Violent dreams represent the inner chaos of our minds. They are born out of the negative energy we face in our real lives. This includes the violent forms of media we consume as well.
Violent dreams are also indicative of future neurological conditions. It points to neurodegenerative disorders, existing sleep disorders, as well as current violent situations in your life.
Violent Dreams Meaning – General Interpretation
SUMMARY
Violent dreams symbolize sleep disorders, possibility of neurological conditions, as well as the after effects of watching violent content. This dream represents our internal anger, feeling helpless and our need for change.
Violent dreams are very common in the world. Most people see or experience violence in their lives. Some people have experienced violence; most people experience it through watching something violent. Let’s see what they symbolize.
REM Sleep behavior disorder – Violent dreams do not automatically mean a person is struggling with the disorder. It is highly common in people with the sleeping disorder to have violent dreams.
REM means Rapid Eye Movement and REM sleep behavior disorder is when a person shows violent actions during sleep. This means that they may actively do what they are dreaming about.
They act out violent situations and sounds, often by throwing arms and legs, while sleeping. Hence, people who suffer from REM sleep disorder report that they experience violent dreams.
Neurological conditions – Violent dreams also often indicate the possibility of neurodegenerative conditions in the future. Hence, it is advisable to be careful and aware of your violent dreams and speak to professionals when required.
Watching violent content – Violent movies, shows, news, etc. are a part of our life. However, These all have an effect on our mind and mental health wherein it is a channel for our subconscious mind to act out the anger we may feel towards someone.
Thus, dreams about violence are a reflection of the violent content we consume. The dream interpretation is sometimes as simple as that; we watch a violent movie; we have a violent dream.
Feelings of anger – Dreams about violence often represent the anger you feel towards certain people in your waking life. This anger is not bad enough for you to actually lose control. Your brain, however, does need some outlet. Hence, the subconscious mind brings up dreams about violence towards that person.
Feeling helpless – Violent dreams are also a symbol of helplessness. Violent attacks, facing violent challenges, fighting on a battlefield, etc. are examples of dreams that make you feel helpless. Our subconscious minds do not know how to deal with this loss of control and hence they are symbolized through dreams of violence
Why Are My Dreams So Violent?
Violent dreams do not just occur without any reason. Even if they are born out of watching violent content, that becomes a cause in itself. This section explores the causes of violent dreams.
- Fear of violence – People who have certain fears that are prominent in their mind, they are likely to have developed a fear of violence. This means that the object they fear most haunts their dreams as well.
- Being surrounded by violence – If a person is exposed to a lot of violence in waking life, they may also have such dreams. Here, even if the people fighting in real life were strangers to you, your dream mind may replace it with people you know.
- New medications – The medications prescribed for treating depression, called antidepressants, can lead to violent dreams as well. The main reason for this is that antidepressants alter the biochemistry inside our brains. These changes, which are expected with new medications, can lead to violent dreams.
- Past trauma – Another cause for dreams about killing or violence is the past trauma a person may be dealing with. The memories we store as children or the violent events we see in front of us often trouble us in our sleep.
- Internal conflict – Lastly, suffering from internal conflict also causes violent dreams. We may be going through a tough time in our life, either due to stress or due to our own personality traits.
Violent Dreams – Some Prominent Scenarios and Interpretations
Violent dreams are negative, unpleasant and scary dreams. They are vivid dreams which can disturb a person even moments after waking up. Following are various types of violent dreams a person may experience.
Dreams About Being Violently Killed
It may be an unpleasant situation to wake up to, but it does not mean violence in your real life. Besides, it means that you will undergo a change.
If you are being violently killed, it implies that you were initially resistant to the change.
Other than change, this dream of violence subjected towards us, means that we are afraid. We could be scared that someone we hurt may be trying to get revenge.
Dream of experiencing violence on a battlefield
It means that you may have enemies who will fight you hard. They will not try to soften the blow, and neither will you have a chance to slow down.
However, this dream is also a sign that you are a warrior. It means you won’t give up or back down, and with consistent efforts, will win against your rivals.
Committing Violence in Dreams
Sometimes we have dreams where we are committing violence towards others. We are the ones who are violent in this dream scenario.
This does not mean we are particularly violent people. Read on to understand further.
Dream of violence towards others
When we dream of expressing violence towards others, it is a sign from our subconscious mind. It suggests that our emotional frustration is brimming over and we need an outlet.
In other cases, this dream represents your nature in your current life. You could be actively denying something, like an emotion. It is also known as repressing the emotions you are feeling.
Violence towards myself
Dreaming of being violent towards one’s own self is unpleasant. This dream represents feeling guilty about something.
We often believe that if we do something wrong, we must be punished. This holds true even if there is nobody there to actually punish us.
Someone we know harming us
It means our sense of unease around those people is growing. It could also mean you may have spent some time in their company and that has an effect on our subconscious mind.
Animal violence
Dreams where you harm an animal, or behave violently towards the animal, are bad signs.
These dreams suggest that you may be suppressing your aggression in real life. Also, this is a sign that if you don’t resolve your inner feelings soon, they may harm an innocent soul.
Killing someone in a fight
It means that you may finally overcome an aspect of your life or personality that you were trying to get rid of.
This is a good sign, because it shows your victory over negativity. Besides, this dream is a sign that you have gone through the process successfully.
Dreams About Violence And Death
Dreams about violence and death include dreams where we see violence happening around us in the dream. This includes seeing others in violent acts and fights, images of violent death and witnessing murders.
Dreams about violence
People who have experienced violence in their lives often have dreams about it much later in life as well.
This means that the violence from their early life does not leave them in their adulthood. These include random dreams of violence that cannot be explained otherwise.
Witnessing a murder
It is a bad dream; because it is a warning sign. It means there is some negative energy coming from this person that you really wish to avoid.
You do not want to associate yourself with this person. You are unsure of the role they play in your life, but you are feeling sure that you do not want it anymore.
Someone else being killed
It means that you may feel anger and hostility towards this person. Whether it is a rude boss or someone who makes your life difficult, it is natural to feel anger towards them.
Secondly, sometimes the person we see in the dream represents our own personality trait. Their murder means we need to let that part of our personality go as well.
Watching someone kill themselves
Dreams where you witness another person take their own life are scary. The dream interpretation however suggests transformation. This is because their death is a symbol of one thing ending for another to begin.
Seeing a violent fight
In the dream world, seeing a fight is actually considered a good sign.
It means that we have the skill or ability to help the people involved. Observing or seeing the fight means we may soon be of use to people in conflict.
Dream about assault
Dreams where you have been assaulted reflect a negative energy or headspace you are currently in. It is possible that someone in your life violated your personal space.
You may feel unsafe in this particular situation. However, it can also mean that you are actively dealing with repressed feelings.
Violent dreams about family member
Such dreams represent your worry. This means you are scared of what will happen to them in such situations. It is even possible to have such dreams if your family member has experienced violence in the past and you are still worried for them.
Violent attack on child
The point of this dream is to highlight situations in your life that you have no control over. This loss of control worries you, as you may want to sincerely protect this child from everything.
Even if you do not have children, this dream is a sign to accept that some situations are out of your control. Even if it is unfair, you cannot change certain things in life.
War violence
It suggests that you are in a period of life changes. This means that both big and small changes could be happening around you, and you are trying to get accustomed to them.
In another interpretation, dreams of violent wars suggest that you may be ignoring your own life responsibilities.
Violent rape
People who have experienced sexual assault or rape may have recurring dreams about the same. It is their past trauma which continues to disturb them even when they are sleeping.
Dreams of violent rape also represent the helplessness you may feel.
Two people violently fighting
This dream represents the strained relationships of your current life. You may be in a state of argument with a person from your waking life. This person could stress you out a lot more than you show externally.
Dreaming about death
Dreams of death represent transformation as well points to transformation, or much needed change. Alternatively, the dream indicates that perhaps you were not ready for the change.
Hence, take this as a warning sign to reflect on your self-growth, to prepare yourself for upcoming change.
What To Do When You Have Violent Dreams?
It is clear that violent dreams can be a cause for concern. This means that there is a chance something is going on deeper than the surface in your mind.
If you do have a sleeping disorder or extremely disturbed sleep, it would also be good to speak to a professional.
- Pay attention to your feelings
If you have had a violent dream, you may wake up feeling disturbed but it is important to pay attention to how you are feeling.
If you are feeling guilty, and you are currently trying to make a good change in your life, this dream is a good motivator.
- Confront the people in your dream
We often associate certain traits with certain people in our dreams. If we dream of killing someone who is terrible at time management, it means we need to work on our own time management.
Hence, the people in your dream play a role in the dream interpretation.
Similarly, if you are really stressed about something, or overworked, you may have violent dreams concerning the person responsible. It is important to confront this person in your dream, in your real life as well.
- Explore your own feelings of guilt
Often, dreams of violence towards self; show our own moral codes. If we have broken it in some way, we may feel guilty.
So, after you have a violent dream, it is good to explore any potential guilt you may have because by exploring its cause and consequences, you may even find a way out of it.
Conclusion
Dreams of violence are a combination of internal feelings and existing conditions.
They can stem from temporary triggers like watching a violent movie as well. It is just important to identify the cause of the dream.
Remember, once we know what causes the violent dreams, coping with them is the simpler part.
