Nightmares in dreams

Nightmares in dreams: why they happen and how to get rid of them

Almost everyone has nightmares. They frighten, leave a heavy aftertaste, and sometimes haunt for years. But nightmares are not just scary stories. They carry information. They point to problems that you do not notice in real life. They warn that tension, fear, or a feeling of hopelessness has accumulated inside you.

Our project has collected thousands of confirmed outcomes of such dreams. They show that nightmares always have a basis. They are not random. They signal something that requires your attention.

What nightmares in dreams are

Nightmares in dreams are not just frightening dreams. They are signals from your subconscious. It is trying to reach you. If you have a recurring nightmare, it means the problem has not been resolved. The subconscious releases accumulated stress. But if in reality the source of stress is not addressed, stress accumulates again and spills out in the same nightmare.

Nightmares and horrors in our dreams are almost always a consequence of overexertion, fear, or a feeling of hopelessness in life. This is how our psyche cleanses itself of accumulated tension.

If a nightmare repeats, you should not dismiss it. These are not just scary stories. This is a serious source of stress. You need to respect your feelings. Become a mother to yourself, one who will not brush off unpleasant emotions. A mother must remember that emotions are important and not groundless. Otherwise it will spill over into a real personal problem.

Series of recurring nightmares

Many people have recurring nightmares. They can last for years. But if they are correctly deciphered and worked through, they go away.

One of the participants in our project told us about three series of recurring nightmares. Each of them had its own meaning.

The first series: the village toilet

For many years she dreamed that she was in a village toilet with wobbling boards and kept being afraid of falling into the toilet pit.

In reality, in childhood there was an episode when she had to use a similar toilet and there was a fear of falling in. Before coming to this site, the participant interpreted this nightmare that way – she was reliving again and again that half-forgotten empty childhood fear she had experienced and simply could not free herself from it.

Not once in the dream did she actually fall into the toilet pit, but she also could not relieve herself.

Interpretation of this nightmare

Through the image of the wobbling floor in the toilet, her neurotic anxiety against the background of hyperresponsibility and her inability to release stress were being shown. A rather unpleasant state. But the fall into a situation of shame and disgrace itself did not happen.

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This dream shows that the fear was not so much real as internal. The participant was afraid of falling through, but the fall did not happen. This indicates that her fears were exaggerated. But they prevented her from living.

The second series: the mirror and Baba Yaga

The second series of nightmares – the theme with the mirror and Baba Yaga hiding in the mirror, behind her back, cursing. In the dream there was a feeling that something terrible had happened, evil had already penetrated the world, this fact had already occurred, and all that remained was to fight it.

Interpretation of this nightmare

The dream turned out to be prophetic. It warned of magical negativity against the participant. That is exactly what happened. She learned about the negativity when it was already too late, and all that remained was to cleanse herself.

A mirror in a dream is a window into a parallel world. Baba Yaga is a symbol of dark power, of negativity. The fact that she was hiding in the mirror and cursing indicates that the negativity was hidden but had already penetrated the participant’s life.

The third series: labyrinths of staircases and elevators

The third series of nightmares consists of labyrinths of paradoxical staircases and elevators. Elevators travel horizontally, not where they should. Staircases end in a dead end in a wall. A flight of stairs is missing midway. Staircases suddenly end. The participant never falls on them, she simply wanders in search of a path.

Interpretation of this nightmare

This dream symbolizes the fear of taking the wrong road, of not following your own path. The fear of making the wrong choice. Labyrinths, staircases and elevators are symbols of life’s paths. When they lead to a dead end, it means you are afraid of making a mistake. You do not know where to go.

The absence of falling is a good sign. The participant does not fall, which means she is not making fatal mistakes. She is simply wandering. This is a state of uncertainty.

Dreams about otherworldly power

All entities, ghosts and monsters appear in dreams when, the day before, you caught yourself in a thought that is difficult for you. Entities are clots of emotions you have long been experiencing.

If this happens inside a house, then it is about what is happening inside your personal life. These are not external circumstances but internal ones, in the way your daily life is structured.

If a creature is phantasmagorical, then it is an image of fabricated fear. For our brain, our fears are quite justified, but in reality it is always a subjective emotion of perceiving what is happening. There is nothing objective in it. A dream hints at this through the symbolism of monsters, which we do not observe in the physical world. This is an image of the unconscious.

How to get rid of nightmares

To get rid of nightmares, you need to understand and work through them correctly.

Write down your nightmares. Immediately after waking up, write down the dream. All the details, all the emotions. This will help you see patterns.

Analyze the symbols. Use a dream dictionary to understand what the symbols from your dream mean. It may not be obvious.

Look for a connection with reality. Think about what is happening in your life. Is there a situation that causes you fear or anxiety? Perhaps you are afraid of making a mistake, or you feel insecure.

Work through your fears. If you understand what is behind the nightmare, you can begin working with that fear. This could be psychotherapy, mindfulness practices, work with affirmations.

Change your thinking. As one of the participants notes, without changing your thinking, the nightmares will continue. You need not only to understand what is happening, but also to change your attitude toward the situation.

How to distinguish an ordinary dream from a nightmare

There are dreams that are as vivid as life – both in pace, and in clarity, and in the perception of what is seen. They are very memorable, they really stick in the memory and stay there.

And there are dreams that are very chaotic. A lot happens in them, the pace is faster than in real life. Events change right one after another. Everything happens a bit like in delirium. Lots of movement, changes of scenes, pictures, characters. Such dreams are remembered fuzzily.

But at the same time they leave a terrible aftertaste and even horror in the soul. Individual scenes are remembered. And, of course, there is nothing pleasant in them. Sometimes an outright nightmare.

When you start analyzing such dreams, it always turns out that it is either an unloading of the consciousness, or that which hinders you in life is being rolled out. Inner negativity surfaces for various purposes – to hint, to warn not about a coming event, but about internal problems that can lead to negativity.

How to understand your own dreams

Victoria wrote about dreams of varying quality. By my own dreams I distinguish this clearly. There are dreams that are clear, like life – in pace, in clarity, in perception. They are remembered, they are etched into memory. And there are chaotic dreams, with an accelerated pace, with changes of scenes, pictures, characters.

Dreams always accompany and guide. Without working through and without changing your thinking, the nightmares continue. The affirmation “Forward, into the past” opens up those complexes that sat inside for years in a hidden form.

A correct understanding of the causes of nightmares and working through these states is our everything. The subconscious will not signal for nothing.

The connection between nightmares and fears in life

When you see a nightmare, it is important to understand what stands behind it. It is not simply a coincidence. It is a signal.

If you dream of nightmares with an invisible force, with ghosts, with monsters, this may mean that there is a fear in your life that you are not aware of. It awakens inside your home, inside your family. It is connected exclusively with you and your loved ones.

Sometimes nightmares show that you want your loved ones to understand your emotions, your fear. So that they can see it every time it surfaces in you. If in a dream one of your loved ones has a veil over their eyes, this is your awareness that they do not see the same thing you see. You really want to convey your emotions so that they open their eyes and finally see the essence of what troubles you.

What to do if you have recurring nightmares

If you have recurring nightmares, do not ignore them. It is a signal. Your subconscious is trying to reach you.

Write down the dream. Write down all the details. Analyze the symbols. Think about what in your life causes fear or anxiety.

If you cannot cope on your own, seek help from a professional. A psychologist or psychotherapist can help you work through your fears and change your thinking.

Remember: nightmares are not a sentence. They are an opportunity to change your life for the better.

To check your symbols, go to the dream interpretation app. And to choose the right time for practice, check the Dream Calendar. If you want to understand the nature of dreams more deeply, read my book “Prophetic Dreams and Lucid Dreaming”.

Frequently Asked Questions about nightmares

Question: Why do we have nightmares?

Answer: Nightmares occur due to stress, fear, and a feeling of hopelessness. They point to problems that you do not notice in real life. This is the subconscious’s way of attracting your attention.

Question: What should I do if a nightmare keeps recurring?

Answer: This means that the problem has not been resolved. You need to write down the dream, analyze the symbols and find the connection with reality. Work through the source of stress.

Question: How can I get rid of nightmares?

Answer: You need to understand what is behind the nightmare. Work through your fears. Change your thinking. Use affirmations and mindfulness practices.

Question: Do nightmares signify magical negativity?

Answer: Not always. More often they are inner fears and tension. But dreams with a mirror, Baba Yaga, or dark entities may indicate a negative influence.

Question: Can a nightmare be prevented?

Answer: Yes, it can. If you understand what causes stress, you can work with it. Use protective affirmations, meditations, prayers.

Author: Victoria Sokolova

Creator and founder of the dream analytics project, author of the book “Prophetic Dreams and Lucid Dreaming”