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What are torturing dreams about?

This symbol is identified by words like torture.

Torturing in dreams is a uncommon dream symbol, occuring in about 0.7% of dreams. That's about 1 out of every 150 dreams.

What are the major highlights of torturing dreams?

Torturing is an interconnected dream symbol. Having torturing in a dream changes the dream more than most other dream symbols.

Dreams of torturing are emotional

Torturing have substantially more emotions than other dream symbols. It is particularly surprising. Other symbols that are like this include intrigued, speaking, relief, hollywood, pain, jury members, lovers, friendly interactions, guilty, and going.

Dreams of torturing are aggressive

Torturing dreams have more aggressive interactions than a lot of other dream symbols. This doesn't mean that all torturing have aggressive interactions or only aggressive interactions. It simply means that having torturing in a dream increases the probability this dream contains aggression. Other symbols that are like this include weapons, antlers, magic, gas, pain, bullets, opening, movement, wounds, and climbing.

Dreams with torturing might be a nightmare

Dreams of torturing are frequently associated with nightmares. Of course dreams that contain torturing might not be a nightmare. Plenty of dreams with torturing are not nightmares. But, dreams of torturing are more related to nightmares than 80% of all other dream symbols. Other symbols that are like this include skin, black, abusing, death, bedrooms, safety, gas, voice, back doors, and maggots.

Torturing dreams might be about death

Dreams that contain torturing are highly related to death. They are more related to death than 90% of all other dream symbols. Other symbols that are like this include seeing a dead grandfather, cannons, chemical weapons, overdoses, strangling, Madagascar, seeing a dead mother, destruction, executing, and infecting.

Torturing dreams are scary

Dreams containing torturing are more related to fear than 90% of all other dream symbols. Of course each dream is unique and this does not mean that all dreams of torturing are about fear. It simply means that if you dream of torturing, this dream has a great chance of being scarier than most other dream symbols. Other symbols that are like this include characters, eyes, white eyes, creatures, parts of buildings, raccoons, descending, paralysis, other fantastic beings, and going to die.

What symbols less present in dreams of torturing?

What are the symbols that help define torturing?

The symbol of torturing in dreams is highly related to suffering.

How does the dream symbol of torturing affect the different aspects of a dream?

Explore different elements related to dreams of torturing

Who is in torturing dreams?

Overall, dreams with torturing are aren't really related to characters in dreams. Specifically, dreams of torturing are more related to different roles, more related to fantastic beings, and more related to distant people than dreams in general. They are less related to close people.

Animals

the same as usual

Insects

the same as usual

Different roles

more than usual

Fantastic beings

more than usual

Distant people

more than usual

Close people

less than usual

Family

the same as usual

Romantic partners

the same as usual
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What are the emotions in torturing dreams?

Overall, dreams with torturing are much more related to emotions in dreams. Specifically, dreams of torturing are much more related to fear, much more related to pain, and much more related to hatred than dreams in general. They are less related to confusion and less related to fun.

Happiness

the same as usual

Sadness

the same as usual

Grief and sorrow

the same as usual

Embarrassment

the same as usual

Confusion

less than usual

Fear

much more than usual

Pain

much more than usual

Hatred

much more than usual

Fun

less than usual

Love

the same as usual
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Who is in torturing dreams?

Overall, dreams with torturing are less related to places in dreams. Specifically, dreams of torturing are much more related to magical places than dreams in general. They are less related to home, less related to work, and less related to human places.

Home

less than usual

Work

less than usual

Human places

less than usual

Transportation

less than usual

Natural places

less than usual

Magical places

much more than usual
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What happens in torturing dreams?

Overall, dreams with torturing are more related to events in dreams. Specifically, dreams of torturing are much more related to aggressive interactions and more related to sex than dreams in general.

Aggressive interactions

much more than usual

Friendly interactions

the same as usual

Sex

more than usual

Disasters

the same as usual
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How do torturing in dreams related to other dream phenomenon?

Overall, dreams with torturing are more related to dream events in dreams. Specifically, dreams of torturing are much more related to nightmares, much more related to recurring nightmares, and more related to sleep paralysis than dreams in general. They are less related to lucid dreams and less related to recurring dreams.

Lucid dreams

less than usual

Nightmares

much more than usual

Recurring dreams

less than usual

Recurring nightmares

much more than usual

Sleep paralysis

more than usual

Sleeping

the same as usual

Waking life

more than usual
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How do torturing in dreams related the senses?

Overall, dreams with torturing are aren't really related to senses in dreams. Specifically, dreams of torturing are less related to vision.

Hearing

the same as usual

Smelling

the same as usual

Taste

the same as usual

Vision

less than usual

Touch

the same as usual
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How can you make sense of torturing in dreams?

Torturing dreams are uncommon. Among other things torturing dreams are positively interconnected, very emotional, aggressive, nightmare, about death, and scary.

Do you think this is true for your dream of torturing? How might your dream of torturing be different?

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

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

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 torturing in dreams. See how you feel about torturing now, in your waking life.

What are possible meanings for dreams of torturing?

Dreams create physical representations of personal situations, and torture can be a way of describing something that figuratively tortures you. People talk about torture to mean something that ranks as less than actual torture, but in an exaggerated way it fits:

“Sitting through that lecture was torture.”

“Listening to that music is torture.”

“I’m tortured by guilt.”

Imagine how a dream could take those statements and turn them into a scene. The torture of sitting through a lecture could be turned into a scene of being strapped into an electric chair. Listening to torturous music translates symbolically into nasty insects crawling into your ears. Being tortured by guilt could be depicted as being forced to watch an innocent person executed for something you did.

A key point is that torture in dreams is often a way of describing what’s going on in your emotions, based on how it feels, not how it is objectively.

Torture is an exaggerated way of saying something is awkwardly painful. For example, “The meeting tomorrow is going to be torture.”

Extend the idea further and it can apply to situations you dread, such as having dental work done or a proctologist exam.

Torture is used to expose secrets, and might be used in a dream in relation to keeping a secret.

Torture in a dream can mean you torture yourself or are tortured by guilt or shame.
You hate yourself, or your life is hell. Something really needs to change. See: Guilty, Hell

It can mean you can’t forgive yourself for something, or you focus on the pain and suffering in the world and these give you a bleak view of life.

Of course, in some cases the traditional meaning of the word “torture” might be closer to the truth. For example, a painful illness or physical condition can be portrayed as torture, because torture is used to create physical pain. Or torture is an apt way of describing how you receive some shocking news. For example, you hear that a neighbor’s child was in a horrific accident, and it affects you deeply. You then dream about a child being tortured.

See also: Dungeons, Guilty, Hell, Prisoners, Terrorists, Torturing, Wounds

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.

Examples of dreams of torturing

Read some real dream reports of torturing dreams.. These real life dream reports come from the moderated dream sharing communities of Reddit including r/Dreams, r/Nightmares, r/DreamInterpretation, or r/thisdreamihad. Please note that some of these may contain graphic, sexual, or violent images and text. Use the source link for each dream to view and join the discussion of each one.

My subconscious attacked me?

So I just woke up from a dream because a person was pretty much torturing me and I was feeling that physical pain.

So in my dream, I was inside of a mall that look very similar yet very different. There were a lot of people and friends there. I was seeing some buildings I had designed in a kids video game a long time ago. After a little bit I realized I was dreaming but I was still heavily asleep.

So, I decided to walk up to one of my friends in my dream. As he and other people were conversing I walked up and asked, “can you see me” “are you able to have a real conversation with me”. He nodded and replied “yeah” but in a frustrated way.

I then told him “I know I am dreaming” and suddenly his face changes as well as the others and I don’t recognize anyone. They pin me to the ground and these two people put their feet on the each side of my ribs.

He began to say a lot of nonesense on how this is going to be painful for you and even says exactly the pain I’m going to feel when I wake up. He says “when you wake up your going to want to cough”. I tried forcing myself to wake up because I was feeling extreme pain that I could not control. It was like sleep paralysis but I felt extreme pain and I was being torturing. Finally I woke up when he said I was allowed to. I felt a lot of pain in my ribs even after I woke up.

So I just woke up from a dream because a person was pretty much torturing me and I was feeling that physical pain.

So in my dream, I was inside of a mall that...

Source | Show dream

No title appropriate really.

So this one genuinely had me a little sick. Very detailed and realistic from my point of view.

I dreamt I was working in surgery in ER. A lil kid about 7, who's apparently been tortured by extremists is sent in. A concurrent terror attack is happening, lots of frantic rushing. Bodies coming in. Can't process it all.

Looks like amateur surgeon has been experimenting on the kid. Poorly made stitches on his abdomen. Everyone already shocked by the depravity. As the chest cavity is opened, to perform heart surgery, a nurse lets out a horrendous shriek. It seems to last for ages, such is the fear in that scream. As the rib cage is opened a grenade is revealed and detonates in the surgery lab. Killing everyone present. They'd used a child as a trojan horse bomb.

Woke up instantly at the moment of detonation with pretty much PTSD. Horrifying.

So this one genuinely had me a little sick. Very detailed and realistic from my point of view.

I dreamt I was working in surgery in ER. A lil kid about 7,...

Source | Show dream

Dream about torturing a cat

The dream starts off at a hangout spot of sorts. It’s a rundown place in the countryside that me and me dad go and hangout and talk.

I can’t remember how but I now have a cat and I am beating it nearly to death, as I beat the cat, it turns between a cat and a rabbit. I then walk to the other room and wait. I do this 3 times and on the 3rd, I decided to kill the cat. I pick up the cat (which is now a rabbit) and bring it outside to shoot it. The rabbit turns into a cat and I drop it, it runs away but runs back to me. I grab it and then I woke up.

I oddly didn’t have a scary feeling during the dream and went about it as if it was normal. It’s a peculiar dream but I feel it meant something

The dream starts off at a hangout spot of sorts. It’s a rundown place in the countryside that me and me dad go and hangout and talk.

I can’t remember how but...

Source | Show dream

the scariest dream that I occurred

when I was taking a nap, I was immediately put in to a dark room, and I was not unable to move like something was on me. Then I can here a little girl screaming "HEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLP MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE 'crying' 'begging' NOOOOOO OHOHOHOHOH PLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAASE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!". Then I woke up, what seems to be a few seconds of my torture, but it has been 2hr of me napping. I still thinking about it till this day

when I was taking a nap, I was immediately put in to a dark room, and I was not unable to move like something was on me. Then I can here a little girl screaming...

Source | Show dream

The end of the world was to be announced and my family sat with me enthusiastic to go to Heaven, I was petrified that I'd be tortured in Heaven after we died.

The sky had a blanket of clouds but the daytime light caused it still to be bright outside. Magma spewed randomly out of buildings and burned people alive. I got burned alive a few times but continued to re-appear in the dream.

Eventually my parents stopped by and nonchalantly pulled me out of the scene.

My parents (and not my siblings) as well as some extended family got together to first watch a football game and then wait for the end of the world announcement. Once the end of the world came we knew we would all have our lives ended. I was terrified, my family was excited.

In the dream, I believed that if I were to go to Heaven after death I'd be severely tortured for a long time period for everything bad I've done in life. I was in a constant cold sweat throughout the dream. Hell was in Heaven in my mind, and the existence of Hell never even crossed my thoughts in the dream.

All said, I'm happy it was only a dream. Now I'm just curious as to what it means.

The sky had a blanket of clouds but the daytime light caused it still to be bright outside. Magma spewed randomly out of buildings and burned people alive. I...

Source | Show dream
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