people.

Eh..probably just yearning to reconnect or something.

Click to shrink...

Ha, see above.

My recurring dream is this one person defending TDKR on some online forum over and over... it's bizarre because that film is indefensible!

(ho ho ho)

I've never had this, I have the same types of dreams but never the same dream.

Click to shrink...

In your dreams its indefensible, in reality its GOAT.

Also, a recurring dream doesn't mean you dream the EXACT same dream, you just have the same type of dream over and over. Thus, constantly dreaming of your teeth falling out. The context of each dream is different, but the major event is always the same, your teeth fall out.

 

[Deleted member 21339]

Timely thread. I had an incredibly upsetting dream about my ex last night. In the dream, I found out she was pregnant with another man'a child. And I was so upset about it. Dream fucked me up, BAD

 

[reKon]

Just the classic "its the last week of the semester and I forgot to drop that one class" dream.

Click to shrink...

I've had something similar to this where I forgot that I was still signed up for a class that I forgot about until a couple weeks left in the semester. I've been out of school for like 7 years lol.

Another reoccurring one (actually just had this last night) is that I have a cat and I forgot to feed it. In the dream I don't know the last time it's been fed, but I'm freaking out because I'm worried that it died and I'm rushing provide food and hoping to see it appear to eat it.

I don't own any pet.

 

[BossAttack]

Just the classic "its the last week of the semester and I forgot to drop that one class" dream.

Click to shrink...

This one is terrible, I can't remember if I've had it since passing the bar. But, for me it's usually "oh hey, you signed up for this class but never showed up all semester and today is the final. If you don't pass you're failing." But, not only do I get the stress of the test I also get the stress of showing up to a classroom I've never showed my face in and confronting the teacher and classmates who don't even know I'm supposed to be there.

 

[grang]

My teeth will start breaking into shards when I'm in public

Being chased/attacked by a bear

Running away from someone coming at me with a knife, usually someone I know

Drunk driving and getting pulled over, trying to keep it together while dreading the fact that my life is fucked

But most frequently:

"oh hey, you signed up for this class but never showed up all semester and today is the final. If you don't pass you're failing. But, not only do I get the stress of the test I also get the stress of showing up to a classroom I've never showed my face in and confronting the teacher and classmates who don't even know I'm supposed to be there."

Click to shrink...

This, and it's the only class I have left before graduating and if I don't pass I'll need to do another year.

 

[YellowBara]

I have lots of dreams with lions in them for someone who doesn't think about them much despite them being my favorite animal.

Maybe I just like them THAT much. I doubt it means anything

 

[taahahmed]

Just the classic "its the last week of the semester and I forgot to drop that one class" dream.

Click to shrink...

Holy carp this is typical?? I get this occasionally and it stresses me out...

 

[BossAttack]

Holy carp this is typical?? I get this occasionally and it stresses me out...

Click to shrink...

VERY typical. It's one of the most common dreams.

 

[Atisha]

I've noticed I've been have a recurring dream lately about being chased by the police as part of a manhunt. You know, something straight out of the movies like The Fugitive. I haven't done anything wrong in these dreams, at least I don't think I have. But the why I'm being chased in never important, it's the fact that I AM being chased. And, it results in myself being constantly stressed as I try to stay on step ahead of the police. What's amazing about this recurring dream is how "realistic" and hard I make it on myself since the "surveillance state" has information on all of us and everything these days. I know that every store has security cameras, that I'm at a higher risk of being randomly stopped for being black, that I can't drive a stolen car too long because they can run the tags as soon as its reported stolen, that I can't hide in the woods for days because they'll sick dogs on me and if I leave the woods after spending days there then I'll smell and look horrible causing me to stick out to onlookers, etc.. It's really fucking intense and stressful.

I've never been caught in these dreams...yet, but I don't get away either. I'm just constantly panicking, trying my best to survive and make it outside of the search zone the police have set up. I typically wake up panicked as all hell as someone may have spotted me.

Naturally, to me the meaning of these dreams is obvious, the police and the whole manhunt represent my current stress due to life problems and responsibilities. I'm trying to run away from or stay on top of these problems, but I just can't seem to stay ahead and fear being completely trapped or overrun by them. It doesn't take a psychologist to understand these dreams have only started to increase in frequency as I've become more tired of my current job and stressed about finding a new one soon.

Your turn. What's your recurring dream?

Click to shrink...

In your waking life do you often think, or believe that you are treated unjustly? Being persecuted . . . ?

 

[Indy in the Fridge]

I lived in a renovated barn for 2 years during graduate school. It had no central a/c and no insulation and there was constantly a wasp infestation underneath a small closet upstairs. Anyway, the place needed work.

So I have these recurring dreams where I find myself returning to this barn as if I'm checking up on the renovations. Problem is, every time I visit, nothing has changed. The grass on one side of the yard is constantly unkempt and the front yard, which moves upwards at about a 20 degree angle, always looks like it's eroding. The dream is also weird because as I drive to this place, I get the gut feeling that this isn't the house I'm supposed to be driving to.

So basically I will dream about this house at various stages of disrepair while the grass overgrows and random pieces of construction material are scattered around the driveway and inside the house.

 

[Grapezard]

Around once a year I dream about pushing Winnie the Pooh off a cliff. He then comes back as a ghost, and I push him off the cliff again. It's always around sunset.

I think it means a lot.

 

[OmegaX]

Just the classic "its the last week of the semester and I forgot to drop that one class" dream.

Click to shrink...

Mine was kinda similar. It was the day of the final exam for a course I forgot I enrolled in all semester.
I still got that dream years after I graduated university.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I used to have a dream every year as a kid where I was in a zombie apocalypse in my elementary school but I was shooting zombies with a banana that worked like a gun.

I have absolutely no idea what it means and it stopped around the same time I hit puberty.

 

[BossAttack]

In your waking life do you often think, or believe that you are treated unjustly? Being persecuted . . . ?

Click to shrink...

I think everyone feels that way, including me. But, the meaning of those dreams is pretty clear to me, it's about the stress of my current problems and attempting to "outrun" them.

The thread also reminded me of another dream I had, it wasn't a recurring dream, just a dream I had once that will likely always stick with me. In the dream, I basically psychoanalyzed myself. I essentially went to a psychologist, even though I've never been to one before, and they proceeded to psychoanalyze me and give me an honest take down of myself and the reason I do things. Of course, the psychologist isn't real so it's just my subconscious brain psychoanalyzing myself.

What makes the dream stick with me is that everything my brain was saying to me in that dream was the truth. Not even in my sleep can my brain deny the reality of my issues. I'll never forget the comparison the psychologist used as an example of me.

I lived in a renovated barn for 2 years during graduate school. It had no central a/c and no insulation and there was constantly a wasp infestation underneath a small closet upstairs. Anyway, the place needed work.

So I have these recurring dreams where I find myself returning to this barn as if I'm checking up on the renovations. Problem is, every time I visit, nothing has changed. The grass on one side of the yard is constantly unkempt and the front yard, which moves upwards at about a 20 degree angle, always looks like it's eroding. The dream is also weird because as I drive to this place, I get the gut feeling that this isn't the house I'm supposed to be driving to.

So basically I will dream about this house at various stages of disrepair while the grass overgrows and random pieces of construction material are scattered around the driveway and inside the house.

Click to shrink...

What do you think it means?

 

[Air]

I had various series of recurring dreams the past 10 years. Can't remember them though. I don't think they happen as much because I'm more likely to be proactive in improving my life instead of being a victim.

Edit: ah I just remembered the longest running one, for like 5+ years I'll dream of being at this bar near a chapel on a hill or something. Visually it's like Washington heights. If I had to guess I think it is something to do with meeting a woman I love there

 

[Indy in the Fridge]

I think everyone feels that way, including me. But, the meaning of those dreams is pretty clear to me, it's about the stress of my current problems and attempting to "outrun" them.

The thread also reminded me of another dream I had, it wasn't a recurring dream, just a dream I had once that will likely always stick with me. In the dream, I basically psychoanalyzed myself. I essentially went to a psychologist, even though I've never been to one before, and they proceeded to psychoanalyze me and give me an honest take down of myself and the reason I do things. Of course, the psychologist isn't real so it's just my subconscious brain psychoanalyzing myself.

What makes the dream stick with me is that everything my brain was saying to me in that dream was the truth. Not even in my sleep can my brain deny the reality of my issues. I'll never forget the comparison the psychologist used as an example of me.




What do you think it means?

Click to shrink...

Sorry, I forgot that part!

I think the dream is my brain making sense of the stress and anxiety experienced on certain days. I do know that living in that barn was a frequent cause of stress on top of being a broke graduate student. There were many things that occurred during that time that required a strong will and I think the dream is an attempt at resolving or processing that 2-year period (the renovation) while struggling against the notion that the time period and my experiences there are not salvageable (the eroding, the overgrown grass, etc.). I have the pieces there but not the desire to "fix" it.

 

[Atisha]

I think everyone feels that way, including me. But, the meaning of those dreams is pretty clear to me, it's about the stress of my current problems and attempting to "outrun" them.

The thread also reminded me of another dream I had, it wasn't a recurring dream, just a dream I had once that will likely always stick with me. In the dream, I basically psychoanalyzed myself. I essentially went to a psychologist, even though I've never been to one before, and they proceeded to psychoanalyze me and give me an honest take down of myself and the reason I do things. Of course, the psychologist isn't real so it's just my subconscious brain psychoanalyzing myself.

What makes the dream stick with me is that everything my brain was saying to me in that dream was the truth. Not even in my sleep can my brain deny the reality of my issues. I'll never forget the comparison the psychologist used as an example of me.




What do you think it means?

Click to shrink...

How are you running, and why are you running, and why do you keep running?

 

[Deleted member 16516]

In one of my recurring dreams, I find myself lost in gigantic maze-like shopping mall and I can't find my way out.

Another one, which has many variations, is losing my teeth in any number of ways.

 

[astro]

Also, a recurring dream doesn't mean you dream the EXACT same dream, you just have the same type of dream over and over. Thus, constantly dreaming of your teeth falling out. The context of each dream is different, but the major event is always the same, your teeth fall out.

Click to shrink...

I've not really had this either... I have similar dreams, but I don't see a recurring theme with a major event being the same.

I wonder if this is a good or bad thing... is my brain working right?

(I can answer that question, that's another thread though...)

 

[Hydrus]

I've had a few dreams where Cell from DBZ won't leave my house. I keep telling him I gotta go somewhere and trying to politely tell him to leave, but he won't get the hint. I have no clue what these dreams mean.

 

[P-Bo]

Have the occasional nightmares of hell. Not sure if it means anything, so much as it being the result of years being constantly traumatized at church, church-school, and Bible college.

 

[Deleted member 13328]

If I fall a sleep on the couch in the middle of the day I always "dream" that someone picks me up, carries me for a bit then strap a rope round my neck and hangs me. I don't see anything in these dreams, it's just the feeling of being picked up, carried away, the feeling of a rope round my neck then snap I wake up.

It only happens if I try to take a nap.

But when I sleep at night I almost never remember my dreams, the only dreams I've had recently was after I had to put my cat to sleep, I only remember me screaming "I miss my cat". Nothing more than that, so I guess I miss my cat?

 

[rrc1594]

Michael Myers being trying to kill me for 21 years. I have no idea why I have this dream every year.

 

[PSqueak]

1.- Being back at school and/or dream is set in school

Not talking about the classic "oh no im late for a test i didn't study for even tho i graduated years ago!" dream everybody has, a lot of the time i just have dreams that take place in a school setting, i assume is because we spent a lot of time of our lives in school and dreams are kinda constructed from our memories.

2.- "Im late for a job interview im not ready for, also im naked"

It's the adult version of that "im late for a test" dreams

3.-Teeth fall off or rot

Recurring element to many dreams i have, im told this is a signal of "fear of growing old"

4.- The mentor figure

Don't quite understand what this one means, but it's also my earliest dreams from back when i was literally a baby. I will often dream of a woman (which my dreams assure me is always the same woman) and often she'll be in some sort of position of power in regards me, that's why i nick named her "the mentor figure", sometimes she's a witch, sometimes she's just there, and she's no one i know of, even back when i was too young i just had the feeling that she wasn't supposed anybody i knew or was related to. One time i casually mentioned this on a family reunion and a superstitcious aunt was absolutely convinced she was the spirit of my grandma. I have no idea what this figure's recurring pressence in my dreams actually means.

5.-Transitioning or being born different.

I often dream about being the opposite gender. kinda feels nice.

Bonus: Often before i fully fall asleep, when im on a half awake, half asleep state i hear bits of voices in my head, mostly things i heard during the day, i chalk up this to my brain starting to organize data as i fall asleep, often i hear familiar voices calling my name, one time on my half conscious state i replied to those voices saying "That's not my name".