Recently, I have been having recurring dreams, and this is not the first time I have experienced this type of dream. When I was about five or six, I watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and had dreams of wolves chasing me for months afterward. While terrifying at the time, it is hilarious looking back on it (especially since few people consider The Chronicles of Narnia to be a scary movie). 

After waking up from one of my new recurring dreams, I remembered my nightmares as a kindergartener and decided to do a deep dive into the science behind recurring dreams. 

What are Recurring Dreams?

Recurring dreams are dreams that are experienced repeatedly over a long period of time. Between 60 and 75 percent of American adults experience recurring dreams, and more women experience them than men.

Fig. 1. Hyde, McKenzie. America’s Most Common Recurring Dreams.

They are not necessarily nightmarish (though 77 percent of these dreams are negative); they can also be pleasant. Recurring dreams are unique to every person, but there are themes that are commonly seen in these dreams, including flying, falling, not being able to speak, being chased or trapped, being unprepared for an exam, and finding new rooms in a familiar building. 

Fig. 2. Hyde, McKenzie. America’s Most Common Recurring Dreams.

What Causes Recurring Dreams?

It is common for recurring dreams to occur during times of stress, and these dreams may reflect unresolved conflicts in the dreamer’s life. Dreams, in general, help us to regulate our emotions and adapt to stressful events. The repetitive content in recurring dreams might represent an unsuccessful attempt to make sense of these emotions or stressful events. Once a person has resolved their personal conflict, they often stop experiencing recurring dreams.

Interpreting Recurring Dreams

If you are experiencing these types of dreams, there are ways to figure out their meanings and determine the reason that you keep having them. 

When attempting to figure out what your dreams mean, it is helpful to think of them as metaphors, since recurring dreams often metaphorically reflect the emotions of the dreamers. For example, a dream about being unprepared for an exam might represent something in the dreamer’s life that makes them feel unprepared or judged by others. A dream about being naked or inappropriately dressed might represent something in the dreamer’s life that makes them feel embarrassed or humiliated.

In recurring dreams, the scenario almost never appears exactly the same way in each dream, since there are typically changes or shifts to the basic scenario. For example, if you are dreaming about driving a car with no breaks, there might be variations in the type of car or where the car is going. Dr. Kelly Bulkeley explains, “These variations on the recurrent theme can be very helpful in understanding why the dreams come when they do. If the basic scenario of a recurrent dream has a metaphorical meaning, how do the changed details in a particular dream connect the metaphor to something happening in the waking world right now?” 

I hope this post helped you to better understand and interpret recurring dreams.

Fig. 1. IMDb.

In the 2016 movie Split, a man with 23 distinct personalities kidnaps three teenage girls and imprisons them in a secret underground lair. The man, who has dissociative identity disorder, is portrayed as dangerous because of his diagnosis. This psychological thriller sensationalizes mental illness and inaccurately portrays dissociative identity disorder – and it is not the only film to do so. 

The misrepresentation of individuals with DID as dangerous and violent is common in the media, leading to the public’s fear of those with the disorder and isolating those who have received a diagnosis.

What is Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Dissociative identity disorder (DID), previously called multiple personality disorder, is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality identities, each with its own traits and personal history. The transitions between personalities result in changes in the individual’s behavior, consciousness, memory, consciousness, and cognition. Individuals with DID experience gaps in their memories, and some may also experience hallucinations.

DID is often the result of severe abuse or trauma, and transitions from one personality to another are often caused by emotional distress. The disorder is thought to be a coping mechanism that enables the individual to detach themselves from trauma. 

Psychotherapy is the primary treatment for those with DID. Therapy focuses on merging the individual’s separate identities into a single identity, working through past trauma, and managing sudden behavioral changes.

There are many harmful misconceptions about the disorder that are perpetrated by the media. 

Misconception #1: People with DID are dangerous or violent. 

A DID diagnosis does not mean that an individual is dangerous. People with DID are actually much more likely to be victimized by others than to victimize them. They are also at high risk to repeatedly attempt suicide and self-harm. According to the DSM-5, 70 percent of individuals with DID have attempted suicide at least once. 

In a recent study on individuals with DID, the participants reported low rates of recent criminal behavior in the last six months. Three percent of participants reported a legal charge, 1.8 percent reported a fine, and 0.6 percent reported being incarcerated.

Misconception #2: DID is a “fad.”

DID is not merely a fad. DID has been formally recognized as a disorder for over four decades. Since the 1980 publication of DSM-3, the disorder has been included in four different editions of the DSM. DID patients can be reliably and validly diagnosed with structured and semi-structured interviews.

Misconception #3: DID is primarily diagnosed in North America by DID experts who over-diagnose the disorder. 

1. DID is not primarily diagnosed in North America, and patients are consistently identified in outpatient, inpatient, and community samples around the world. 
2. DID is diagnosed by clinicians around the world with varying degrees of expertise in DID, not just by DID experts.
3. DID is not over-diagnosed. In fact, most individuals who meet criteria for DID have been treated in the mental health system for 6 to 12 years before they are finally correctly diagnosed. 

Fig. 2. Renzoni, Camille. The Recovery Village. 

Fortunately, many have begun to correct harmful stereotypes about DID, and there is even a petition to boycott Split because of its misleading representation of DID.