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Tips to Deal With Bad Reoccuring Dreams

By Robert Russell, eHow Contributor
People have always been fascinated with dreams. The first chapter of Freud's "Interpretation of Dreams" is devoted to a historical survey about how different cultures and civilizations have dealt with dreams. Freud was interested in developing a scientific theory of dream interpretation. While Freud's theory never gained universal acceptance, it did help to point out how psychological and physiological factors play a role in dreams. One of the points in Freud's theory is that dreams have causes and understanding the cause helps to resolves the issues involved with the dream.

1. Write the Dream Down
One of the characteristics of dreams is their elusive character. The specific details of the dream easily slip away after people awaken. Understanding the particular details helps to make sense of a dream which is one of the first steps in understanding the reasons or causes of the dream. A recurring nightmare or bad dream may leave a person with a sense of fear and anxiety but with an inability to pinpoint the exact nature of the fear. Keep a pen and a pad of paper on a bedside table. Jot down the general impression of the nightmare, the context and persons involved in as much specific detail as you can.
Analyze the Content
Interpreting and analyzing the contents of a dream helps to identify the issues that may be responsible for the dream. The content of a dream may be inspired by a contemporary event, occurrence or concern or it may be related to a childhood event or memory. Read over the description of dream that you wrote on the pad of paper and try to pinpoint topics and issues related to the dream. Freud's theory on dream interpretation suggests that the technique of free association is the best way to get at the dream. According to Freud, there are two