Recurring nightmare

I've had this recurring nightmare for as long as I can remember. I'm trying to make sense of it, I would appreciate any insights. I'm home alone in one of the upstairs bedrooms. I sense an intruder running up the stairs wanting to hurt me. I run towards the door and try to close it, I'm to late and the intruder has his hand between the door and tries to push it open. I'm on the other side, terrified trying to push it closed. I ussually try to call for help on my cellphone but it doesn't work. Sometimes I'm frozen and can't even get to the door before closing it. The intruder then grabs me and tries to choke me, he's insanely strong. Most times I wake up right before the choking starts. I have this nightmare at least once a week for as long as I can remember, 10 yrs at least. The last time, 2 days ago it was very vivid. This time I was home with my baby and the intruder didn't just want to hurt me but also her. And this time it was a petite woman instead of a man. I managed to throw her down the stairs once but she came back up and clawed her way back in, she was crazy strong.

I really want to know what this dream is about, especially since it seems to be changing a bit lately (been doin a lot of introspection). I might add I once ecperienced something similar to this situation in real life. When I was 15 (I am 30 now) I had a bad fight with my mom and locked myself in my bedroom. She was so enraged she threw her body into my door untill it broke down. She then broke my stereo (wich I loved) and took it away from me. I know teenagers can be enraging, but I'be vowed never to loose control like that with my daughter. I hope I can keep that promiss...

 

Well... my guess after reading it twice is that you feel like you aren't good enough, or maybe strong enough? Are you a perfectionist, maybe?

That story with your Mom is harsh. It's hard to say if it's related.

I don't know if this will help, but when I was a kid, I used to have a really elaborate recurring dream involving falling down a large, hallowed-out tree in the middle of a mall and landing in a gold mine (or something like that. It wasn't a fun dream, goblins chased me). Anyway, one day I typed it up at a computer at school (I was in elementary school), printed it out, and tore it to pieces. Then I soaked the pieces in water to get the ink to fade, and threw the whole mess out. I stopped having the nightmare. That might help you. Write it down (or print it out) then destroy the paper.

 

Hi Elena99,
Yes, I'm a perfectionist. I wonder if that is what's behind this... I'll give your suggestion a try, if it works I'll let you know!