Background

What are fear dreams about?

Fear is an emotional response to danger or perceived danger. FeIt quickens our heart rate and can sharpen focus. However, it has been said that 'fear is the mind killer'. Fear is often involuntary. The DreamWell Dream Dictionary is based upon insights from 1,200 dream symbols in over 200,000 dreams. Let’s see what the data has to say about fear dreams.

The word cloud above shows the words that are specifically associated with fear dreams. These are the words that make fear dreams unique compared to all other dream symbols. Just examining the graph and reading the words of fear dreams can be illuminating about show fear affect our dreams. Be sure to check out the example fear dreams at the bottom of the page.

The circular bar chart above shows how fear in a dream will affect dream content as compared to other dream symbols. Higher bars indicate that fear is more related to the specific symbol in the graph. Lower bars indicate that fear is less related to the specific symbol in the graph. Specifically, fear dreams have more nightmares than 99.6% of dream symbols, more sleep paralysis than 97.3% of dream symbols, and more bad dreams than 97.1% of dream symbols. On the other hand, fear dreams have less human-made places than 83.2% of dream symbols, less schools than 80.0% of dream symbols, and less weird dreams than 79.7% of dream symbols. Notably, dreams of fear tend to contain much more emotion than other dreams. Furthermore, fear dreams might be nightmares! Though even if these dreams are nightmares, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are bad dreams or that fear is a bad thing to dream about. It just means that dreams of fear are more likely to be nightmares than dreams of other things. Also, fear dreams have thinking and reflection than 90% of all dream symbols. There are many reasons why people think and reflect. Things might be confusing. They might be interesting. There might be risk. Finally, dreams of fear are usually described as bad dreams. This does not necessarily mean that all fear dreams are bad. It is just that dreaming of fear might increase the chance that it is a bad dream. Every dream is unique. These are general patterns observed in an analysis of over 200,000 dreams. This analysis is a tool to help you make sense of your dreams. It is best to look at the differences. See how your dream of fear is different than dreams of fear in general.

25%

of dreams have fear

How common are fear dreams?

25% of dreams have the fear symbol within the dream. That's about 1 out of every 4 dreams. Considering all the dream symbols, it is frequent.

Identification

How are fear dreams identified?

This symbol is identified by words like horrified, dismay, afraid, etc. This symbol is part of the summary dream symbols of emotions.

Most related

What is most related to dreams of fear?

Fear dreams are notable because they have substantially more verbs, scars, movement, Kuwait, events, nightmare loops, senses, nightmares, general movement, Laos, qualities than 95% of other dream symbols.

Least related

What symbols least related to dreams of fear?

Fear dreams are notable because they have substantially less Fiji, Algeria, Cameroon, Princess Leia, Bangladesh, pheasants, Han Solo, ovations, rental cars, Bolivia, Cyprus than 95% of other dream symbols.

Deep dive into fear dreams

Get an overview of characters, emotions, places, events, dream events, and senses in fear dreams.

Who is in dreams of fear?

Who is in dreams of fear?

Fear dreams are more related to fantastic beings than dreams in general. They are less related to unnamed people, less related to strangers, and less related to peers.

the same as usual
the same as usual
less than usual
more than usual
less than usual
less than usual
the same as usual
less than usual
What are the emotions in dreams of fear?

What are the emotions in dreams of fear?

Fear dreams are more related to pain and more related to hatred than dreams in general. They are less related to sadness, less related to embarrassment, and less related to fun.

the same as usual
less than usual
the same as usual
less than usual
the same as usual
much more than usual
more than usual
more than usual
less than usual
less than usual
Where do dreams of fear take place?

Where do dreams of fear take place?

Dreams of fear are more related to home and more related to magical places than dreams in general. They are less related to work, less related to human-made places, and less related to transportation.

more than usual
less than usual
less than usual
less than usual
less than usual
more than usual
less than usual
What happens in dreams of fear?

What happens in dreams of fear?

Fear dreams are more related to aggressive acts, more related to death, and more related to health events than dreams in general. They are less related to sex and less related to eating and drinking.

more than usual
the same as usual
less than usual
the same as usual
less than usual
more than usual
more than usual
How do dreams of fear related to the type of dream it is?

How do dreams of fear related to the type of dream it is?

Dreams of fear are more related to lucid dreams, much more related to nightmares, and more related to recurring dreams than dreams in general. They are less related to weird dreams and less related to good dreams.

more than usual
much more than usual
more than usual
much more than usual
much more than usual
less than usual
the same as usual
less than usual
the same as usual
How do dreams of fear related the senses?

How do dreams of fear related the senses?

Fear dreams are more related to hearing and more related to vision than dreams in general. They are less related to taste.

more than usual
the same as usual
less than usual
more than usual
the same as usual

How can you make sense of fear in dreams?

Fear dreams are frequent. Among other things fear dreams are very emotional, nightmares, containing lots of thinking of thoughts, and bad dreams. Do you think this is true for your dream of fear? How might your dream of fear be different?

All dreams have meaning

All dreams have meaning

You can gain insight from thinking about any dream, no matter how strange. Only you, as the dreamer, have final say on what your dream may or may not mean. Each dream is unique.

Look for the differences

Look for the differences

The DreamWell dictionary provides information on how each dream symbol appears in dreams in general. Finding how experience fear in dreams can be a key to understanding its meaning.

Return to the feelings

Return to the feelings

Our emotions in dreams can help us understand its meaning. Pay attention to how you felt in the dream. Pay attention to how you feel about fear in dreams. See how you feel about fear now, in your waking life.

An interpretation of fear dreams

An interpretation of fear dreams

This interpretation is from ""The Dream Interpretation Dictionary: Symbols, Signs, and Meanings" and is provided by J.M. DeBord aka "RadOwl". He is the author of several acclaimed books about dreaming, the host of The Dreams That Shape Us podcast, and is a moderator of r/Dreams, one of the largest dream sharing communities on the internet. Dreams make connections between similar ideas, situations, and emotions, so fearing something in a dream can connect with something else you fear. For example, fearing a boa constrictor in a dream can symbolize fear that a new job will constrict your lifestyle. Looking with fear over the edge of a tall building can symbolize fear of risk. It’s a physical representation. Fear in a dream can connect with facing a situation that brings up feelings of fear, such as a health scare, the death of someone close to you, observing something disturbing, or trying something new. It is common for fear to be sparked by anything that gets you out of your comfort zone, situations you have never dealt with previously. One reason children stop having frequent nightmares around age thirteen is that by then their comfort zone is bigger. Fear in dreams can connect with phobias and fears such as of heights or failure. A dream will create a scenario that sparks fear and help you work through it. For example, a man dreams that a co-worker traps a big hairy spider in a glass jar. The co-worker holds up the jar and wants him to look at it, and he says, “No way!” The spider looks huge inside the jar, as if magnified by the glass. It’s a way of symbolizing that the dreamer’s fear of spiders is overblown. And the co-worker is used to create contrast with the dreamer because she’s a fearless type and the dreamer admires that about her. Feelings of fear in dreams can reflect something you fear about yourself. Perhaps something frightening comes out of you during certain situations, such as during confrontations or when you are really fatigued. See: Monsters Or you fear something about yourself of which you’re only vaguely aware. It’s quite common for repressed, neglected, or unwanted parts of oneself to take form in dreams as scary characters, and for scary dream situations to reflect fear of finding out that you are more—or less—than what you think you are. The ego protects its turf and will hold onto beliefs about itself despite evidence to the contrary. It can be quite scary to confront your illusions and cherished beliefs. It can also be scary to find out you are capable of more than you thought, because along with it comes an expectation that you’ll leave your comfort zone and live up to your potential. See also: Coworkers, Egos, Emotions, Enemies, Evil, Heroes, Monsters, Opponents, Panic, Screaming

Examples of dreams of fear

Reading dreams is one of the best ways to understand dream symbols. Even though the DreamWell Dream Dictionary is based upon data, it is grounded in the experience of reading thousands upon thousands of dreams. We invite you to read examples of fear dreams for yourself. These dreams are actual dreams people have had. As result, they may contain racist, sexist, violent, or otherwise offense language and imagery. This can be true even for fear dreams. Read at your own risk.

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