In the case of chase dreams, there is a relatively broad consensus (as you would expect) that chase dreams are related to heightened anxiety in waking life and that the overall scenario suggests that the dreamer is avoiding acknowledging the cause of that anxiety.
Dreaming of Escaping Danger
If you've been having dreams where you're running away from danger, you've probably been feeling unsettled as of late. This dream should serve as a little nudge to get you over your concerns about the future because positivity will soon come your way.
Generally, being chased in a dream represents feeling under pressure or experiencing anxiety about something in your waking life that you are trying to avoid or escape from. Some possible interpretations of being chased in a dream are: Feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities.
Dreams about being attacked often relate to feelings of your own vulnerability. While they may be disturbing to experience, attack dreams are often exploring sources of pain or control in order to be released from it. Attack dreams can often represent the way we symbolically attack ourselves.
You're being chased by a stranger:
If you're running away from someone you don't know, Ellis says this can mean you feel threatened but don't truly know or understand the source of the threat. This could even be a reflection of anxiety in your waking life, which can often arise for seemingly no reason.
Kidnapping dreams can mean you feel stressed or trapped by a relationship or your responsibilities. These dreams may also happen as your brain works to process a frightening or traumatic experience. A dream journal, good sleep hygiene, and support from a therapist can help banish unwanted dreams.
Dream of Running in Fear
If you are trying to save yourself from someone or something, it implies that you feel safeguarded and protected in your environment. It can also suggest that you are treading a dangerous path. You need to be alert at all times since you will come across problems during this journey.
The more frightening the dream, the more urgency the psyche feels in trying to bring awareness of conflict out into the open where it can be resolved. The idea of something appearing dangerous in a dream arises because of a transformative event that may have led to an 'uncomfortable shift' within you.
Your subconscious mind might make you feel like you are in danger, or that someone is trying to hurt you. Dreams like this can be caused by stress, anxiety, insecurity, or other factors in your life. If you're having violent and vivid dreams, you're likely feeling very anxious or stressed about something in your life.
Problems in Your Daily Life
If you were arguing with a person you know in real life, your dream probably referred to some issues you may be having with that person. Additionally, it could be an indication that someone is upset with you for something you've done.
Dreaming about running towards someone or something
They might indicate pursuing your goals, and overcoming obstacles with ease. Such dreams are a sign of being on the right path and achieving your goals and desires. However, in some cases, these dreams could indicate you may be overly dependent on a partner.
People have a hard time running in their sleep because of REM atonia. When you are dreaming, most of your voluntary muscles are temporarily paralyzed. It's a safety mechanism that prevents you from acting out your dreams, because you don't want to actually start running in your sleep!
We sometimes dream of someone trying to break into our home. This is often an inner psychological figure who may represent some shameful or unwanted part of ourself who is breaking into our consciousness. It is about to break into our awareness and then we will have to confront this unwanted aspect of ourself.
We are innately primed to dream of disasters, dangers, and worst-case scenarios. Apocalyptic dreams extend beyond the individual to envision disaster for the whole world. Dreams of disaster also enhance our mental alertness and creative capacities to respond to collective dangers.
It could be interpreted as a warning that obstacles may be coming your way. On the flip side, such dreams may be construed as your chance to showcase your courage and face your obligations boldly. As the dream itself may bring bad news to the dreamer, it's crucial to not walk away from your real-world problems.
Experiencing recurring dreams may point at underlying issues regardless of the dream's content. Adults who experience frequent recurring dreams tend to have worse psychological health than those who do not, and many experts theorize that these dreams may be a way to work through unmet needs or process trauma.
Nightmares are considered the hallmark of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Nerve pathways in the brain that prevent muscles from moving are active during normal REM or dreaming sleep, resulting in temporary paralysis of your body. In REM sleep behavior disorder, these pathways no longer work and you may physically act out your dreams.
“Fear dreams are almost always about real issues that are threatening you. Whether they're behaviors you have, situations, or your environment at work or home, your dreams can help you understand and own up to them.”
Nightmares can be triggered by many factors, including: Stress or anxiety. Sometimes the ordinary stresses of daily life, such as a problem at home or school, trigger nightmares. A major change, such as a move or the death of a loved one, can have the same effect.
To dream that you are trying to run but cannot make your feet move as fast as you want them to, signifies lack of self-esteem and self-confidence. It may also reflect your actual state of REM paralysis while in the dream state.
Fear Is Physical
Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline are released. Your blood pressure and heart rate increase. You start breathing faster. Even your blood flow changes — blood actually flows away from your heart and into your limbs, making it easier for you to start throwing punches, or run for your life.
Dreaming about falling tends to signify a loss of control over an important situation. “It also indicates fear, terror, and anxiety that comes out of losing grip over significant things,” says Dr. Nereida Gonzalez-Berrios, M.D., a certified psychiatrist. The feeling of falling may represent a sense of helplessness.
A dream in which you try to escape from your kidnapper means that you have problems in your real life that you've been trying to run from for a long while. This subsequently seeps into your subconscious and you start dreaming of trying to escape.