A recurring dream is a dream

Dream

Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...

 which is experienced repeatedly over a long period.

A person who experiences post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...

 may have recurring dreams about the traumatic event.

The subjects of recurring dreams vary, and they often include events or settings from the dreamers' own experiences. The following examples are common:

• The sensation of falling
• Flying
• Being held down or otherwise unable to move (compare sleep paralysis
  Sleep paralysis
  Sleep paralysis is paralysis associated with sleep that may occur in healthy persons or may be associated with narcolepsy, cataplexy, and hypnagogic hallucinations. The pathophysiology of this condition is closely related to the normal hypotonia that occurs during REM sleep. When considered to be a...
  
  )
• Nakedness in a public place
• Being held back in school or failing a test
• Losing teeth or the ability to speak
• Escaping or being caught in a tornado/storm
• Drowning, or otherwise not being able to breathe
• Finding lost items
• Finding new rooms in one's house
• Unable to turn on the lights in one's house

Many of the dreams listed above, such as flying, falling sensations, or everyday activities (turning on/off lights) would be classified as hypnagogic hallucinations. Hypnagogic hallucinations are vivid sensations that occur between being awake and just falling asleep
.

Like any dream, recurring dreams have invited many interpretations.