Having the same dream more than once can be perplexing and cause you to wonder what it might mean. While there are no definitive answers, exploring some of the theories around recurring dreams can provide insight into why you may be having déjà vu in dreamland.
What does it mean when you have the same dream twice?
There are a few common theories as to why you might have a recurring dream:
- Your subconscious is trying to get your attention. Recurring dreams may indicate an unresolved issue or inner conflict that your subconscious continues to focus on.
- The dream has made a strong impression. If the dream was particularly emotional or vivid, the strength of the impression it left may lead your subconscious to replay it.
- You’re preoccupied with the content while awake. If you’re constantly thinking about something from real life, your subconscious may construct a dream based on those thoughts.
- You need practice with a skill. Some recurring dreams involve themes like taking a test for which you’re unprepared. Your subconscious may be giving you practice handling challenging situations.
- You’re working through a life stage. Dreams during pivotal life stages—like starting a new job—often repeat until the unconscious mind resolves important themes.
In many cases, recurring dreams are the mind’s way of sorting through your concerns, fears, aspirations, or desires. Paying attention to patterns and themes can reveal the purpose behind the repetition.
Do recurring dreams always have a deeper meaning?
While many experts believe recurring dreams have purpose, not everyone agrees they necessarily convey profound messages. Some theories include:
- No deeper meaning – Some psychologists believe recurring dreams reflect nothing more than the brain consolidating and organizing information. They may be a byproduct of the memory making process, not a “message” for dreamers to decode.
- Mundane origins – One school of thought believes recurring dreams often arise from small annoyances or stimuli in the waking world, like an uncomfortably warm room or the drone of traffic outside. The brain later strings together memories of these triggers in a recurring storyline.
- Random neuronal firings – Researchers have tracked dreams to the pons, the part of the brain stem that regulates sleep cycles. During REM sleep, the pons sends random signals that can activate memories and perceptions in unusual combinations, resulting in dreams with little narrative meaning.
In these views, trying to analyze a recurring dream only imposes the illusion of hidden motives and meaning. However, many psychologists still believe recurring dreams often play an important role in processing experiences and emotions.
When are recurring dreams something to worry about?
Most of the time, recurring dreams are not a major cause for concern. However, in some cases they may be linked to emotional issues that could benefit from being addressed:
- The dream causes distress or disrupts sleep. Recurring nightmares can be a sign of anxiety that intrude on restful sleep. Resolving emotional issues contributing to the nightmares can improve sleep quality.
- The dream replays a past trauma. Some recurrent dreams are an expression of PTSD, replaying a traumatic event over and over. Talking through the trauma with a professional can help reduce recurrence of these dreams.
- The dream reflects obsession. Dreams that replay strong desires or worries to an excessive degree may signal an unhealthy thought pattern. Addressing the obsession behind such dreams can improve psychological well-being.
Someone experiencing distress from recurring dreams or concerned they may signify a psychological issue may want to keep a dream journal and discuss their content with a therapist.
What do common recurring dreams mean?
Some themes frequently crop up in recurring dreams across individuals. Some typical interpretations include:
| Dream Theme | Possible Interpretations |
|---|---|
| Being chased | Feeling threatened or anxious about avoiding a problem |
| Repeating a day over again | Desire to re-do or seize missed opportunities |
| Inability to move or call out | Feeling helpless, frozen by fear or frustration |
| Missing a test or unprepared for a test | Self-doubt, feelings of being underqualified |
| Cheating on a spouse | Guilt over deceit or unhealthy impulses in real life |
| Falling | Feeling out of control, lacking stability |
| Running late | Feeling overwhelmed, missing opportunities |
| Dying or people dying | Change, transition, part of yourself fading away |
Of course, interpretations are subjective. The details of your personal recurring dream, your emotions within it, and how it connects with your real life matters most in analyzing meaning. But broadly speaking, these common themes can often point to areas of subconscious conflict.
Tips for working through recurring dreams
If your recurring dreams are causing sleep disruptions or emotional distress, here are some tips that may help:
- Keep a dream journal – Recording dream details helps identify symbolism, patterns, and potential real life connections. Over time you may better understand the dream’s purpose.
- Do reality checks – When experiencing a recurring dream, try to recognize it as a dream and influence the outcome. This lessens distress and trains your mind.
- Talk about recurring dreams – Discussing dreams can help identify contributing issues and relieve built-up anxiety or concern over what dreams “mean.”
- Reduce stress – Altering stress levels, thoughts, and behaviors that contribute to recurring dreams during the day can sometimes resolve them.
- Get more sleep – Fatigue strains mental health and compounds anxiety from disturbing dreams. Improving sleep hygiene helps.
- Try therapy – For recurring dreams linked to trauma, obsessive thoughts, or other emotional issues, counseling may help identify and resolve underlying causes.
Processing recurring dreams takes time, self-reflection, and often trial-and-error. But being aware of their origins and purpose allows you to control their impact and break out of the cycle of repetition.
When to see a doctor about recurring dreams
Most recurring dreams are not cause for medical concern. However, if dreams severely disrupt sleep or cause distress, seeing a doctor is a good idea. Signs it may be time to seek medical advice include:
- Fatigue, low energy, or sleep deprivation from repeated nightmares
- Mood changes like anxiety, depression, or irritability tied to the dreams
- Feelings of dread each night as you try to sleep
- Dreams replaying a traumatic event or severe emotional disturbance
- Physical symptoms during dreams like pain, numbness, or shortness of breath
- Self-harm behaviors or suicidal thoughts connected to the dreams
A primary care physician can identify if recurring dreams are a symptom of an underlying sleep or mental health disorder. They may recommend counseling to help process trauma or emotions fueling dreams. Medications may help in some cases, like prazosin to reduce nightmares in PTSD. But addressing root causes directly often makes the biggest difference.
Can you make yourself stop dreaming about something?
Is it possible to consciously prevent yourself from dreaming about something? While you can’t control every aspect of your unconscious mind, some methods may reduce recurring dreams:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – CBT helps confront thought and behavior patterns contributing to disturbing dreams. Identifying and altering anxieties, reactions, and beliefs during the day often also changes dream content.
- Imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) – IRT involves “rescripting” recurring nightmares with positive alternate endings. Visualizing these new endings before sleep can train the brain to follow more constructive dream narratives.
- Lucid dreaming – Becoming aware within a nightmare that you are dreaming allows you to direct the plot and reduce anxiety. Devices that enhance lucid dreaming during REM sleep may stop recurring dreams.
- Dream deprivation – Preventing REM sleep can halt unsettling dreams, but depriving the mind of dream time disrupts emotional processing. Any benefits are usually temporary.
- Medications – In some cases, medications like antidepressants or blood pressure drugs that impact sleep cycles may curb recurring dreams. But medication side effects may outweigh benefits.
Learning to navigate control within the dream itself using lucid dreaming or IRT techniques has shown the most lasting success. But processing emotional triggers through counseling often remains essential for preventing the mind from falling back into old dream patterns.
Do dreams repeat until you get the message?
Some psychologists believe recurring dreams represent the mind’s attempt to call attention to something the dreamer needs to acknowledge or resolve. Potential evidence supporting this includes:
- Recurring dreams often stop when dreamers confront issues or concerns featured in the dream narrative.
- Dreams will evolve or present variations on a theme until the dreamer recognizes the underlying message.
- Making positive personal changes that align with dream messages often leads to a resolution of the dreams.
- Therapies that involve “decoding” dream meanings are effective at halting some recurring dreams.
- People report recurrent dreams stopping when they come to terms with traits or challenges highlighted metaphorically in dreams.
However, many argue there are also examples that contradict dreams having purposeful messages:
- Recurring benign dreams about mundane topics likely carry no profound meaning.
- Not all recurring dreams can be traced to real life emotional preoccupations.
- Dream messages can be far too vague for literal interpretation.
- Attempting to analyze meaning often relies on subjective guesses and assumptions.
- Some recurring dreams persist indefinitely, with no identifiable real world resolution.
In the end, whether recurring dreams reflect the mind’s efforts to send a message remains a point of debate. Their meaningfulness likely depends on the individual and their life circumstances. For some dreamers, recurring dreams do seem to communicate insights their waking mind has yet to fully grasp. But providing a definite answer for all is impossible.
Conclusion
Experiencing the same dream repeatedly can be baffling, especially when no obvious real life cause presents itself. Ultimately, the purpose and meaning behind recurring dreams are still not fully understood. No two people share the exact same recurring dream profile or psychological drivers.
However, the weight of research suggests recurring dreams often signify unresolved inner conflicts, current struggles, or repressed emotions. Paying close attention to both contextual themes and emotional details can shed light on a recurring dream’s origins. While not an exact science, interpreting their symbolic meanings offers clues to underlying issues that your subconscious continues working through across multiple dream cycles.
Rather than cause for concern, recurring dreams can provide an insightful window into your mental state. With an open and curious mindset, they may reveal connections between your inner and outer worlds. Over time, awakening to messages within recurring dreams can spark positive growth and change. At the very least, looking for potential meaning allows you to get to know yourself on a deeper level.
