I used to have a few recurring dreams. There was the run of the mill "naked in public" dreams, I remember a few about my teeth falling out, and I had the same dream twice about a skeleton in my garage. Although, there was one recurring dream that always stood out to me. It always recurred on Christmas Eve., every year from before I can remember, until I was around 13. It was as if once this dream happened, it was Christmas. The first year without it was probably one of my worst, partly because puberty and being generally disgusted with anything family related, but I know believe it was because I lost "The Dream". The Dream always began the same. The house across from mine, which is rather tall and rectangular, is completely black on the inside. The furniture, walls, floors, everything, painted pitch black. There was always my dad, and my neighbors dad. Mind you these neighbors are rich, and slightly ostentatious and our families rarely interacted, so his presence is still confounding. Anyway, my dad and the neighbor dad are dressed in full swat gear. They are equipped with grenades, machine guns, and protective swat armor. The house had been booby trapped, and my dad and the neighbor were trying to protect it from the perpetrator who trapped the house. Who had booby trapped my neighbors house and painted it black? Being Christmas an all, it was the Grinch. After the dream began, I would see my dad and the neighbor pointing their guns up the staircase at the Grinch, who just looked menacingly down at them and put his hands together. I knew the house was booby trapped, because there was a mess of green goop - much like the stuff you see on the Kids Choice Awards, I believe it's called "slime". For some reason, if one were to step in the green goop, either you would fall in it like it was a cavernous hole, or you would get stuck. I have yet to find out because after the surveillance of the house, the dads, the Grinch and the goo, I woke up. Every Christmas, for approximately 6 years I would wake up after seeing the green putty. I never used to care about the dream, didn't pay any attention, as it was usually forget in lieu of presents and ham. Looking back, I wish I had written it down.
Recurring dreams are supposed to represent an unresolved problem or conflict in someone's life. What unresolved problems I had with the Grinch I do not know. Common recurring dreams include themes like losing control of a car, being late, failing at something important, even the "naked" dream. There is something your subconscious is trying to tell you that you are just not getting. I'm going to be honest, I'm using Wikipedia for these next facts, so be wary (but honestly Wikipedia is a totally valid source and anyone who says otherwise isn't a student). There are several theories that explain the prevalence of recurring dreams. Close to 75% of adults have had or currently have recurring dreams(psychologytoday.com). The first theory, Wikipedia states, is called Threat Simulation Theory. It explains recurring dreams as threat preparation, and that these dreams will help us deal with threatening situations in the future (I very much hope I do not run into a booby trapped house). Sigmund Freud, the original Dream Bitch, thought recurring dreams to be the result of neurotic behavior, and spurred from "the expression of neurotic repetitive compulsions".
There are several other explanations for the strange repetition of psyche, most of which involve the brain pattern or your erratic sleeping patterns.The one that stood out to me the most, probably because it explains my dream, was the Culturalist Dream Theory (I crossed checked Wikipedia, this is real. The Culturalist Dream Theory, CDT, explains that dreams repeat because a lack of change in one's life. That would explain the sudden halt in the repetition of the Dream, as around the time it stopped, I was entering my teenage years. Although the change may not have been particularly positive from an outside perspective, it was change.
Coping with stress inducing recurring dreams has its challenges. A teacher of mine once told of us of a recurring dream they had, in which he worked in a barn making hatchets. He said he was then attacked by faceless people with hatchets, and then proceeded to wake up. The dream continued for a few weeks, haunting him biweekly. It wasn't until he determined the meaning of the dream that it stopped. He concluded that the dream was trying to tell him that "every problem you have you create yourself". He had created the hatchets that in turn were used to attack him .
In order to rid yourself of a particularly unbecoming recurring dream, it is crucial to decipher what your subconscious is trying to convey to your conscious. Usually, a dream will repeat itself if there is a constant source of stress in one's life; for example, feeling exposed for vulnerable at work or school can lead to the repetition of naked-in-public dreams. If you want that dream about your sister pushing you off a cliff to go away, try finding closure about the fight you had last month. Dream interpretation and comprehension is an infallible way to both rid yourself of an uncomfortable night's sleep, and solve personal problems in the waking world. Happy Dreaming!
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