Most of us have had dreams about being chased at one point in our lives, but what do they really mean? Let’s explore different kinds of these dreams.

You have probably had those terrifying dreams where you were being chased by some unknown person or entity. Is it a simple explanation that we are running away from a problem in our real lives or is there a deeper meaning behind the dreams about being chased?

As always, it all depends on the type of dream. Who or what is chasing you, the distance between you and the chaser, and whether you are the one who is doing the chasing.

A common thread in all dreams about being chased stems from anxiety in real life, as fleeing from problems or threats is a natural response. If you are dreaming that you are being chased, it generally means you are avoiding an issue or person. Your subconscious is telling you that you need to confront that issue or person in order to get on with your life. One of the most important factors in a dream where you are being chased is who is chasing you.

Who is chasing you?

Yourself

Consider that the person chasing you might be yourself, or some aspect of you. Any negative feelings you have about yourself, including jealousy, anger and fear could be projected onto the chaser. What this means is that you are ignoring these parts of yourself that need attention and possibly therapy.

When you have the dream next time, stop running away and turn around and ask your chaser why they are chasing you.

Strangers

If the person chasing you in your dream is unknown to you, this could indicate a situation in your personal or professional life that you are avoiding. This could be a problem at work or at home that needs attention and you are pushing to the bottom of your mind because you cannot face dealing with it.

Once you realize that this is why you are being chased, you will probably quickly recognize what it is that you are avoiding.

Animals

If an animal is chasing you, then this is typically representative of suppressed anger in some situation in our lives. Consider whether anger is ruling your everyday life or are you trying hard to push your feeling of rage down.

Whenever animals appear in our subconscious, they usually symbolize the wilder aspect of our lives, where all our rage and ferocity is projected onto a wild animal so that we can distance ourselves from any savage behavior that arises.

How is the distance of the chaser important?

The distance between you and your chaser is also important, as is the speed of the person or thing chasing you. The distance of the chaser is an indication of how close or pressing the issue is.

For instance, if the chaser is miles away in the distance and you do not feel particularly threatened by their presence, this would suggest the problem is easily solved. If the chaser is on your heels and catching up with you and you feel a real sense of danger and fear, then this suggests the problem is immediate and pressing. If you manage to put distance between you and the chaser, then your problem is being dealt with in a satisfactory way in real life.

You are the one chasing

If you are chasing in the dream, then consider who or what you are chasing. If it is a person, who are they? Someone in real life that you admire or desire? If so this could represent your libido and a fear of growing old and unattractive.

If you cannot see what you are chasing, consider your work situation. Are you chasing a promotion or are you falling behind with work and having to work harder to catch up with everyone else?

If you observed someone being chased

This is actually a good omen that suggests you will live a comfortable old age thanks to your own efforts if you watched someone being chased. It may not be a life of luxury, but you will not be hard up.

Other meanings of dreams about being chased

Some dream analysts believe that dreams about being chased are an indication that you need to make a change in direction in either your personal or private life. It could mean that you are going in the wrong direction and something or someone is driving you to make that change but you are worried about it.

A literal translation of a chase dream is that you are scared of being in an unfamiliar neighborhood and are worried about being attacked. This is more common for women than men who may have been assaulted or suffered a violent attack before. If this is the case in real life, then they have not dealt with the attack and are reliving it through their dreams. Therapy should be an option.

What is the main message behind dreams about being chased?

The common theme is all dreams where someone is being chased is avoidance. Consider whether you are holding onto old patterns of thinking, old habits and why you find it frightening to change. If you do manage to break away from your old behaviors, you will become a better person and it is more than likely that those terrifying dreams about being chased will stop.

References:

  1. https://www.huffingtonpost.com
  2. https://www.bustle.com

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This Post Has 11 Comments

  1. Anne Acuff

    Whats it mean if you dream you are being chased by killer pancakes ?

  2. Geary Williams Serena

    What does it mean when you are chased by lots of different people and when they touch you you turn into one of them?

  3. Jess

    What does it mean if you are being chased by a person who you know that you don’t like and what does it mean if it is in an unknown area

  4. Maddox

    Idk but over a these past few weeks I’ve been having dreams of being chased on one I died but the rest I lived the things I was being chased by was a drunk I forgot what there called but you mostly see Them on the high way and the others where a clown (I’m not afraid of clowns ) he killed me , the other one was 2 cats one was angry and the other was calm , I was also chased by a snake I hurt it’s was half dead :/ what does this mean

  5. Riley

    What does it mean if your pursuer is an unknown entity? I’ve had a dream like this for 2 days. In the first dream the attacker was a safe distance away, but in the second dream the attacker was right at my door. In both dreams I didn’t know what to do, so I ran away. However in the second dream I somehow managed to corner myself without even thinking. After that is a blur because I woke up, thankfully. How do I stop these dreams when there are so many things in my life that I need to do, but don’t want to?

  6. Faith Wessel

    The ‘person’ chasing me . . . Was a fish. I honestly don’t know WHY and that still didn’t truly answer my question. I have nothing to be angry at and have already let go of all of my past grievances. Maybe I’m just afraid of being eaten by fish? Most likley not.

  7. K G

    What Does my dream mean?

    I dreamt that I stumbled upon a strange neighborhood in my town and bumped into two girls who looked like gang members. It was at night and the girls first came out as playful as they teased to attacked me. I then started running and they chased behind me. I got to this alley I recognized after I started losing them and seen I was near my house. I could hear them from far away pretending to be silent but as I ran towards the house,I felt safer because I had made it home and had gone inside and escaped the girls.

  8. Michael Savopoulos

    My girlfriend told me this morning i was being chased by the FBI in her dream. There was 3 agents in the dream she had that were chasing me. all in all she said i was caught after trying to outrun them. the chase ended when the 3 agents surrounded me in a body of water. also in her dream she said she was checking my location but could see my actions as if i was in front of her the whole time. after reading in to a bunch of different possibilities of what it would mean i found this site. what could this dream mean?

  9. Kristen

    In my dream, there was this bad guy stealing peoples phones and they were all recording him to post on social media. His son was the real threat I soon realized. It was how you might imagine. His son was huge and barely human (he could run insanely fast) My ‘mom’ was a character from a tv show and she was extremely wealthy and a business woman (All American CW or Netflix) in the dream as well. He started to chase her and it kinda felt like I was in her but didn’t control her 100%. She had this flying contraption on her back kind of like a parameter which helped her to get away but he was still at her heels which is how he was practically inhuman. It would boost her into the air but not get her much above ground where he couldn’t get her heels. He kinda gave up when she was rounding a block. She made it to house that gave her the flying thing and fly to the second story, just as high as she could go. She walked in from the balcony and met this man with his dog. Some boring stuff with them happened and then she left and I changed back into my POV. I was talking to my dad about how worried I was about mom and then I saw him on a motorbike driving down the street. I said “that’s him that the bad guy” to my dad while using my flying motor on my back to get myself up on the roof (idk how but I guess mine could go higher for that moment). He rounded the corner and looked up at me and I quickly looked away. I saw him on the next building over climbing it quickly and getting to the top. He didn’t care about my dad only me. One I got to the top I saw these 3 men get to the top from inside with guns and all black and masks, Who were obviously SWAT team or smth (good guys) I said “don’t shoot I’m just a 13 year old girl” idk why I always think what do they want to hear, oh that I’m a young girl that if they mistake for the bad guy, could lead to severe circumstances. Anyways I am a 13 yr old girl and one of the men helped me up saying it’s okay. I muttered “btw there’s a bad guy across there he hurt my mom” in a shaky voice And he thanked me. The other guys kinda blurred and it was just me and him running from the bad guy now. The bad guy somehow got onto our building and started to chase us. All of a sudden the good guy also had a motor on his back and we both tried to get away (him sorta caring about catching the guy too though not just scared for his own life) anyways I tried to kick the bad guy with my feet (think of my like a bee cus that’s what it was like flying) but he caught one of them. I struggled free and kicked him freaking hard in the face with my foot again and he didn’t catch it but didn’t fall over. I was a good 2 meters from the building and gliding down a bit (just not going up) and I got into this tree hiking area kinda place and followed the path in the air (12 feet high). I didn’t look back and before the end of the clearing (where i still wouldnt know if I’m safe) I woke up, but not in a panic or anything. Sorry for how long it is I know nobody is gonna even read this probably.

  10. Meghan

    My whole life from what I can remember I’ve only had these nightmares I’m all ways being chased I’m running and hiding from somthing unknown it’s like the information just isn’t there some times I know it’s a person but the information of that person just isn’t there no matter how hard I try to remember details it just isn’t in my mind I’m all ways scared in the dreams like i know what ever or who it is means me great harm some times other people are running and hiding with me but they also have no information about them to like I can’t see there faces but I know they are there I know it makes no sense like this dream I have last night me and 2 other people were kidnapped buy this man and held captive and toured by him the only thing I can remember about the man is that he had a white shirt blue Jean’s a shot gun in his hand and he had blonde hair and a bowl cut but he has no face and the other 2 people had no faces as well …. can some one help me try to make these stop it’s all I dream about I never have happy dreams it’s just this all ways running and hiding from somthing or someone trying to kill or hurt me

  11. Meghan

    *Tortured*

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