What Does It Mean When You Dream About Chasing Someone?

Nightmares can be hard to forget, and it would seem that the majority of Americans have experienced the same situation — being chased. According to a survey conducted by Amerisleep, 63.3% of respondents found themselves in a situation where they were running for their lives. Add that to the most exhibited fear in dreams being a threat to life, and you've got yourself one heck of a nightmare scenario. But what if the experience of being chased was thrown into reverse, and you were the one chasing something instead?

Dreaming about chasing someone is quite common, but what it can symbolize depends on your state of mind. Emotions and feelings play a major part in what you dream about — especially negative ones. According to a 2017 study by Dr Josie Malinowski (via the University of East London), the negative feelings experienced in waking life like fear, anxiety, and anger are much more present in dreams than in positive emotions.

And when you dream about chasing someone, you're often chasing an emotion or thought rather than who you're running after.

When you dream of chasing someone, you'd think that the identity of who you're pursuing would give you the answers. However, as AloDreams.com notes, many more aspects uncover their identity to think about in this type of dream. For example, running towards something — or someone — can reveal much more about yourself than you might think. According to AuntyFlo, it can help you discern how you're feeling subconsciously — whether that's about yourself or someone in particular.

If that someone is a loved one like a significant other, it might be that your mind is saying that you may depend on them a little too much. AuntyFlo suggests that from this meaning, you need to learn to enjoy the company of yourself rather than relying so much on others. However, chasing or running toward someone you know can also signify a new beginning, so there's that to consider, too.

And if you happen to catch the person you're chasing, that can represent your ability to fight for what — or who — you want in life. If that someone happens to be your crush, all the better to pluck up the courage to ask them out.

The distance between you and the person you're chasing can also tell you a lot about yourself, according to AloDreams.com. If you're pretty far away from each other, that can suggest that what you want is out of reach and hard to get. But if the distance is short, it can mean that you're as close to them as you are to achieving a particular goal. Obviously, catching the person can be a sure sign of achieving your dreams, but if you fail to reach them, AloDreams.com recommends not going after whatever you are trying to get in your waking life.

Why? Many believe that dreams can predict the future, with a small percentage of people experiencing exactly what they conjured up in their heads the night before (via Sleep Foundation). If you're one of the lucky few to have encountered this particular phenomenon, then you should definitely make a note of who or what you were chasing, and how this may connect to what's happening IRL.