by the
Editors of Publications International, Ltd. and Victoria Plummer
Unpleasant
as they may be, nightmares are an essential part of dreaming. While our more
enjoyable dreams are spurred by wishes and desires, nightmares are a
manifestation of other common feelings like stress and anxiety. However, like
many dreams, nightmares are not as straight forward as they seem.
Within
the hazy realm of nightmares, a cigar is never a cigar. Dreams are
categorically symbolic, and the images within them should never be accepted for
their face value. If you interpret them as such, you're likely to miss the
important issues your subconscious may be trying to convey.
Having
a dream about natural disaster or particularly exasperating car trouble doesn't
necessarily represent a fear of these events actually taking place. More often
than not, these nightmares reflect your inner feelings toward a pressing
predicament in your waking-life. So read on for more info on 10 common
nightmares we experience, and simple ways to address the frightening feelings
that are vividly iterated within your dreams.
10 Feeling Lost or Trapped
Unlike
most of the nightmares on this list, this dream is very direct and simple to
analyze. Feeling trapped or lost in a dream indicates a concern of being lost
or trapped into a certain situation or position in your waking life. Are others
pressuring you into doing something? Do you feel as though you've been lost in
the shuffle of things, or you've run out of options?
Realize
this dream is a direct warning to your internal concerns, and it should be a
cue to consciously address these feelings before it's too late. Otherwise, you
may start having this next type of nightmare.
9 Falling or Drowning
Do
you feel like you're in over your head? Maybe you're caving under the pressure
of a certain task or duty. These anxious feelings will most likely result in a
dream of you falling or drowning. Dreams revolving around a continuous fall or
drowning demonstrate an internalized anxiety about a situation or task at hand.
The emotions they evoke can range from loss of control to exhilaration. Your
specific reaction in this nightmare will likely mirror your reaction to certain
circumstances in reality.
This
is also a perfect opportunity to engage in lucid dreaming. If you know you have
this dream often, you can resolve these falling and drowning anxieties by
realizing it's all a dream, and then willing yourself to control it. Instead of
falling or drowning, tell yourself to fly or swim. After all, it is your dream,
and within it you can do whatever you please.
8 Machine or Phone Malfunction
Did
you call someone in your dream, only to have it ring endlessly without anyone
to answer? Did your computer's hard drive crash while you were in the middle of
writing a paper? While these are not particularly terrifying nightmares, to
some, a crashed hard drive can be just as devastating as crashed car.
Malfunctions
with technology, especially communicative technologies, may mean you are
failing to reach out to someone on an emotional level. Have you lost touch with
a good friend? Is there a disconnect or barrier forming between yourself and a
loved one? If this is a common nightmare of yours, take the time to evaluate your
relationships and identify key areas that need to be mended.
7 Being Naked or Inappropriately Dressed in
Public
Dreams
of appearing naked in public are invariably one of the most common nightmares
shared by people of all ages. These dreams tend to act as reliable measurements
of your self-esteem. Within them your clothes function as a method of
concealment, enabling you to hide things about yourself that you don't want
others to see.
If
you are comfortable being nude within your dream, you are secure about exposing
your feelings and have nothing to hide. Embarrassment about nudity implies
vulnerability, guilt or shame, while being oblivious to your nudity can mean a
lack of self-awareness.
If
you've been hiding something from others, or are afraid that people can see
through a façade you've established, be prepared to have this common nudie
nightmare.
6 Natural or Manmade Disasters
Whether
experienced in reality or in dreams, being caught in the midst of a natural
disaster is an unquestionably horrific experience. Significantly disturbing
dreams, like this one, will always contain substantial meanings, and nightmares
of disaster speak volumes about your current state of mind.
Usually,
a catastrophe dream alludes to feelings of disaster looming in your waking
life. You might feel as though you cannot survive whatever turmoil or dilemma
you're currently challenged with, and instead are lost in the cataclysmic
wreckage left in the wake your dream-disaster. If you tend to have a disaster
dream, examine what exactly you are feeling overwhelmed or defeated about, and
rationally address the issue.
5 Poor Test Performance
Even
if you've been long removed from the day-to-day realities of class schedules,
college ruled notebooks and the quadratic formula, you still might have
midnight hauntings of pop-quizzes and impossible exams. Subconscious test
anxiety is actually quite common among dreamers, and the grade you receive on
your exam is fascinatingly revealing.
Failing
an exam in your dreams reflects your waking life concerns about how deserving
you are for the things you have achieved in life. If you were to go back and
receive an evaluation of all your past deeds, would you be satisfied with the
results? If you would be satisfied, but you feel the grade you received on your
dream-exam was unfounded or incorrect, your dream might be suggesting your
feelings of doubted or denied recognition for something you've accomplished.
4 House or Property Loss or Damage
If
you've had an intense dream about your house, don't panic. It's not because
you've been watching too many Bob Vila marathons. You're actually having a very
normal dream. When a house appears in your dreams, it usually symbolizes the
self. The façade of the house represents your self-image, while the interior
symbolizes your inner-self.
If
your home, or a possession within your home, has been damaged in your dream,
the nightmare may reflect inward feelings of being broken or mishandled. Along
the same plane as the damage dream, dreams of lost or stolen possessions also
reveal tumultuous inner feelings about the self. If you've lost an important
item or had something stolen from your home, you may feel as though you are
susceptible to deceit, or you feel that something valuable to you is at risk.
3 Car Trouble
Having
problems with your car is already a nightmarish experience, but in dreams
vehicular mishaps signify much more than a looming oil change or balding tire.
Vehicles often represent the physical body, yet they can carry emotional
implications as well. Like dreams of a home, the appearance of the car
represents your outward perceptions, and your inner feelings are represented by
what's under the hood.
You
might be driving a wonderfully looking car, only to realize the inside is a
mess, or it doesn't function properly. This situation might parallel your
internal feelings towards yourself. Sometimes in dreams about cars, you're
seated behind the wheel and heading straight for a crash, this could signify
feelings of powerlessness or a lack of control.
2 Suffering an Injury, Illness or Death
Dreams
of serious illness or death are very distressing, especially when we're
reminded of that chilling old rumor that claims "if you die in your
dreams, you will also die in your sleep." Don't worry, plenty of people
have had these dreams and have lived to tell the tale. While dwelling on death
can seem very morbid, in dreams, it can actually signify a change or new
beginning. Death can represent the end of a certain stage in life -- you know,
like the end of your flannel and overalls hobo-chic stage -- which isn't
necessarily a bad thing.
But
not all dreams about death have a silver lining. Sometimes they represent the
ominous raincloud they seem to be. Dreams of injury, illness and death can
signify feelings of emotional hurt, or fear of being hurt. If a loved one is
the one who is ill or dying, it may mean that the part of yourself you see in
that person feels as if it were lost or dead. If you dream you are dying
suggests you are no longer able to cope with a troubling situation, and should
seek the help or advice of others.
Dreams
involving illness and death can be extremely frightening, but don't take them
too literally because you could be oversimplifying their true meanings.
1 Being Chased or Attacked
To
be chased or attacked by something or someone is a ubiquitous nightmare shared
by all dreamers. The scenery and assailant might change figure or form, but the
act of being chased in a dream always signals to our body's fight-or-flight
response. The chase dream is remarkably prevalent because the fight-or-flight
response is a primal reaction embedded in every single human being, arising
when faced with dangers or fears.
Sigmund
Freud characterized these dreams as "the manifest dream content of persons
suffering from anxiety." This anxiety reflected in a chase dream could
stem from a various number of concerns, from menial worries about getting stuck
in bumper-to-bumper traffic, to substantial fears of getting into a full-on
collision. As these genuine fears are embodied in a phantasmal pursuit, the actions
you take to escape this hounding danger parallel how you would react to the
stresses, fears and pressures of reality.
Adapted
from 500 Dreams Interpreted, © 2009 Publications International, Ltd.
Source:
http://health.howstuffworks.com/
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