I haven’t the slightest fear of heights in real life but in my dreams, I am terrified by them for some reason. The last few nights have been plagued by dreams which involve weird or unusual heights. A few nights ago, I dreamt I had taken a wrong turn on the highway and in order to get to where I was going, I had to take a highway that crossed a river (via a bridge) and before the bridge, the highway arched over a skyscraper. It was not a pleasant experience.

Last night, I dreamt that I left my jacket on an outcropping of a building. In order to get it, I had to step outside a window and walk along a ledge and then reach up for it, all the while, seeing a city sprawled dozens (hundreds?) of stories below me. In that dream I remember thinking how particularly frightened I was and at the same time, I was annoyed by this fear. I rationalized it (in the dream) as having worked for too long out on the ledge so that the heights started getting to me.

I wonder what function this has? I am not one who buys into Freudian theories of dreams. My own understanding of the function of dreams is to help commit short term memories to long-term memories, which is what most studies have shown to be true. Still, I find it odd that while I have not the slightest qualm about heights in real-life, I am unnerved by them in my dreams.