Either way, you’re certain to make some new and interesting observations about how your emotions influence your thoughts, and vice versa. Outside of therapy, you can try to keep track of recurring themes in a dream journal. Together, you may pick up on recurring patterns in the content or timing of your bad dreams. If you work with a therapist, they can help you parse through any details of your nightmares.

Is there a certain day or time when I tend to have these dreams? Tuesdays after my weekly call home, at the beginning of my menstrual cycle, during the holidays, after therapy….

Did anything out of the ordinary happen before I slept? What was I focused on during the day? Challenges at work, a fight with a friend, medical difficulties….

Being betrayed, not being able to communicate, the presence of a specific person…

What are some recurring themes or images in this and my other dreams? Ex.

What am I feeling in this dream, and have I ever felt that way before? Ex.

Try asking yourself the following questions:

Yet no two people’s minds or experiences are the same, so the best way to figure out why you keep dreaming about, say, being attacked by birds or getting lost in a maze, is to think it through yourself. We can all understand why many researchers believe that dreams about being chased are directly linked to experiences of anxiety, or that dreams about being in an out-of-control vehicle reflect a lack of control in one’s life.

Several sources have theorized about the meanings of certain, common nightmares, and some of their conclusions are easy to get on board with. Yet that hasn’t stopped people from trying. These variations can make it difficult to find a single, clear “meaning” behind our dreams. Likewise, two people may experience similar nightmares (about, say, finding themselves naked in a public space) but for wildly different reasons. For example, a person who is dealing with a stressful move might not dream of the move itself, but about falling off the edge of a cliff or running late to an important event. Yet those links aren’t always easy to make-except in cases of trauma (discussed below), our nightmares tend to reflect our troubles through metaphor rather than literal representation. Indeed, studies suggest that nightmares are often linked to unmet psychological needs and/or frustration with life experiences. What Do Our Nightmares Mean?Īccording to clinician Jacky Casumbal, “Dreams are our brain’s way of organizing events of the day, memories, and images into vivid, symbolic, and nonsensical storylines.” Nightmares in particular are “dreams that are often connected to unresolved anxiety and trauma that our brain has not fully worked through.” Jacky Casumbal, LICSW It’s understandable that you would want to figure out what might be causing your nightmares so that you can treat the issue. While you may not be dealing with a full-fledged nightmare disorder, unpleasant dreams can still give you plenty of grief and leave you feeling exhausted.

Having no general medical conditions, medications, or substance use patterns that would cause these symptoms.

Experiencing impairment of important areas of functioning.

Being oriented and alert upon awakening.

Repeatedly awakening with detailed recollection of frightening dreams about threats to survival, security, or physical integrity.

įor 1 percent of the population, nightmares occur so frequently and are so debilitating that one may be diagnosed with nightmare disorder, the criteria for which includes: Psychology Today defines nightmares as dreams that evoke “fear, anxiety, or sadness.” They occur during the “rapid eye movement” (REM) stage of sleep, often later in the night, and tend to awaken the sleeper common themes include falling, losing one’s teeth, and being unprepared for an exam.

So why do we have nightmares? And how can we reduce their severity or frequency? What are nightmares?

Whether we’re being terrorized by a fictional monster (that girl from The Ring, anyone?) or grieving a dreamed loss, nightmares steal our energy away rather than restoring it. Sleep is supposed to be restful yet when we’re having a nightmare, it’s anything but.

Psychology of dreams and nightmares