Do you ever have recurring dreams? And wonder what they mean?

[Lil Missy]

When I was a lot younger, I used to have recurring dreams that I was in a crowd or function and suddenly realized I was naked, or topless.

More recently, I've had recurring dreams that I am around people and suddenly notice I am sucking my thumb. As an adult! It embarrasses me terribly.

Sometimes it seems so real that I think it really happens around my friends, but it really doesn't.

Any dream analysts out there who know how to interpret crazy stuff like that?

[The Straight Story]

1. Off and on, in different dreams

I remember another dream I had about a trip past Shangri-La in the Mojave Desert. I drove up a mountain there and saw it, a nice hotel, snowing, peaceful, but did not stop.

Have had other dreams where I remember that dream (usually when I am driving somewhere in a dream) and think to myself I should head up there again.

But, just like in real life I never make it and wake up :)

[Lil Missy]

21. That's a baffling one.

:shrug:

[Xipe Totec]

2. Mostly about losing my teeth

Just rotting away as I look at myself in the mirror.

I pull them out and they crumble in my fingers.

Mind you, I'm past the half century mark and still have every one of them, including wisdom teeth, and only a couple of surface fillings.

[The Straight Story]

3. I think your dream has to do with GDP somehow

;)

[Xipe Totec]

4. You think?

:rofl:

[Lil Missy]

6. LOL! I do lurk there!

And you may be right!

Hold me. :scared:

:thumbsup: :hi:

[Lil Missy]

12. Makes sense if everything around you is falling apart.

Which perfectly describes GDP these days too!

[Xipe Totec]

53. He... He... He...

:rofl:

[UndertheOcean]

23. In traditional Arabic dream interpretation , losing a tooth means the death of a relative

If you lose all of your teeth in a dream , that means you will outlive all your relatives

[Xipe Totec]

54. Lots of interpretations, I see

must mean it is a common dream...

I've also heard it means you're losing your friends.

:hi:

[femmocrat]

37. That is a common dream. It represents a fear of aging. n/t

[madeline_con]

41. I've read that's about losing your money.

I guess it depends who you ask

Some links...

http://www.dreammoods.com/

http://www.sleeps.com/

http://www.thecuriousdreamer.com/

[blonndee]

45. I've had that several times. I've read that it is fear of aging

or of otherwise losing your "youthful vitality."

[erinlough]

48. You will find as many interpretations as there are people, but

This teeth dream is one I had and I believe, for me at least, it was about losing my "voice". At the time I was holding back from saying what I felt. Once I opened up and got truthful with myself and with others the dream stopped.

I also had the dreams where you are being chased by big bad things, turned out because of my very tightly controlled upbringing I was terrified these evil dark things were evil parts of me that were trying to come out and wreck havoc. Again, once I realized I wasn't the evil one, the dreams went away.

Hope this helps.

[Lorien]

58. That one has to do with a fear of aging

most people have it soon after they notice their first gray hair or wrinkle (I've had it more than a few times)!

[nomorenomore08]

5. I've had dreams all my life about being chased by various creatures, often through dark places.

Frequently I'll have the classic "stuck in mud" effect, where I move very slowly and so am unable to get away.

I've also had many dreams about being eaten, whether by animals or monsters or humans, usually starting with the fingers of my left hand (and I'm left-handed) - most of the time, once they bite into my fingers, that's the point where I wake up.

[Lil Missy]

7. That sounds terrifying! n/t

[nomorenomore08]

13. Frightening dreams have always been a fact of life for me, from very early childhood.

All manner of things involving dark corners, deformed faces, things outside the window, etc. etc. I can remember being maybe five or six, and having a dream about being killed by evil talking cats and dogs.

[1]

24. heh. i just saw this post. "stuck in mud"...

see my post #22.

is this a classic dream? and if so, does anyone explain it?

i would love to know...

[Inchworm]

8. I've been warned not to share my dreams, but..

My childhood recurring dream was a baby coming out of the toilet.

I went through a time where I wouldnt flush it unless my hand was on the doorknob.

:blush:

[Lil Missy]

10. Why do we have such crazy dreams anyway?

I had a similar experience during my waking hours when a co-worker said she found a rat in their basement toilet. That was several years ago, but it haunted me to sit on the pot for a long time after that.

[BarenakedLady]

9. I always dream I'm back in Rhode Island

Often back in High School or a reunion of some sort. I'm always late for class, haven't been to class all year and it's finals, my friends have abandoned me, blah blah blah. I'm sure it means I'm fucked up somehow. :shrug:

[Lil Missy]

11. It sounds like an embarrassment sort of thing, just like mine.

And, oh hell, aren't we all a little "fucked up" somehow.

It would be useful and maybe even a little bit fun to get a dream analysis. I suspect mine would reveal some insecurity.

:hi:

[harmonicon]

14. yes, and yes

I have no idea what they mean. It was years and years ago, but I used to have this dream where I was walking on a sidewalk or path in a park and I'd trip and fall. That was about it. Sometimes there would be another element, like a stick that I tripped on, or I'd be following someone, but the basic form was the same.

I've had some version of a dream before where I'm in a situation, usually a coffee shop, and I need to pay for something, but the place is completely empty. I've drank my coffee and need to pay, but no one is there. I wait around for a long time and eventually search the whole place, and no one is there.

That dream also always takes place in a non-existent city that exists only in my dreams. It usually has a name, like Detroit or London, but doesn't actually resemble any of these places. There are also often strange very large labyrinthine buildings in these places, like houses in which one can walk for hours without finding a door to the outside, and strange little cubby holes.

Yep, I'm nuts.

[Lil Missy]

17. That one about you not being able to pay for your coffee would frustrate me.

I'd feel like I'd be accused of cheating or stealing over a lousy couple of bucks.

Your dreams about being confused about where to turn in an unknown city and being caught in a maze-like situation sounds like a feeling of being lost.

And I seriously doubt you are nuts. :-)

[harmonicon]

20. Oh, I know that I'm not nuts

I feel like it when I have these crazy dreams though. The not being able to pay really ticks me off!! I'm the sort of guy who is very by-the-book, especially when it comes to paying for things. The coffee shop is also always in the mystery city, which is usually completely deserted as well.

[femmocrat]

38. I've had that labyrinth dream, too.

I usually wake up with a migraine after it. It seems to go on for hours.... I hate that dream.

[WildEyedLiberal]

64. I have the "deserted mystery city" dreams all the time

Sometimes it's a big city, like New York or something, or sometimes it's a smaller city like my college town. Sometimes it has elements that remind me of my college town or somewhere else I've been, but it's always different, and it's ALWAYS desolate. It's usually night, but not always. And there's always a very creepy sense of ominous foreboding. Maybe I just play too many "abandoned haunted town" video games like Silent Hill.

I also have chase dreams all the time - I'm running full tilt from someone/something that means me harm, and all I do is run - faster and for far longer than I can in real life - to get away. Sometimes I even jump unrealistic distances - off hotel balconies, or down stairs - if they are gaining on me. I even dream about hitting the ground and rolling, and then getting up to run again. Almost all of my dreams are very scary/disturbing.

[lost-in-nj]

15. I had one

that i dreamed about all the time

involved a cyclops, hiding in a shed by my elementary school and

running there to get away from said monster with my best friend from school ...




now I have real life night mares....


no getting away from them



lost

[Lil Missy]

18. The real life nightmares are the worst ones.

I've had a few of those too.

:hug:

[SPKrazy]

16. Only a Few

usually missing the final exam or realizing I never made it to class.

Oh wait, those really happened.

But, they also have been recurring dreams over time.

Another one I've had is that I'd realize in my dream that I had been smoking pot, not just a little here and there, but copious amounts of pot, for years, and that I'd been hiding it from myself.

Since I gave up pot over 22 years ago when I quit drinking, I suppose this is some kind of dream related to some hidden aspect of myself that I think I've let go of but really haven't.

Right now, I'm actually quite curious about this as I think about it. It's been a while since I had a dream like this :think:

[Lil Missy]

19. Isn't it amazing how the past can continue to haunt you after many years?

Boy, could I offer some stories about that myself. A recent death in the family caused all kinds of shit to fly over one that happened 10 years ago. Whew! What a mess!

[1]

22. yes. but the dreams are not in any particular context...

random.

the dreams always (in their various forms) involve me as a person having to move toward something or away from something quickly.

and my legs don't work like they should. i can move, but in s-l-o-w motion when i WANT to move in very fast motion. i can move, but its a total effort to put one foot in front of the other.

weird, eh?

[Lil Missy]

28. I've had similar dreams, like I am paralyzed and can't move away from danger.

Or I want to shout or scream for help but I can't make any sound. Nor can I wake up, usually.

Once in a while I've been able to snap awake again by first trying to move a toe and then progress from there until I can wake myself up.

[bixente]

25. I had two types in my teenage years

One I would be hiding, crouching in some place, the backyard I think. Yes. Suddenly I would break free and try to escape in desperation! My legs never felt capable of carrying me swiftly away from the danger. I would feel a presence and wake up. I never had the sense that I'd escaped.

Another is that I would be at school and everyone around me accepted me as if my presence was common place, it was to be expected. But I felt so dubious, like a spy who'd infiltrated a complex but everyone who seen him wouldn't raise the alarm.

I suffered from agoraphobia in this time.

[Lil Missy]

29. That feeling of not being able to break free seems to be a commn theme here.

[Captain Angry]

26. I can't believe this hasn't been brought up.

Chris: Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a pyramid with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?

Mitch: No.

Chris: Why am I the only one who has that dream?


:-)

I never dream, or at least I don't remember them. I have friends who tell vivid stories about their dreams. I have a feeling that I'm braindead by the time I hit the pillow. I'm about 2 weeks from finishing my Bachelor's degree about 15 years late. I'm barbecued these days. Maybe I'll start dreaming again next month.

[Lil Missy]

30. I've never heard that joke before. And it makes no sense to me.

Naked women throwing little pickles? Am I just obtuse and missing the punchline? :shrug:

[Captain Angry]

35. It's just a weird line from a funny movie.

No joke there. Just a weird dream he said he'd had. If you're bored some time, rent Real Genius. I enjoy it, maybe you have to be a nerd, but it's a fun movie for me.

[Fox Mulder]

27. I always have this recurring dream about a zombie apocalypse.

No joke.

It always involves me and others (family and/or friends, perhaps), running and killing zombies. It's weird as hell. I'd like to know what it means. :shrug:

[Lil Missy]

31. Do you watch a lot of horror movies?

The only thing similar I can think of is nightmares I had after watching "The Exorcist" over 30 - 35 years ago. That show gave me the creeps for months!

A couple others that gave me the heebie jeebies were "Halloween" and "When a Stranger Calls". :scared:

[Fox Mulder]

33. Yeah.

I watch a few, but they never scare me.

[MsKandice01]

32. I have the same recurring dream...

About being somewhere and realize I'm missing an article of clothing...either a shirt or pants. For some reason, I never try to go home and change, I just stay and feel really uncomfortable. No one else in my dream ever seems to notice. I've read that it's a pretty common dream and is supposed to signal feelings of inadequacy. Makes a lot of sense to me.

I also frequently dream that I'm trying to get somewhere and I never quite get there because there's always something that I've forgotten and have to go back to get, or I get sidetracked, or there's some other kind of obstacle in my way. It's the most frustrating feeling. I think it's because I never finish anything I start.

[PassingFair]

34. The house with new rooms dream....

I'm living in a house (not mine IRL), but I am
familiar with it. I walk through the house, and
discover a room that I didn't know existed...

sometimes it's a whole wing I didn't know was
there. Furnished, with views, etc.

I've had versions of this dream ever since I
can remember.

I THINK it's about wanting growth in my life,
like a new job or new challenges....

[madeline_con]

42. I had the same dream for years!

spell edit

That's SO weird. There was a room with all this extra furniture, or there would suddenly be another room one day, that I hadn't noticed before.

Funny you should say it's about wanting growth. When I went back tro college, it went away. I have it once in a while when I'm at a metaphorical crossroads, or start soul searching about my choice to become a teacher.

I thouhgt I was the only one in the world who had the houses/rooms dream.

[PassingFair]

43. No one I've spoken with has had them...but I KNEW they had to

be fairly common.

They're not alarming, just WEIRD!
The fact that they re-cur for weeks
at a time and then just go away is
funky!

[erinlough]

49. I have that one!

I like those and you are right they seem to come in streaks at crossroad times. Someone told me everything in a dream is actually part of you, of your internal self. I guess there are lots of hidden and cool parts of me I don't know about yet that are just waiting to surprise me.

[FloridaJudy]

50. Me too. I frequently have the "rediscovered room" dream

To me it represents some aspect of my self I've neglected and need to rediscover.

The showing up at the High School prom or Awards Ceremony naked one is common, as is the day of the final when I haven't attended class/read the textbook/even know what room it's held in. I think they both represent being unprepared.

The worst one is when I'm lost in a foreign country, can't read the street signs, don't speak the language, don't even know what city I'm in or remember how I got there. A metaphor for real life.

[Lil Missy]

51. That's very interesting.

I think I can relate to the one about discovering myself naked as a feeling of being unprepared. I just couldn't put my finger on it before, so to speak.

[Flying Dream Blues]

71. I have this dream a lot, too. I'm always amazed I'd never found these rooms before...nt

[femmocrat]

36. I have several.

In fact, I have dreams with a cast of recurring characters and settings. It's like a serial. No idea what any of it means, as I have never met these people or been in their houses -- except in these dreams.

[CreekDog]

39. when i was a kid i would dream things were all out of proportion

small stuff was giant mostly. i would always wake up and have to barf. weird huh?

as an aside, if you want to meet celebrities, fall asleep with the tv on. :think:

[Cabcere]

40. I do, sometimes.

Occasionally I'll have generic dreams where I'm walking around a public place naked - usually I start out feeling confident about it, and then halfway through I start freaking out and trying to find a way to sneak back unnoticed and get some clothes on. :blush: I also sometimes have dreams where I really have to pee and can't find a toilet, but usually those are right before I wake up in the morning (needing to pee, of course).

The main recurring dream I have, though, is pretty weird (and specific to me, I think). It involves the space shuttle Challenger (which exploded the day I was born, so I've literally been hearing about it all my life and I think it's infiltrated my subconscious, lol). Sometimes I'm in the shuttle with the doomed astronauts, sometimes I'm at mission control, and sometimes I'm just watching from the ground...but I always know what is going to happen. :( Oddly enough, in my dreams I'm never afraid - not even when I'm inside the shuttle. But the weirdest thing about this dream is that it seems to be a predictor of bad things happening the next day. Most of the time it's nothing hugely significant - just one of those days when everything goes wrong, and it usually isn't until late in the day that I even remember the dream. The last time I had it, though, it was extremely vivid. I woke up still remembering the details very clearly, and it felt like I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop - I just knew something big was going to happen. Sure enough, less than an hour later, I checked my e-mail and there was a letter from the president of my college, announcing his resignation. :( (I know that probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but it really was for me and a lot of other students.) So, yeah...that's my recurring dream, and I guess sort of what it means, too. :hi:

[Lil Missy]

46. I hate the dreams about suddenly realizing I'm naked or topless..

Funny, I also have the dreams about having to pee, but in my dream I can find a toilet. When I'm just about ready to go I wake up and realize I'd better high tail it to the biffy.

It's a wonder I've never wet the bed! Whew!

:hi:

[blonndee]

44. Yes, I have had recurring dreams about tornadoes

since I was a child. When I moved to Oklahoma, I seriously considered that they might be prophetic in some way. :-( Now that I don't live there, I've still had them, though.

[Lil Missy]

47. Yep, I lived through one in the 70's and take the warnings very seriously now.

There was another incident in the 80's with a storm and tornado warning, and my house and windows started to shake and rattle.

I scared my poor son half to death when I grabbed him by the seat of his pants and practically lifted and dragged him to the door of the basement and down the steps, and slammed the door shut behind me.

Poor kid was scared half to death that I was throwing him down the steps. But I was afraid the entire house was going turn into toothpicks at any second.

As it turned out, I lost my garage, and a 100 year old tree that was pulled up by it's roots. But no damage to the home, except for bare wires laying all over the yard and driveway.

[libnnc]

55. I have those too

but I've never been through one. I still fear them...dunno why

[hyphenate]

52. There are a few websites that list

many of the dream symbols and can help you interpret one. I'd do it for you, but I'm read to go to bed for the night.

The only thing I can tell you is that sucking your thumb is a sure sign of both insecurity and a desire to be a kid again.

You are likely surrounded by people who dominate over you, and your dream is showing that to you. In addition, you are suffering from stress and the inability to make a major decision. Perhaps a move? Perhaps some other stressful event already begun, or about to begin?

When we sucked our thumbs as children, it was something to comfort us. And you will likely dream about such a habit when the real world doesn't "agree" with you.


I don't always dream the same thing, but have recurring elements in them, like my old high school where I could never find the bathroom. Or these really cool elevators which not only go up and down, but also go in horizontal directions. I dream a lot about traveling, which I love to do.

That's about all I've got for tonight. If I have a good one, I'll post it when I get up.

[Mad_Dem_X]

56. I always dream that I'm on vacation, but

I want desperately to go back home. In the dream, I am usually with my family (mom, dad, sis), and I am having such a lousy time and really, really want to go home. I'm either bored by whatever place we're in or disgusted because it's so filthy. And when I express my wish to leave, I'm usually told that we have several more days to spend at the place, and I get really upset. :shrug:

[City of Mills]

57. Definitely!

It seems like every few months I have this dream where a plane crashes near me, and I always wake up when the blast of flames and heat hits me...its creepy. This has been going on for a few years now.

[Lorien]

59. My father is a psychologist, and dream analysis is one of his things

those are classic: the first one means that you have a fear of being judged by others, or that you you are hiding something that you are fearful of being judged for. The second one represents something similar; that you fear that your friends don't respect you or see you as a mature adult- or that perhaps you are questioning your own maturity. It's not an exact science. ;-)

[Lil Missy]

63. Thanks, that's pretty interesting. And I think it fits.

The second one about me sucking my thumb I'm not sure about though. I do think my friends and acquaintances see me as mature, but it's more of a feeling of my feeling embarrassed over stupid shit.

[crimsonblue]

60. I have recurring themes, although not always the same one..

Lately, I have been having a dream where i am searching for a girlfriend I used to have a few years back, and I am scouring the land. When I find her, I always accidentally kill her. Last night, I sawed her in half (my chainsaw was on.. silly me). Any ideas?

[DarkTirade]

61. I rarely remember my dreams

so the only ones that I tend to remember are repeating ones that I have enough times to remember enough to put them together afterwards. :P

Well, okay, there's the occasional one that I get woken up during that I'll remember. And that one REALLY weird one with the chase scene through a bazaar, ending in a jetpack flight and then running out of fuel and falling, only to survive because I bounced off of a giant green pepper.

That one was just frikkin' WEIRD.

[otherlander]

62. Oh, God, yes, I've had those.

The same shit just kept happening over and over again. At the end I would die, and then the next night I would be alive again, running across the same goddamn ground away from the same goddamn thugs and then they would shoot me. Again.
:scared:

[Jamastiene]

65. I have 3 recurring dreams...

1. I am sitting on a large boulder by a peaceful stream. It's so sunny, my eyes hurt. It's cold, but the sun makes me feel somewhat warmer. There is a beaver in the water building a dam right beside me. :)

2. There is a penguin in my yard and it starts following me around. :)

3. Uh, how can I say this? It's a wet dream. It is a good one. I never want to wake up from this one, but always seem to anyhow. :(

[Lil Missy]

66. They sound like fun dreams!

I truly enjoy the idea of a penguin in my yard, LOL!

But, I'd hate to wake up during a "pleasurable" dream too. And I'd hate to venture into analyzing that one. At least not publicly.

And, imagine my surprise to find this topic I posted a week ago kicked?

:hi:

[Jamastiene]

67. I just now found it.

The we dream one has always bothered me because I ALWAYS either wake up or get woken up by someone in my family. It seems I never have any privacy. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "In your dreams." for me. It's rather frustrating. You can PM me if you know the answer though. I'd like to know why that one always gets interrupted.

[Lil Missy]

68. I just did PM you.

I'm not an expert on dreams or analysis. But your explanation was not what I originally thought, although somewhat similar in one sense.

I am not a dream psychologist, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn last night. :D

[Lasher]

69. I can fly.

I have that one all the time. I usually know I'm dreaming and that's OK. It's fun. Except for the part where I'm flying up through a fog and keep barely missing high tension power lines. But I've been staying away from the power lines lately because I remember this experience from other dreams.

I also find myself in a crowd and realize to my horror that I'm wearing only my underwear. Then I somehow manage to sneak out without anybody noticing.

And then there's the one where I have to get to my next college class but I can't remember when or where it is. And of course I can't find my schedule.

[Lyric]

70. I used to, but I haven't lately, at least not that I can remember.

I used to dream about being crouched in the yard, watching a tornado approaching. Weird, considering that I've never actually seen a tornado.