Panicking, sweating, rearing up in the dark: one bad dream and sleep is gone. Often the same nightmares plague us over and over again. Here you can find out what’s behind it.
by Rex Valentino
It’s always the same: I’m standing on the balcony of a penthouse. A cheerful party behind me, but outside I’m alone, looking at the city shrouded in darkness far below. Then suddenly the music stops. I turn around and there is no one left. The building tilts to one side and I feel myself falling over the balustrade of the balcony. Deeper and deeper. This is the end now, I think – and wake up.
Many experience nightmares very differently: some know exactly where they are, but not what is happening to them – others are not even in their own bodies. What the dreams still have in common: They are effective sleep brakes that reflect our experiences from day-to-day events, as well as traumatic experiences, stress or even psychological problems, says psychologist Michael Schredl from the Central Institute for Mental Health in Mannheim. The predisposition to this can simply be inherited. However, it often helps if we know what is hidden behind the anxiety dreams. Here is the explanation:
1. Fall and fall and fall
Whether you fall out of the plane, out of the window or just through the eternal darkness: what scares you about falling dreams is the constant expectation of the ground, the crashing. By the way, dreams in which one drowns or suffocates belong in the same category. According to psychologists, they all often have the same cause: excessive demands in everyday life, due to a certain situation or task.
They reflect uncertainty and tension – symbolized by the uncertain expectation of the impact or the ground. The dream shows that we do not know exactly when and how something ends. And that scares us.
2. The death of a loved one
They are some of the most terrifying nightmares: a loved one is dying or has died. What we feel is the pain and despair that come with loss. Often such dreams are overshadowed by the myth that they act as a warning or even clairvoyant.
But it’s not that bad. Dreams of loss are among the most harmless of all. In no way do they mean that someone is sick or dies. They simply symbolize change, mostly in terms of interpersonal relationships – or emotional sensitivity. If the child dies in a dream, it may mean that the pimply teenage boy is slowly separating from us and we do not take it so lightly. And the uncle lying in front of us in the coffin has withdrawn so much that we don’t even know whether he’ll be around for Christmas. That comes up in the night. And as is well known, everything is a bit worse at night than it is during the day.
3. Threatened, pursued, hunted
We run faster and faster, but there is someone – or something – that won’t let us escape. Escape and pursuit dreams are arguably the most popular type of nightmare. The pursuer varies, can even take animal forms. The ending doesn’t always have to be the same either. Some wake up before the persecution or attack is over. Others only when they are already firmly in the grip of the attacker.
The fight-or-flight mechanism (engl. fight-or-flight) Behind these dreams goes far back in evolution and is therefore so common. Animals react to threatening stressful situations with precisely these two possibilities. So behind this there is always a fear of something – social situations, for example – or someone.
4. Back to school
It actually sounds rather ridiculous: We sometimes went to school for the last time decades ago. The thesis has long been bound, stowed on the bookshelf and covered by a thick layer of dust. And yet we dream that we are spanking an exam. Smooth 6. At least.
These types of dreams result from the felt or actual pressure to perform – here, too, this can have either professional or private triggers – or from the feeling of lack of appreciation. You know. From the past. From school.
5. Naked, stripped, paralyzed
We were just wrapped up comfortably under the blanket and then, whoosh, we stand in front of the muesli shelf in the Aldi without any clothing – but the shelf is empty, so we can’t even hold a pack of Frosties in front of the bare loin. Of course there are neighbors, colleagues and strangers around us. And they all laugh or stare indignantly.
Dreams of nudity can on the one hand be attributed to a lack of self-esteem or the fear of social exposure – because clothes cover up. Once they are gone, it becomes apparent who we really are. This can also symbolize that we want to hide something specific from people.