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Almost everyone has experienced dreams that contain anxiety or fear.  These experiences can be traumatic and haunt us by recurring repeatedly.

Typical Nightmare Themes

• falling
• being chased or attacked
• walking into a meeting or a class unprepared
• being stuck in slow motion
• being trapped and unable to move or scream
• drowning or choking
• being naked in public

Experiencees of this sort are unpleasant and usually tell us that we are not making progress in solving our real-life conflicts.  Some theorists believe that recurring dreams are due to lack of action in the dreamer’s waking state.  One of the reasons for dream interpretation is to solve these problems.

What is a Nightmare?

A nightmare is a distressing dream, which can cause us to partially awake.  How many of us have sat upright from a nightmare, our hearts thumping with fear and glad to be awake?  Did you feel negative emotions in the nightmare such as guilt, sadness, anger and especially fear and anxiety?  The most frightening and common nightmare is probably being chased.  Anxiety is heightened when we can’t move, are trapped in slow motion or are paralysed and keep falling down.

Nightmares are regarded as a warning about current behaviour patterns or imbalances that we need to solve if we don’t want such unpleasant dreams to repeat themselves.  Some people try to block nightmares and those who have recurring nightmares and those who have recurring nightmares usually try to change the outcome.  However, if we block them or ignore these messages from the subconscious for too long, the nightmare may begin to show up in our real life, not as in the dream but as accidents, illnesses and relationship difficulties.

What Causes Nightmares?

A number of factors may cause nightmares, including -

• medication
• illness
• suffering a traumatic event
• undergoing a great deal of stress in one’s life such as surgery, loss of a loved one, an accident, a divorce, moving, change of job, pregnancy and concerns about financial or other matters.

Young children tend to have nightmares as they struggle to learn about dealing with the usual chldhood fears and insecurities.  It is normal for the majority of children to have nightmares between the ages of three and eight.

Carl Jung observed that parts of an individual’s whole personality may become ‘disowned’ and these are frequently projected outward in dreams.  These take the form of devils, monsters, intimidating people or animals, or even natural events such as tidal waves, floods, and tornadoes.

These symbolic forms are what Carl Jung referred to as ‘the shadow.’  If we become any of these elements of our shadow through nightmares, then ‘accepting’ these disowned portions of ourselves will help us reveal the message of the nightmare.

On the positive side, nightmares provide a release for the psyche as they can bring us valuable insight into what is causing the most stress in our lives.

Resolving Nightmares

What can be done about Nightmares?  Young children shojuld be encouraged to discuss their nightmares with an adult if it is a recurring nightmare.  Usually, children forget their nightmares soon after wking.  Adults’ nightmares offer the opportunity to understnd wht is going on in their waking lives.  With practice you can learn to unlock the code of the symbolic language of the nightmare and see how it relates to your real-life fear.  Usually the dream connects to your life, and sometimes to your past, by evoking a specific feeling.

If you are upset about a recent nightmare, create a different ending to the dream.  Choose something that leaves you feeling in control instead of helpless, as you did with the original nightmare outcome.  Then apply this new happy outcome to areas in your life that you feel need attention.