Common Nightmares And What Their Meanings Are

#1 The Most Commonly Occurring Nightmares, And What They Are Believed To Represent

Most people suffer from the occasional nightmare, and some seem to experience them almost every night. What exactly do these night terrors mean? Although nightmares can sometimes be random creations of the subconscious brain with no particular deeper interpretation, in many cases nightmares actually do have specific causes or meanings behind them. They can allow you to look deeper into your thoughts and feelings to get a better gauge of your current mental or emotional state.

#2 Betrayal of a Loved One

If your relationship is failing or if you're having trust issues with your partner, you may find yourself dreaming about being cheated on or betrayed by them. Nut being betrayed by a lover in a dream or nightmare doesn't always mean that person is unfaithful. It is most likely about feeling abandoned or alienated by someone close to you, maybe even family and friends maybe because they are concentrating their time on something else so you feel cheated of their time. However if you are already suspicious of infidelity, that concern will manifest itself in your subconscious.

#3 Death Or Dying

Like with falling, if you die in a dream, you don't die in real life. Anyways, the trappings of death in your dreams aren't necessarily harbingers of death or bad omens. Instead, dreaming of death can represent a new beginning, an old part of yourself being laid to rest to make room for new opportunities. Dreams of graves and tombs can represent the worry that some part of yourself has ‘died', or represent parts of yourself that have fallen to the wayside. Another widely held thought about dreams of death is that they are simply your subconscious' way of addressing mortality, and the very human fear of death.

#4 Failing a Test

This is a very common nightmare. Probably because tests are so stressful to begin with and when you fall asleep, that's what is on your mind.. that pending doom of failing. According to experts, dreaming of failing a test in a dream is connected to the actual stress of failing tests in the future, anxiety that you have failed test taken recently or regret that you have not performed as well as you could have on a test taken. Being unprepared for a tests in dreams could also represent fears that you do not feel prepared for the challenges in your life ahead.

#5 Being Trapped

This one has another fairly blatant interpretation. Dreams about being trapped reflect a sense of being trapped in real life. You might be feeling stuck in a dead-end job or feeling unable to make a choice. Or it could be a more nebulous sense of being trapped, by something like stubbornness or unwillingness to compromise. But the general interpretation is that your subconscious is giving you the nudge to act by means of blatant metaphor.

#6 Being Lost

Remember how the subconscious loves a pun? It also likes the really blatant things: dreams where you're lost generally reflect a sense of being lost. Though, it's important to look at how you got lost in your dream when interpreting nightmares of being in a strange place with no idea of how to get back to the familiar. If you got there under your own steam, than you might be uncertain of what you want, or can refer to a choice you aren't sure how to make. If you're just lost, wandering the forest, the strange city or the endless mall then you might be feeling stuck in a rut, like you're not progressing in aspects of your life.

#7 Loss Of Teeth

This is a very common theme in dreams, and have several possible meanings. Loosing teeth can represent self-consciousness, either about appearance or age. Or they can be about your fear of losing face (the subconscious, much to mingled delight and horror, loves a good pun. Or a bad one.). There's also a more physical explanation for dreams of losing teeth: those who grind their teeth, or have sensitive teeth are more likely to have dreams about losing teeth. If you have a toothache, as well dreams about losing teeth are more likely, since it's more likely to be a back-of-your-mind worry.

#8 Being Injured

Injuries and wounds in dreams are mutable, depending on the situation they are received in. Being hurt in a dream can relate to areas in your waking life where you feel powerless. If it's a self-inflicted injury can relate to fears that you'll sabotage your own efforts, accidentally or otherwise. If someone else is hurting you, it might be about situations where you feel you are being cut off or kept down. In the dream, if you're able to treat your wound or defend yourself successfully, that's generally considered to be a positive sign, one that suggests you're able to deal with the situation bothering you, scary as it may be.

If you're experiencing pain in your dreams, it may tie into a physical injury you're recovering from, or represent a perceived emotional injury.

#9 Naked In Public

Everything is going fine in slumber-land, the elephants are minding traffic and you're about to give a presentation to your third grade teacher and a judgmental pair of cats when- oh no!- you realize that you're stark naked! There are two main ways that these dreams are interpreted. One is as a fear of being exposed, and having some aspect you'd rather keep under wraps put on display, while another suggests a sense of inferiority, like everyone can see right through your facade to the insecurities beneath. However, if no one notices that you're naked, the dream is believed to be telling you that it's an empty fear, and that your worries aren't shored up in reality.

#10 Alien Abduction

To dream that you are being abducted by aliens, indicates your fear of your changing surroundings or your fear of losing your home and family. You feel that your space and/or privacy is being invaded.

To see aliens in your dream, signify that you are having difficulties adapting and adjusting to your new surroundings. You are feeling "alienated" and disconnected. You may also be having difficulties with how to handle or deal with a certain situation or person. On a psychological level, seeing aliens represent an encounter with an unfamiliar or neglected aspect of your own self.

#11 Being Chased or Attacked

This is by far the most common of all the nightmares that people tend to experience. Nightmares in this category can deal with being chased or attacked by people, animals or paranormal creatures. These types of dreams are frequently manifestations of being afraid of confrontation regarding something in your life. This can be a pushy boss, an unruly teacher, an abusive parent or even an unhealthy romantic relationship. The feeling of being chased is often a sign of not being able to confront difficult scenarios within your personal life. Also, your actions within the dream to get away from the attacker may also be influenced by your real life. For example, if you find yourself hiding in fear in the dream, this may indicate that that is how you are dealing with your problems in the real world. Taking note of your actions within the dream may help you find a correlation between the nightmare and your real life actions that can help you deal with the problem.

#12 Falling

Nightmares about falling are often a representation of anxiety in your personal life about not being in control of yourself. These anxieties are often due to issues with money, relationships, careers or some kind of abuse. The feeling of falling to certain death relates to the person feeling that they are unable to control a certain aspect of, or situation in, their life. These nightmares are often shared by people who are in high places of power, but still feel that they cannot control certain parts of their life.

#13 Seeing The Dead

In this chilling type of nightmare, you feel as though you are being contacted or approached by someone who is dead. This can either be by someone you know who has recently passed away, or random people whom you feel in the dream that you do not actually know. These types of nightmares can be associated with an inability to let go. For example, if you are having nightmares about your recently deceased grandmother, the cause could be that you are struggling emotionally to cope with her loss. These nightmares can also be linked with terror of the unknown and anxiety about personal illness. People with terminal or life-threatening health problems often experience these types of nightmares.

#14 Natural Disasters

Have you ever found yourself dreaming about being caught in a violent hurricane, or perhaps an approaching tornado that is ripping apart houses and trees? These types of nightmares are said to indicate a sense of impending fear or anxiety in the person having the dream. Since the weather is often unpredictable and cannot be controlled, this relates to the individual holding stress and anxiety throughout their day to day life. This can be caused by anxiety or nervousness about anything from a test, to a doctor's appointment, to a required speech, to relationship issues.