Do you often have scary dreams? Did it seem that their meanings were nearly impossible to understand? Did people come up with different interpretations of what they thought your dream was about?
Well, a team at HuffingtonPost sat down with a group of psychologists to find out: What our most common dreams really mean?
If you look at some of your most scary dreams, you would find that they are fairly similar: falling, being chased, showing up late to school. While these actions could have positive spins, dreams always come in a nightmarish or negative manner. And according to the experts, it’s likely that all these scary dreams mean the same thing – that you are feeling anxious.
It’s tempting to read deeply into dreams, and they can have more complex meanings that this; but the examples listed above are very often associated with anxious feelings. You can pinpoint their specific meanings fairly easily.
Before you start interpreting these dreams, there are a few things you should know:
Decoding your dreams requires focusing on yourself, no matter who else is showing up in them
Dreams are narratives that illustrate what’s going on in your life, nobody else’s. They are a visual picture of the dreamer’s inner state. So before you read into the scenario of who made you late to class in your dream; consider what being late means for you, and go from there.
Yes, you should take dream meanings literally
Just as being nude in public means your body is exposed, a dream about it means you likely feel emotionally exposed. Maybe you are about to try something new or daring, and you are afraid you will come up short.
A dream about falling might mean you feel like you are losing your balance emotionally, as in a fear of failing or the onset of depression. Dreams won’t mean the same thing for any two people, but they can be taken as starting points to think about your emotions.
Your dream may represent a wish, not an anxiety
Dreams usually represent our inner wishes. So if you can’t pinpoint an anxiety associated to your dream symbol, then think about your desires.
If you are being chased in your dream, consider this: Do you long to be pursued romantically, and feel unfulfilled in that way? Likewise, a dream about taking a test could mean you would like to show off your competency, at work or otherwise.
Still not convinced that these theories explains your dreams accurately enough? Psychologists recommend writing them down, thinking of your associations to the symbols in each dream, and asking friends for their associations of you to those symbols.
There is no cookbook with ready-made recipes when it comes to dreams. Understanding yourself is the best way to zoom in on the specific meaning of your dreams.
