Not everyone has repeating dreams, but many people do, and it can be a good or bad thing depending on the dream. While a beautiful journey in your mind while you sleep might seem like a good idea, a bad dream can be hard to shake off early enough. Repeating dreams are a common occurrence for around 60% to 75% of adults, with a higher prevalence in women than men. For those who are curious, the number one cause of such things is stress or things of this nature. We can be influenced by our dreams even if we don’t want to admit it, when we can’t do well in our daily lives.
Today many people view dreams as a connection to the unconscious mind. There are various types of dreams, such as exciting, scary, melancholic, magical, adventurous, and even sexual. Our dreams can range from normal and ordinary to strange and completely unrealistic. Besides lucid dreaming, events that take place in our dreams are normally outside the control of dreamers. The dreamer is aware of themselves during lucid dreams. Sometimes dreams can inspire dreamers by conveying a creative thought.
Throughout history and cultures, views on the meaning of dreams have changed. Apparently, people generally support Freud’s theory of dreams, which suggests that dreams reveal hidden emotions and desires. Other theories suggest that dreams help solve problems, form memories, or simply occur due to random brain activation.
Our positive or negative feelings experienced in daily life can be transferred to the dream world as a result of our current state of sleep. We don’t know exactly how the things we experience in life can affect our dreams, but we should be aware that they can and that repeating dreams may reveal more about you than you realize. Disappointments and similar experiences can harm you more than you see, and the sooner you understand this, the sooner you may be able to end those strange and unpleasant repeating dreams.
Repeating dreams typically start in young age but can start at any time and typically continue for the rest of a person’s life. For example, a theme of missing a test usually starts during university years when stress from performing well may be more intense. However, this theme can also persist as a repeating dream throughout the rest of one’s career, appearing again before an important job interview or performance evaluation at work. The conditions may change, but the same stress and desire to perform well can trigger the recurring relevant dream.
Theorists suggest that these themes can be considered as “scenarios” or perhaps “complexes”; your dream touches any aspect of the theme, and the full scenario is completed. Dream theorists are generally in agreement that recurring dreams are related to unresolved problems in the life of the dreamer. The Tidal Wave dream is an example of a Central Image that represents overwhelming emotions such as helplessness and fear.
Often, a recurring theme becomes a reflection of a person’s struggle to integrate and accept trauma. The resolution of this theme over time is a good sign of facing and integrating the trauma in a way that is harmonious with the spirit. Research supports the findings that resolving a recurring dream is associated with improved well-being. This is one way that following your dreams can be therapeutic and even self-help in the healing process.
However, even if repeated dreams are eliminated for a certain period of time, they may return during a new stress period. A subject in the laboratory reported a recurring speech impediment dream, a common theme such as falling teeth or lips being stuck. The central image captures the feeling of speech impediment and may reflect shyness or difficulty in expressing oneself. In this case, the subject had seen this recurring dream many times as an adolescent, but the dream probably disappeared during university. However, after moving to another country and having to learn a new language, the dream returned. While overcoming the original shyness conflict, the situation of communicating in a new foreign language triggered the same speech impediment “scenario.” Thus, old scenarios can be rekindled during new and different stress times.
What do you think about all of this? First, I think that as humans we need to take better care of ourselves. Secondly, if you are seeing the strangest dream repeatedly, take a look at your life and what changes may be necessary.
