When you figure out the meaning of reoccuring dreams do they stop?

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   ChristinSposted 11 years ago

   When you figure out the meaning of reoccuring dreams do they stop?
   
   When I was little I used to have a reoccuring dream about being chased. Eventually they stopped. For many years I had dreams I was back in school, but I kept getting lost in the hallways trying to find my final class so I could graduate.  Lately, I keep dreaming about this house, but when I open this hall closet door it is this amazing staircase that goes up to a whole other wing of the house. I usually have them awhile and then they stop. Do you have reoccuring dreams? do they stop when you figure them out? or do you just outgrow them?

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   Billie Kelpinposted 11 years ago

   Definitely!  They stop when the problem you are trying to solve is resolved. During the summer a long, long time ago, about a month or two before I started my first teaching job, I kept dreaming that I arrived at school in October instead of September.  All the other teachers had all their bulletin boards up and all their lesson plans finished, and I had nothing ready since I missed the opening school date by a month.  It was terrifying.  Obviously, I felt I just wasn't prepared for that first job.  The day I started moving my files, etc. into the school to get ready, the dreams stopped. I think that was the only recurring dream I've had, but it was clear to me at that point, that we try to resolve a problem in our dreams and once solved, the dream disappears. Of course, your recent dream doesn't seem like a problem, but an opportunity, maybe?

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   Sue B.posted 11 years ago

   I consider recurring dreams as a sign my subconscious is screaming at me, trying to get my attention.  Recurring dreams tend to stop when I figure them out although not always. I think it is important to resolve the issue the dream is actually highlighting rather than know its meaning.  Looking back, I have resolved issues before understanding the dream.  On the contrary, simply understanding the dream doesn't necessarily mean I am actively working on resolving the issue that needs my attention.
   
   I think we can outgrow our recurring dreams if we are outgrowing the actual conflict, issue or fear the dream is highlighting for us.  Your dream about being chased may have stopped when you began to face something instead of running away.

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      Billie Kelpinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sue, love the analogy of the subconscious screaming at us.  I think you're right in that you can resolve the issue without always understanding the meaning and understanding the meaning doesn't always resolve the issue.

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   Alise- Evonposted 11 years ago

   My recurring dreams stop when I figure them out. It may not always be a totally conscious process, but whenever I have worked through whatever issue(s) the dream was addressing, the dream stopped. 
   When I get recurring dreams, I try to pay closer attention to them because the faster I figure out my "issue," the faster I can deal with it- when I was a kid I did not know this was a purpose of dreams so I had recurring ones for years.

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   MizBejabbersposted 11 years ago

   Not necessarily, but sometimes that particular dream may stop. I’ve found that in many cases they just change, but they are still just as disturbing or annoying. I had a couple of recurring dreams as a child and young adult, but those stopped. Now I have a recurring dream that started before I was able to go back to college and finish my degree. I now have two degrees and I still have that same dream that I register late, get to class just as it is ending and don’t have my schedule. I wake up panicking. It occurs usually when something is going on in my life that I can’t control. I had it recently because Mr. B is ill and facing surgery.
   Marilyn Vos Savant, the author of the “Ask Marilyn” column, in last weekend’s “Parade Magazine” dealt with that issue. Marilyn bills herself as having the highest IQ in the world. Anyway she said that dreams recur from anxiety because we are still dealing with frustration of some type. She admits to having a recurring dream although she knows the reason why it is recurring. If the smartest woman in the world says that, then who am I to disagree? I don’t put links to websites in comments anymore for fear HP will delete my comment as being too commercial. If you are interested, google “Ask Marilyn” and read what she has to say.

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   lburmasterposted 11 years ago

   Not always. They can then morph into something else. I thought I outgrew one reoccuring dream, but it just took a few years off then came back to visit. Dreams usually are your subconscious trying to tell your conscious something. But even if you figure it out, it could just try to tell you more about the same subject.

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