Question: I keep having dreams about running away from things, terrorism and being betrayed. should i be worried

Jack barton answered on 18 Jun 2017:

Well to echo Steve in the first instance, is this something you feel worried about? I know I go through periods of time when my dreams take a more sinister tinge but I can generally relate them to stresses I am working through in my day to day life. If these dreams do concern you then perhaps the best first step is to chat to someone you trust about why you think you might have these worries on your mind. I will say that in light of the awful events going on the UK recently it is perhaps not surprising that some of these daytime experiences find their way into our dreams.

In terms of the science, the continuity hypothesis states that our waking lives directly influence our dreams, and that concerns or worries may manifest themselves in our dreams. This approach is more direct, and somewhat more objective (ish), than subjective interpretation of dreams to uncover unconscious desires as Freud proposed. Although there are many who question the continuity hypothesis, it is generally agreed that particularly emotional day occurrences will find their way into our dreams. This would suggest that these dreams you are having are the result of salient day time worries. However, to say you should be worried if you don’t feel negatively affected by their dreams would be somewhat irresponsible. The scientific evidence is somewhat poor on this point (to my knowledge) so it would probably be best to think back to the times you had those dreams and think about whether they were times of notable stress or anxiety (e.g. exams). Until we have a better understanding of what dreams are and what they mean then its hard to interpret their meaning.