A dream scenario that people often experience is that of being chased by predators, ranging from people, animals and even monsters that want to harm or kill you. These figures typically represent the people who you are currently interacting with in your waking life. You either try to outwit your pursuer or run away. Your reaction reflects how you might handle a threatening situation in real life.
Chase dreams often result from feelings of general anxiety, even paranoia, experienced in the waking hours. Also, feeling overstretched at work or pressures in a relationship can trigger this type of dream. It can even represent that you are having trouble dealing with reality or being in denial about something. Feeling threatened or unsafe in your waking life can bring on dreams of being chased by snakes. The snake symbolizes either an embarrassing or uncomfortable situation, or something you may find difficult to face.
Psychological problems and inhibitions are triggered when you try to avoid situations in life. In some cases, the pursuer in your dream can represent characteristics of your own emotions. It is natural to occasionally have feelings of anger, resentment and fear in your waking life. These emotions can manifest themselves in your dreams as an unrecognizable figure or individual who is trying to track you down. Basically, it is a part of yourself that you wish to reject.
However, if in the dream you are chasing someone, this could mean that you have aggression toward an individual. The dream allows you to act out the rage you are feeling and harboring. If you dream that you are hunting another person, it might mean that you are seeking something that is work, relationship or self-esteem related. This could be your attempt to feel more powerful in the situations you are dealing with while awake.
We are all born with the natural response of fight or flight, which began in man in prehistoric times as they faced many survival challenges. Today, we still face challenges, although different, and this fight or flight mechanism could be the reason that we dream about being chased.
For more information about dreams and their meanings, visit the Dreaming Room.