How to Make Recurring Dreams Stop Repeating Themselves

When Our Subconscious Mind Becomes a Nag

Recurring Dreams are a problem for a lot of people. The biggest problem with dreams that repeat themselves is the fact that they’re almost always nightmares, unsettling dreams, or – in the very least – frustrating dreams.

It seems our best dreams never want to go into syndication!

Most people think that recurring dreams are always more important than other dreams. In fact, most people think of recurring dreams as “emergencies” and that their interpretation is a life or death issue.

While some recurring dreams recur because the issue is a very important one, some recur for a couple of other, harmless reasons:

• Sometimes recurring dreams keep happening simply because we keep thinking about them! We talk to other people about our recurring dreams, we think about them ourselves throughout the day… pretty much we invite them to keep coming back by giving them so much press and fanfare.
• Sometimes a recurring dream is just a nag. The dream may not even necessarily symbolize a MAJOR issue – sometimes it’s actually a MINOR issue. The problem is that it’s a MINOR issue that isn’t resolved yet. Think of it as your brain saying, “I’m going to nag you about this until you fix it.”

Here’s an example of a dream being a nag: Jamie kept dreaming about his deceased brother in law. Each dream found the brother in law needing help that Jamie was unable to give. Because the two were very close (“absolutely best friends”) these dreams were very sad and gut-wrenching. After reflecting on certain things (their relationship, the circumstances surrounding his death, and Jamie‘s grief), the recurring dreams meaning came out: Jamie felt incredibly bad about the fact that his brother in law didn’t have a “really nice” headstone on his grave. While this may seem like a small issue, it was enough of one to sort of haunt his dreams.

His mind was nagging him to do something about it.  When he’d think about it during the day, he’d simply think about how he wished he could afford a nice headstone.  He’d also push thoughts about his brother in law out of his mind because they made him sad.  However, in his dreams, his mind wanted him to know that the feelings weren’t going anywhere!

His mind nagged him until he faced the problem and actively began saving money to buy a lasting tribute to someone who meant so much to him.

He didn’t have to wait until the headstone was actually bought for the recurring dreams to end. They stopped as soon as he made the decision to save money until the very important purchase was made.

Nagging recurring dreams can’t be stopped simply by realizing what your mind is trying to tell you. Your mind has to know you mean business!

If your mind is trying to convey a message to you, do everything in your power to get to the root of the problem.

A great exercise for analyzing and even interpreting a recurring dream is to grab a pen (or pencil) and paper.  Think about the dream and write down any details about the dream that come to mind.  As you’re writing the details, ask yourself, “What could THIS symbolize” or “What could THAT mean?” Very often, the dream’s meaning will be right in front of you.

If you’ve determined that there isn’t a core problem or issue, ask yourself if you’re paying too much attention to the dreams. If that’s the case, do all you can to put them out of your mind.  Right before falling asleep, particularly, think about something as far removed from the recurring dream’s subject as possible.

Below are a few ideas that some people use to “clear” their mind before falling asleep:

• think about fun times you’ve had with family members – times when you didn’t have a care in the world
• watch a sitcom that’s 100 percent fun and care free (I Love Lucy, cartoons, Andy Griffith…)
• read something “light,” such as a romance novel, comic book, magazine…
• listen to music
• read poetry
• write poetry
• write in your journal – focusing on the things that went right during the day

Bottom line – once you’ve determined the dream’s meaning, put it entirely out of your mind!