Why we have recurring dreams

These dreams can be positive or negative. Sometimes, recurring dreams are symptoms of PTSD or generalized anxiety disorder. They may represent a way to process trauma or practice avoiding threats, but it's not completely clear why they occur. Nightmares are dreams that are so distressing they usually wake us up, at least partially.

Nightmares can occur at any age but occur in children more than adults. Nightmares usually cause strong feelings of fear, sadness or anxiety.

Their causes are varied. Some medications or withdrawal from them cause nightmares. Traumatic events also cause nightmares. Recurrent nightmares are also associated with acute stress disorder, anxiety and depression. Unlike traumatic dreams, recurring dreams rarely replay an event or conflict directly but reflect it metaphorically through a central emotion. Further along the continuum are the recurring themes in dreams. These dreams tend to replay a similar situation, such as being late, being chased or being lost, but the exact content of the dream differs from one time to the next, such as being late for a train rather than for an exam.

Finally, at the other end of the continuum, we find certain dream elements recurring in the dreams of one individual, such as characters, actions or objects. All these dreams would reflect, at different levels, an attempt to resolve certain emotional concerns. Moving from an intense level to a lower level on the continuum of repetition is often a sign that a person's psychological state is improving.

For example, in the content of traumatic nightmares progressive and positive changes are often observed in people who have experienced trauma as they gradually overcome their difficulties.

Why do the themes tend to be the same from person to person? One possible explanation is that some of these scripts have been preserved in humans due to the evolutionary advantage they bring. By simulating a threatening situation , the dream of being chased, for example, provides a space for a person to practise perceiving and escaping predators in their sleep.

Some common themes may also be explained, in part, by physiological phenomena that take place during sleep. A study by a research team in Israel found that dreaming of losing one's teeth was not particularly linked to symptoms of anxiety but rather associated to teeth clenching during sleep or dental discomfort upon waking. When we sleep, our brain is not completely cut off from the outside world.

It continues to perceive external stimuli, such as sounds or smells, or internal body sensations. That means that other themes, such as not being able to find a toilet or being naked in a public space, could actually be spurred by the need to urinate during the night or by wearing loose pyjamas in bed.

Story from Lights Out. Amerley Ollennu. Dreams were once thought to be supernatural forewarnings from the gods. The ancient Egyptians even had sanctified 'dream beds' that vivid dreamers — who were considered blessed — would use to gain wisdom from higher powers as they slept. Fast-forward to the 20th century and you have the likes of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung concluding that, actually, dreams provide insight into the inner workings of our minds. While our conscious mind switches off as we catch some zzzs , our unconscious mind reveals images that can offer insight into issues we might be blissfully unaware of in waking life.

Today, however, psychotherapist Matthew Bowes says: "Contemporary science about the psychology of dreams is somewhat split. There are those that believe dreams have no meaning and at the furthest extreme are simply random brain detritus. Coping With or Stopping Recurring Dreams. These include: Falling Flying Car crashes Looking for a toilet Being overwhelmed by house maintenance Not being able to speak Losing teeth Being attacked Public nakedness Returning to school Being unprepared for school or work Being chased or trapped Finding new rooms in the home or a familiar building Some themes are more common than others.

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