Your Nightmares Explained： Scientists Reveal How Bad Dreams Reflect Our Daily Frustrations

Many of us have had recurring and disturbing nightmares that are difficult to comprehend. Now， research has discovered these dreams are a reflection of our daily struggles. In particular， feeling of lack independence， incompetence or being misunderstood can trigger nightmares， scientists claim.

These feelings suggest that a person’s “basic psychological needs” are not being met， and nightmares occur when we haven’t processed these emotions properly.

A number of recurring themes seem to crop up during disturbing dreams. These may include being trapped， chased or attacked， or failing at an important task.

Previous research has identified what some of these dreams might mean. For instance， people who are frustrated with their daily lives tend to have recurring dreams in which they were falling， failing or being attacked. Those who feel under pressure in real life are more likely to experience a dream in which they are unprepared for something important like an exam.

Falling from a height

In their latest study on nightmares， Cardiff University found a recurring dream about falling from a height could mean someone feels frustrated in their daily lives.

“We found that people whose recurring dreams were felt to have more negative emotions in them also felt more incompetent， isolated， or pressured by others in their daily life，” Dr Netta Weinstein told MailOnline.

Dr Weinstein said that finding help for challenges in life could help to alleviate recurring dreams.

Failing

Dr Weinstein said that recurring dreams in which people experience failure were also common among those who frequently felt frustrated.

Research has previously shown that those who feel under pressure in real life are more likely to experience a dream in which they are unprepared for something important like an exam or a meeting.

“I used to be a teacher， so my typical stress dream was about the whole classroom getting out of control. I would be feeling powerless or helpless to manage a situation，” Margaret Bowater， president of the Dream Network Aotearoa New Zealand， told Stuff.

She said the dream is a metaphor for falling short， possibly falling out of favour， or maybe not living up to the expectations of yourself or others.

Feeling trapped

Those who feel trapped in their dreams likely feel trapped in real life， Ms Bowater told Stuff.

“A dream is trying to show， or repeat， something back to you，” she said. “It’s usually using concrete imagery for something that is not necessarily a concrete thing to say.”

Being chased or attacked

Dr Weinstein said frequently being attacked in your dreams may show you are frustrated in your day to day activities.

According to UK dream expert Ian Wallace， being chased or attacked is the most common dream from all around the world， regardless of country， creed or culture.

Being chased by an animal indicates there is an instinctive impulse that you are finding hard to contain in waking life.

When a monster is pursuing you， it reflects that you have a raw and powerful talent but are finding it challenging to evolve and refine it.

If a man， woman or a gang is chasing you， then you have the opportunity to assert a particular talent but may be running away from some of the responsibilities involved in displaying your abilities.

Dreams with negative emotions

In Dr Weinstein’s new study， she found that people who are frustrated with their lives have dreams with more negative themes that made them frightened， angry or sad.

When asked to interpret their own dreams， they tended to do so using more negative words. Participants whose psychological needs were met were more likely to describe their dreams positively.

許多人都曾有過(guò)反復(fù)出現(xiàn)的難以解釋的可怕惡夢(mèng)。現(xiàn)在，研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些惡夢(mèng)其實(shí)是我們?nèi)粘＠Ь车恼凵洹？茖W(xué)家聲稱，缺乏自主性、無(wú)能或被誤解的感覺(jué)都可能引發(fā)惡夢(mèng)。

這些感覺(jué)意味著一個(gè)人的“基本心理需求”沒(méi)有被滿足，當(dāng)我們沒(méi)能適當(dāng)?shù)叵@些情感時(shí)，就產(chǎn)生了惡夢(mèng)。

這些令人不安的夢(mèng)中，似乎有好幾個(gè)反復(fù)出現(xiàn)的主題，包括被困住、被追趕、被攻擊，或者搞砸了一項(xiàng)重要的任務(wù)。

先前的研究已經(jīng)確定其中一些惡夢(mèng)的暗示意義。比如，對(duì)日常生活感到沮喪的人通常會(huì)反復(fù)做墜落、失敗或被攻擊的惡夢(mèng)。那些在真實(shí)生活中感受到壓力的人更可能會(huì)夢(mèng)見(jiàn)在考試等重要事情前沒(méi)做好準(zhǔn)備。

夢(mèng)見(jiàn)從高處墜落

卡迪夫大學(xué)在對(duì)惡夢(mèng)的最新研究中發(fā)現(xiàn)，總是做從高處墜落的夢(mèng)意味著做夢(mèng)者在日常生活中有挫敗感。

涅塔·溫斯坦博士告訴《每日郵報(bào)》網(wǎng)站說(shuō)：“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)總是反復(fù)做帶有負(fù)面情緒惡夢(mèng)的人，在日常生活中也會(huì)感到更無(wú)能、被孤立，或者遭受來(lái)自他人的壓力。”

溫斯坦博士說(shuō)，在應(yīng)對(duì)生活中的挑戰(zhàn)時(shí)尋求支援，有助于減少這種惡夢(mèng)反復(fù)發(fā)生。

夢(mèng)見(jiàn)失敗

溫斯坦博士說(shuō)，反復(fù)夢(mèng)見(jiàn)失敗的人一般都是那些經(jīng)常有挫敗感的人。

先前的研究顯示，那些在真實(shí)生活中感受到壓力的人更可能會(huì)夢(mèng)見(jiàn)在考試或會(huì)議等重要事情前沒(méi)做好準(zhǔn)備。

新西蘭奧特亞羅瓦夢(mèng)之網(wǎng)總裁瑪格麗特·波瓦特告訴《Stuff》雜志說(shuō)：“我曾當(dāng)過(guò)老師，所以我典型的壓力夢(mèng)就是整個(gè)教室失去控制。我感覺(jué)無(wú)力控制局面，或感到無(wú)助。”

她說(shuō)，這種夢(mèng)暗示著你沒(méi)能達(dá)標(biāo)，可能是失寵，也可能是沒(méi)能達(dá)到自己或他人的期望值。

夢(mèng)見(jiàn)被困住

波瓦特告訴《Stuff》雜志說(shuō)，那些在夢(mèng)中感覺(jué)被困住的人很可能在真實(shí)生活中也有這種受困的感覺(jué)。

她說(shuō)：“你的夢(mèng)試圖向你展示或重復(fù)某些發(fā)生在你身上的事情。夢(mèng)通常用具體的意象來(lái)反映抽象的感覺(jué)。”

夢(mèng)見(jiàn)被追趕或被攻擊

溫斯坦博士說(shuō)，經(jīng)常夢(mèng)見(jiàn)被攻擊說(shuō)明你在日常活動(dòng)中有挫敗感。

英國(guó)解夢(mèng)專家伊恩·華萊士說(shuō)，夢(mèng)見(jiàn)被追趕或被攻擊是全世界最常見(jiàn)的夢(mèng)，無(wú)論是哪個(gè)國(guó)家、信仰或文化。

夢(mèng)見(jiàn)被動(dòng)物追趕說(shuō)明你在清醒的生活中感到難以抑制的本能的沖動(dòng)。

如果夢(mèng)見(jiàn)一個(gè)妖怪在追趕你，反映出你有強(qiáng)大的天分但是難以發(fā)揚(yáng)和完善。

如果夢(mèng)見(jiàn)一個(gè)男人、女人或一伙人在追趕你，這暗示著你有機(jī)會(huì)表現(xiàn)某種獨(dú)特的才能，但可能會(huì)因此而逃離某些與之相關(guān)的責(zé)任。

帶有負(fù)面情緒的夢(mèng)

在溫斯坦博士的新研究中，她發(fā)現(xiàn)對(duì)自己的生活感到沮喪的人會(huì)做更多負(fù)面主題的夢(mèng)，這些夢(mèng)會(huì)讓他們感到驚恐、生氣或悲傷。

當(dāng)被要求解釋自己的夢(mèng)境時(shí)，他們一般會(huì)選用更消極的字眼。而心理需求得到滿足的人更可能積極地描述自己的夢(mèng)境。