Recurring Dreams

[Peregrinus]

I don’t know whether this topic has come up before, but does anyone have any theories about why recurring dreams, especially ones that don’t seem to carry any significant meaning, occur? As a child, I had the same flying dream probably several times per month at the most frequent. It was quite realistic, as far as I can remember, and consisted of me getting out of bed, walking downstairs, through the front door (I remember this part because every time I’d worry about setting off the alarm if I opened the door), down the porch steps, and out onto the lawn, at which point I would extend my arms, spin around and lift into the air like a helicopter. I’d go up maybe three or four stories into the air, then come back down again and go inside and back to bed. Although I did enjoy the sense of freedom and flying, that dream seems too mundane to warrant such frequent recurrences. A recurring dream of a traumatic or ecstatic moment, meeting someone you care deeply about—that sort of thing would make sense because it would make such a strong impression on the mind. But hovering in the front yard in the wee hours of the morning? If anybody has given this topic any thought, I would appreciate hearing your theories.

[The Truth]

As i child i used to get them alot too. generally reoccuring nightmares.. I had one about this volcano in lanzarotte that kept killing me and my nana... I think as a child you might get reouccouring dreams because you do not have that much life experiance.. and when you experiance or see something that inspires and intense emotoinal response then in manifests itself within your dreams. You haven't anything else that feels like that so it keeps attacking you with the same one over and over... where as by the time ur about 12-15 you have seen so many movies with differant ways to be killed and might have traveled a bit more and seen and done things.. so that the dreams do not occour as often.. Fear can manifest itself in a number of ways instead of just the few you knew as a young child. Well its an idea...

[Mickeys_Elbow]

Personally I've never knowingly had a recurring dream, but I often have recurring elements to my dreams. I've noticed that I recycle dream characters especially. A person I meet in one dream will play someone else in another and I feel like I know these people when I see them because I have met them before, even though these people don't exist in real life (as far as I know anyway). I find your helicopter dream pretty funny though because I used to pretend that if I spun fast enough with my hands angled just right I would lift off the ground. That'd be a fun way to fly in a LD, lol imagine how fast you could spin!

[alucinor]

Yeah, i've had one particular recurring dream which i had a few times a week until i was about 14. It started as long ago as i can remember, might've even been one of my first few dreams ever. I've been told since (by a person fairly proficient in psychoanalysis, psych study, etc.) that mine was in fact a 'birth dream'. Apparently they're quite common. I've been told that any experiences in youth are simply more impressing cognitively, due to the experience of them being had in the psychological developmental phase - this is apparently the most fragile. Thus, any subconscious (and therefore dream) impressions attained during your developmental phase are more like to retain their impressions on your subconssious, affecting you later in life. This is why youth dream tend to recur later in life. They're a result of some psychological developmental mark attained in youth. I don't really know any of this, but'm just spouting psycho hearsay. They are definitely significant though, in the sense that they are a direct result of significant experience. They may just not appear so as the conscious often is unable to comprehend the subconscious' importance. I haven't had a recurring dream since maturing beyond the so-called developmental phase, so i guess that supports the idea. Though adults are known to have recurring dreams.

[Alex D]

I used to have a recurring dreams of different members of my familly dying, I don't know why I had those, but these days, I just get differtent ones threatening suicede everyday, in real life.

[Shadows]

if i tried to count how many dreams i had like that. i'd lose count. i have had times were i would have a dream then a month or maybe a year could pass and i'd have it again. it normally happenes when i think about that dream right before going to sleep or something dealing with that dream. i've had a dream i've had every month for the passed 5 months.

[Alex D]

Ooh, that must suck, whats it about?

[Amethyst Star]

I've also had re-occuring themes in my dreams from time to time, but never enough to be considered a dream sign. It's actually seeming to happen more as I get older. I'm not sure why that is. However, I've never had dreams repeat themselves. -Amé

[Shadows]

Originally posted by Alex D Ooh, that must suck, whats it about? me dying -_-

[Alex D]

Ouch, those are always the worst, but at least, if anything, they take away fear of real death, but only slightly, but that may just be for me.

[Mickeys_Elbow]

Maybe I'm just weird but the dreams where I either die or come very close to death (Getting shot etc.) are ones that I seem to have a lot of fun in and wake up feeling really good in the morning. I laugh about them for the rest of the day telling everyone I know about how I either visited the after life last night or got in the middle of a gang war and such. Maybe it's just the feeling of waking up (comeing back to life) and realizing I'm ok and in one piece. Come to think of it... near death experiences in real life make me feel about the same way. Yeah, I think I am just a little weird .

[Peregrinus]

Some of those almost-dying dreams have great adventure and adrenaline-inducing elements, but I must admit that I'm always a bit disconcerted upon awakening from those dreams where I'm actually about to die. I don't think I'll ever get used to the recurring "being chased and shot in the deserted underground level of a shopping mall" dreams. I've never actually died in a dream that I can recall, though, so maybe that process is fun... Eh, I'm not really convinced. But more power to ya if you get a kick out of that sort of thing.

[Mickeys_Elbow]

Originally posted by Peregrinus But more power to ya if you get a kick out of that sort of thing. Sheesh! You make it sound like it's a sick fetish or something.

[Peregrinus]

Only kidding