What are your recurring dreams?

[022828MAN]

I have two regular themes that come up -

• I'm at home (in the family home I grew up in, not my current family home) and there's hundreds of unwanted guests. As I manage to get one room clear I go into another room and there's just so many more. It's a real stress and anxiety and I can't get anyone to leave.

• I'm drink driving, usually really struggling to control the vehicle and then being caught and so full of guilt and shame.

Both dreams seem to have the themes of alcohol and being out of control. Whenever I have either dream I wake up SO relieved they're not true.
I've also had a similar one, though not as frequent, that I'm drunk and cheat on DH. Again, a very stressful and anxiety causing situation and again, so grateful when I wake up and know its not true.

I am a bit of a control freak in real life and all these have a theme of being out of control - although I don't necessarily notice these anxieties in my waking life.

They're also all linked to alcohol - I have had a bad relationship with binge drinking in the past, although not for a long time now.

What are your recurring dreams/themes and where do you think they stem from?

[Rodion]

That I have just remembered that I smoke (I never have in real life). I love it in the dream and keep lighting up cigarette after cigarette, it's utter bliss, like rediscovering an old friend. I feel like I actually know what smoking feels like when of course I couldn't possibly.

Also, that I've married the wrong person and have just realised who I actually want to be with. I the dream I am desperately trying to find them but can't.

The teeth, nakedness, and exam/scho ones also happen with some regularity.

[AgeLikeWine]

My most frequent dreams are about a situation in which I’m trying to complete some sort of task, eg catch a flight, but an endless series of random obstacles and impediments are placed in my way. I get incredibly frustrated trying to do what should be straightforward, and I never get to actually finish the task. I call them ‘frustration dreams’.

[purrswhileheeats]

I have a recurring plane one, I've had it so many times. The plane is about to crash but it ends up landing in a residential area, cruising down a street. I'm bracing myself for the impact but it never happens.

The worst one was, I was the sole survivor of a plane crash and no one came to greet me.

[SequinSmile]

The ocean. In a very menacing/horrible way, not in a lovely peaceful way. Often it's a very dark, stormy sea and it's terrifying with huge waves crashing down. Other variations include tsunamis and the ocean in front of me, held back by only a pane of glass which, as I watch, begins to crack. Really horrible.

The other one is being in public and not having shoes! And instead of just thinking- bloody hell I'd best nip home/to a shop and get a pair, I feel terribly embarrassed and spend the entire dream trying to hide my bare feet!

[Mrslafayette]

Also dream I'm naked and trying to cover myself.
Trying to find a toilet but they are either really dirty, impossible to find or there's no paper.
I'm at uni and have missed an entire module. It's on the timetable and I just havent gone. So stressful.
My grandma, who died 24 years ago, often pops up in my dreams. She is actually alive but we have all been ignoring her. Feel so guilty and horrible in the dream. Actually had a lovely relationship with her!

[BusySittingDown]

I have a recurring dream that I'm 15 again and I'm back at school with all my old school friends (some of whom I'm still friends with today and see regularly) and they're all 15 too. However, in my dream I always realise that I'm not actually 15 and I'm a 37 year old imposter and I'm slightly worried that everyone will notice.

I also have the trying to dial a number and not being able to.

I also have a dream where I'm fighting and can't throw a punch (it feels like I'm trying to punch someone under water).

Another one I have, can you tell I dream A LOT? Is that I need to get the bus but I keep getting on the wrong one and I end up on the bus for an eternity worrying about being late to wherever I'm going.

[bigpurplefuryknickers]

I could be dreaming about anything, anywhere with anyone & a door would appear- I would be paralysed with fear unlike anything fear I've ever felt. It woke me up every time with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, heart racing & absolutely petrified! I couldn't get close to this door, couldn't walk past it or open it, but what ever it lead to or who or what was behind it I never found out.
I made some changes in my life for the better and have never had the door appear in any dreams since.

[FurrySlipperBoots]

I'm loving this thread! I was going to start my own on the same topic this morning, but had to dash off to work. I dream a lot, and vividly. I've never had the missing shoes dream, and never the classic 'naked at school' one. Or naked anywhere.

A lot of my recurring dream themes are the same as you lot though - teeth falling out, trying to dial and getting it wrong (always 999, with bad guys trying to get me. Sometimes I dial correctly and it just rings and rings, or they answer and don't believe me, or it turns out it's the baddies on the end of the line! I've never even called 999 in real life!) and the tidal wave dream. In the past, when I had rabbits or gerbils, I was always dreaming they were loose among hundreds of others, outdoors, and I'm wildly trying to find 'mine' to rescue first! I've had a few of the 'trying to make people leave the house' dream, but actually more commonly I'm throwing a great party, for teenage or adult versions of the kids I went to primary with mostly. I'm the cool and popular host too, which is very strange because I was always a 'loser' at school!

Here's my most common recurring theme though. I don't know if I'm alone in this, but it's a regular theme - at least once a month I'd say, and really, really vivid: I'm in a building, or more accurately, buildings, and I'm trying not to be seen - sometimes it's scary, with baddies chasing me, but more often than not I'm trying to escape the police or 'hunters' of some kind. Sometimes I'm just being cheeky being there, I'm not a baddy or trying to escape someone, I'm just hoping not to be spotted by the people who live there. The buildings vary a lot, from military bunkers, to nice blocks of flats with flowers in window boxes, to hospitals, to passageways and rooms in my own house I didn't know I had! Last night it was a former stately home turned fancy hotel. I had taken 2 random pieces of Playmobil from one of the guest's rooms, and was trying to evade them as they searched for me!? No matter what sort of building it is there are lots of doors, so many doors, and more often than not I'm in and out of windows too. I usually quite enjoy these dreams, as long as they're on the fun/cheeky side rather than dangerous. They add a bit of excitement to my otherwise humdrum life!

Does anyone else experience these? What do you suppose they mean?

[DaphneFanshaw]

I have chase dreams, I have to escape the bad guy and somehow save the day.
It’s sometimes in the same place, outside the park where I grew up or fields where I grew up but the dreams can be set anywhere.
I quite often dream I am in a secret underground bunker trying to turn something off or do something to stop people, the guards there chase me. I hide and run from them etc.

[DaphneFanshaw]

Ooooh bit of an x post Furry.

I think chase style dreams have multiple meanings.

[DaphneFanshaw]

journeyintodreams.com/being-chased-dream-meaning/chasedreams

[DaphneFanshaw]

Oh bollox

[DaphneFanshaw]

chase dreams

[DaphneFanshaw]

I also dream that I’ve got lots of chewing gum in my mouth and I keep on pulling it out of my mouth like a magicians hanky.

[StrawScarecrow]

Ooh I'm so pleased to see lots of packers on here. I am frequently running late and packing a huge amount of stuff into a tiny suitcase. Funnily enough the suitcase never gets full before I wake up. I've mentioned this dream to load of people and nobody has ever confessed to also having it!

Definitely a stress related metaphor for me! To do with trying to cram too much into a small space of time.

[notso]

1. I have to drive, it's an emergency but I can't drive. I try to and make loads of mistakes, often I have a crying baby in the back of the car just rolling around.

1. Some kind of horrible scenario where I have to choose one of my kids to get hurt, save from death or keep with me. So distressing, I wake up sobbing.

[Grumpetvoluntary]

@Marmaladecake

My newest recurring dream is that my 14 year old son is driving the car and I'm in the back seat. I've told him to drive, he's actually quite good at it but I suddenly realise it's illegal and struggle to get from the back into the front to take over driving. Super stressful.

Other dreams are
Retaking A levels. I never understand why I'm retaking them because I did well first time.
Packing at the end of a holiday and panicking because we're late.
Public toilets with tiny doors.

The public toilet one! I often dream that I go into a cubicle with no door or a door that doesn't actually cover me up/cubicle has ridiculously low sides to it. It feels so exposed and I always feel like I'm busting for a wee! Such a horrible dream!

[Grumpetvoluntary]

Also a few other ones I often have:

1. walls closing in on me in a room and the walls are the colours of liquorice all sorts. For some reason whenever I have this dream I wake up soon after and throw up. Thankfully not happened for a while now.
   
   
2. my husband (who is in real life the most amazing man ever) turns against me and runs off with one of my best friends, leaving me with nothing
   
   
3. I'm running down the street (always the road my parents live on) from burglars and run so fast that I end up flying and jump from roof to roof. The robbers keep chasing but never catch me
   
   
4. I have to go in for an A level exam imminently but have skipped the classes all year and haven't studied at all. Usually English language.
   
   
5. I have really powerful super powers but every time I try to use them they won't work. Very frustrating.

[FurrySlipperBoots]

Ooo, here's another I'm always having; I realise it's Christmas Eve and I have no presents for anyone, no decs up, and have done no baking (I normally bake piles of traditional German biscuits, which takes at least a week!) In the dream I'm the only one upset and everyone else is really *shrug about it! I'm desperately trying to get it all done. The funny thing is this dream is always in the summer!

[Thisyearcandoone]

Mine used to be the brakes not working on the car, but in recent years is something that has gone wrong and my mobile not working to call for help.
Often have dreams that my mouth is full of sand. Hate that one.

[MalmseyWhine]

I dream every night. Some are quite enjoyable!

I have the packing dream, the unable to dial dream and the having to go to the toilet in public dream.

A few years ago I frequently dreamt I was driving a car through busy streets but driving really badly. I was just managing to control the car and didn't crash or cause any accidents but was mounting kerbs, veering across traffic lanes etc. I looked it up and the interpretation was that driving represented financial worries. At the time OH had been made redundant and we were just about covering our bills, but it was close and we were concerned about the future. The interpretation made sense and I didn't have the dream again.

[MalmseyWhine]

Another dream I used to have often was where I was hosting a party or it was my wedding day and everyone was arriving but I hadn't showered and had greasy, messy hair and no time to get ready.

This was at a time when I was very insecure about my appearance and always felt I wasn't dressed in the right sort of clothes.

[RosieLemonade]

This thread is stressful.

[spacegirl86]

1. teeth falling out
   
2. naked at work (particularly scary as I work in a school)
   
3. needing to leave somewhere (uni room/hotel room etc) and trying to pack but there's too much stuff and no time
   
4. needing to go to toilet, not being able to get to one and when I finally do it's usually out in the open. I sit down and try as I might nothing comes out. Prob a good thing as I then wake up needing the toilet, so how I haven't wet myself yet I don't know!
   
5. trying to call someone in an emergency and I just can't get to the right bit on my phone
   
   I get quite stressed in my sleep. Looking at this list I can see why!

[spacegirl86]

Oooh and driving and not being able to brake. But I'm going super slow so it ends up in some sort of comical slomo bumper car type thing!