What do Chase Dreams Mean?

One of my actual chase dreams consists of me being chased down an alley by a giant potato. I woke up from this dream so scared that I was screaming my head off!

Strange yes… but believe it or not this scenario is not that unusual.
Although having a potato playing the lead role is quite personal to me (don't ask), I can bet you have had a dream where you were being chased by something or someone that was very scary to you in the dream.

And I know this, because being chased in dreams is reported as being THE most common dream theme of all.

These bizarre creatures of our darkest nights are terribly scary, even though in reality they wouldn’t be out of place in a comedy skit!

Ok, sometimes they are genuinely scary images, but a giant potato isn't.

So what makes these images so scary in our sleep?

Chase dreams are frightening because we believe they are real at the time.
We are scared of the potato in the dream and therefore we respond as we would when we are awake to something dangerous chasing us.

By running away screaming!

Remember that the rational part of our brain is not active while we dream. This means the part of our brain that would interrupt and say;
"Hey! Why am I running away from a potato?" is not awake.
Thus why we perceive the potato as being a real threat.

Being chased in dreams will usually occur when you feel threatened by some waking life situation or person. It is a natural reaction to the stress of life.

The origin of this dream dates back to when being attacked was not that unusual. Wild animals or predators were usually the attackers.
However, in today’s world there is no real threat of being chased by wild animals, what the chase represents for us is more emotional in nature. Feelings like anxiety, anger, hatred and jealousy could trigger chase dreams.

In essence you are running away rather than confronting an issue.
You are trying to avoid an unpleasant situation, something that you are not ready to confront.
My bet is that you will have a vague idea what it is you are running away from, but you are not yet ready to face it fully.

In addition dreams where you are trying to run away but can’t, because your legs won’t move are a sign that you feel stuck and essentially immobile in the face of whatever it is you fear.
The same goes for dreams where you scream but no sound comes out.
Do you feel you are unable to speak up and defend yourself in this particular waking life situation?

When dealing with chase dreams, the most important questions to ask yourself are:

What are you running away from in waking life?

Is there a situation you find threatening?

Chase dreams can also be a reflection of more personal inner threats.

Are you running away from a part of yourself?

If you can identify the chaser with some aspect of yourself, then it is quite possible you are trying to run away from some unhealthy internal behaviour.

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