From suffocation to being chased, what your nightmares REALLY mean – and what they say about your mental health

WE all have them – those terrifying dreams that wake us up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night.

Whether it is being chased, being suffocated or feeling trapped, nightmares can get the heart racing.

But once you’ve got over the initial fright, many of us are left scratching our heads in the dead of night, questioning what the terrifying ordeal really means.

Dreams, or nightmares, happen when our dreaming brain processes the things we've experienced in the past few days, dream analyst  told The Sun Online.

And she said the act of dreaming is essential to our health and wellbeing, both physically as well as emotionally and mentally.

She said: “When you feel fear in a dream, your body produces fear hormones and the whole ‘fight or flight’ response, which is why you wake up from the dream – now a nightmare – with that racing heart and clammy hands.

“A nightmare can feel so terrifyingly real because the physical response in your body is real.

“But the story line of the dream is symbolic, which is why it’s important to understand what they mean.

“Unfortunately you can’t use a dream dictionary to interpret dreams, as every dream and every dream symbol is personal and unique.

“But there are techniques you can learn to interpret your own unique dreams and nightmares.”

Here she reveals what the top eight most common nightmares really mean...

1. You can’t breathe or you're suffocating

Jane said: “Occasionally you can have this nightmare when your nose is blocked, or you’re suffering asthma, but you would already be aware of this.

“More commonly this nightmare is about feeling restricted, physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually, or feeling suffocated by someone’s attention or your life situation.

“For your health and wellbeing, you need to understand the fears that are holding you back from taking up your personal space in the world, fears that are limiting how you express yourself, fears that cause you to shrink back.

“Understanding those fears is the first step in overcoming them.”

2. You can’t move

“This dream sometimes occurs when your mind begins to wake up but your body lags behind in dreaming mode,” explained Jane.

“This is known as sleep paralysis.

“When we dream, our muscles are incapable of moving much.

“This is nature’s way of preventing us from getting up, acting out our dreams, and getting hurt.

“When the mind and body are out of synch for a few seconds, we can dream that we’re paralysed.

Interpreting your nightmare helps you to identify what is holding you back.

Jane Teresa Anderson, dream analyst

“If this happens, just breathe calmly knowing it will pass, and it will.

“At other times, this can be a fully symbolic nightmare that may come up when you’re feeling restricted in life, or paralysed – emotionally or mentally - from taking action.

“Interpreting your nightmare helps you to identify what is holding you back.

“Our dreams reveal our unconscious fears and blocks, and it’s powerful to discover what these are.

“In health terms, your emotional or mental wellbeing is compromised.

“Since physical disease can follow mental or emotional stress, take steps to mobilise your body and enhance your flexibility.”

3. Invasion

Jane told The Sun Online: “A common nightmare is of someone breaking into your house or bedroom. Some people have this dream a few days before experiencing symptoms of a cold, or flu.

“In these cases, the dreaming mind may be picking up on the early stages of a bacterial or viral invasion.

“Other people have this dream when they’re feeling that their personal space is being invaded, physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.

“This happens when the dreamer is not proactive about their boundaries.

“What demands do you feel people make on you? Why do you allow this? What demands do you make on yourself?

“Interpreting your unique dream helps identify your unconscious reasons for not being firm about your boundaries.

“Since body ailments can follow mental stress, check whether your immune system is depleted.

“There’s only so much you can give, without receiving replenishment.”

4. You’re trapped

“You probably have nightmares of being trapped when you feel or fear being trapped in your life,” Jane said.

“Sometimes your dream reflects what you already know, ‘Yes, I feel trapped’.

“Other times it reflects what you don’t know; that you have unconscious fears or beliefs about being trapped so you live your life to the other extreme, maybe not committing to relationships or jobs, for example.

“If you interpret your dream you will discover why you feel this way and you’ll be able to soften that so that you can move towards commitment.

“Health wise, ask yourself how your feelings and attitudes are impacting on your sense of wellbeing.”

The more we run from what we fear, the more that fear chases us in life.

Jane Teresa Anderson, dream analyst

5. You’re being chased

“This scary nightmare may help you to understand that you are running away from facing something,” according to Jane.

“The more we run from what we fear, the more that fear chases us in life.

“For example, if you run from sorting out a financial problem, it will get worse. It will haunt you as if it’s chasing you.

“You might be running from any issue; aging, health, decision-making, your negative thoughts, a medical diagnosis, or an aspect of yourself or your life that you’re trying to escape.

“Interpreting your dream helps you to identify what you’re running from – what you feel is chasing you down.

“Then you can turn around, face it, and resolve it.

“This action will help restore your health and wellbeing on every level, and improve your life dramatically.”

6. Death

Jane said: “Nightmares featuring death have many causes, ranging from processing your fears of death and beliefs about mortality, to more positive themes of letting old attitudes and behaviours die to make room for the birth of new and better ways.

“Change is always scary, even when we invite it.

“These nightmares may help us to understand our fears and feelings about letting our old ways die so that we can grow and change.

“The challenge in understanding death dreams is that we tend to be so convinced that they’re about actual death that we find it hard to get perspective.”

Each dream is unique, but some people might relate to being unable to cope with an emotional or mental deluge

Jane Teresa Anderson, dream analyst

7. You’re hit by a tsunami

“This common nightmare theme can reflect fears and feelings of being totally overwhelmed by an inevitable onslaught, like a tsunami,” said Jane.

“Each dream is unique, but some people might relate to being unable to cope with an emotional or mental deluge, while others might relate to feeling that life’s demands are increasing to giant, insurmountable proportions.

“Most people relate to water in dreams as being emotional – it flows like emotions.

“From a health perspective this nightmare might invite you to look at creating healthy limits to what you take on, or to take time out – or therapy – to come to terms with overwhelming emotional matters.

“Since the body often follows the mind, it might be worth checking on fluid retention.”

8. You’re in an out of control car

Jane said: “This group of nightmares covers many possible scenarios.

“Interpretation might help you to see where you feel out of control, or where you fear being out of control.

“If you fear being out of control in some area of your life – if you’re a control freak – your nightmare might picture this fear as trying, and failing, to drive an out of control car.

“A car without brakes in a nightmare might help you to understand the pressure you put on yourself to keep going.

“From a health point of view, if you relate to this possible meaning for your unique nightmare, ask how you can ease up, or take more breaks, otherwise you may be headed for a physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual crash – or all of these.”

But Jane added that it is important to remember that every nightmare and every dream is personal and unique.

She recommends that if you are concerned about your dreams you should consult a health professional.

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