Survival of the Fittest: Nighmare Style?

Hello Sleepers!

I was really intrigued by the section of the video we watched on Thursday about why we have nightmares. It seems so crazy to me that we have these sometimes terrifying visions in order to make us stronger/more prepared for the future. Because of my curiosity, I did some more research as to the reasons that influence what we dream about.  One author stated that it was due to stress and anxiety (Cadman, 1).  This would explain why before a big test I sometimes dream that I failed it and subsequently failed out of high school (thank goodness that's not real).  The brain is preparing us for the worst possible outcome of events that are weighing on our conscious. This is like Alice from Dreamland by David Randall (pg 85) were she eats with her dead father, and he gets upset with her.  People have ideas and events that weigh on them, either that have already happened or that they fear will happen. My mother was very sick at one point in my life, and had to have heart surgery twice.  Each night leading up to the surgeries I would have horrific nightmares about her dying.  It is really smart the way our mind allows us to go through such awful events in dreams to prepare us for real life.  Also, as bad as some nightmares get, the real outcome of some events seems much better since we had experienced such awful things in our dreams, any improvement seems worlds better.  I also read that certain reoccurring items are actual symbols (as some believe) and can have ulterior meanings. Here is a website that gives thirty symbols and their meanings, some of it seems quite Freudian if I do say so myself. So now I have decided in order to figure out my odd dreams I am going to journal them all year long as soon as I wake up from one, and I am going to color code them according to the symbols to figure out what is stressing me and try to fix the sources of my stress.  Hopefully my new dreamcatcher will keep that negative vibes away from me and my dreams!
Here are my sources:
http://www.divinecaroline.com/self/dreams/six-reasons-we-have-bad-dreams
http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/30-common-dream-symbols.html
Randall, David K. Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2012. Print.
Psychology, Everywhere.  "What are Dreams?."  Online video clip. YouTube.  YouTube,  29 Aug. 2012.  Web.  7 Sept. 2015.