Hi all!

This is my first post here and was hoping someone could help me in analyzing dreams I've had for over 30 years, please.

First a little bit about me:

I'm a 39-year-old man from the north of England. I'm a creative person and have forged a career as a professional copywriter and semi-pro film and T.V. journalist/critic. I have 2 kids, a cat, and last year exited a long-term relationship, and have been single since. About 14 years ago I developed a physical disability that basically turned my life upside down and wrecked my mobility and dexterity. The change of lifestyle and fallout from the illness played havoc with my mental health, and only recently have I battled my way out of a fairly long, dark depression. I'm out of the other side and thinking clearly now, which is why my dreams have been staying with me more and made me curious.

Oh, and I have experienced sleep paralysis regularly for as long as I can remember too. Don't know if that's relevant, but thought I'd disclose it anyway.

So, there is basically two themes to the dreams, but they both share aspects with each other. Firstly, and the ones I recollect having first revolve around being chased by someone/thing, but with a bit of a twist. I first recollect having this sort of dream when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I had just watched the movie Nightmare on Elm Street for the first time, and after I had a dream Freddy Krueger was chasing me around the perimeter of a building. The thing is, I was not afraid and he never actually got near me as I remember doing that thing you do when playing chase as a kid where you swap directions halfway around an obstacle without the other knowing. This went on for ages. Every time "he" realized I was going in a different direction, I went the other way. He never got near me and I eventually woke up. I've since had other versions of this theme almost weekly my whole life. For example, in my local shopping center/mall, they two big glass elevators side by side. On one occasion someone(I didn't know who it was) had a crowbar and wanted to hit me with it. I remember getting in the first lift and hitting the top floor. As it started going up, he got in the other and followed, but as I got to the top, I hit the button for the bottom floor, so I was just starting my ascent as he was hitting the top. Then when I got to the bottom, I hit the button for the top again. This went on for the whole dream, with us crisscrossing all night and seeing his scowling face getting angrier and angier.

The second of the themes is another really frustrating one, but not a nightmare as such. Basically, I find myself either doing something mundane, or driving/riding/walking somewhere, but never making any progress or getting the thing done. They are always boring things. For example, I remember one where I was in a sweet shop where you weigh out your own sweets and then go pay(I had never seen the shop before). I'd go and weigh all these lovely looking sweets and chocolates, then join the queue, but no matter how many people were served, I never got any closer to the till. Then a lady came out with one of those mobile card readers to serve on the shop floor, but whenever I went to pay with her, she was called somewhere else at the last minute. I remember feeling really frustrated and confused during this dream, but never angry, and I never felt any ill-will towards anyone.

Another play on this theme happened a few days ago. I was walking to watch my local football team play a match. i recognized the area, and I knew the route to the stadium, etc. There were thousands of us walking to it, but no matter how long I walked for, I never got any closer(despite the scenery changing as I walked, so I know I wasn't walking on the spot). I could always see the glow of the floodlights over the houses, but I remember it never changed(like my surroundings did) or got closer. I never felt any frustration during this one though, but was very confused and started to feel a little upset and anxious, and when I woke up I had a really bad few days mentally and didn't want to leave the house and even had a few suicidal thoughts creep back in too.

Does anyone have any experience with dreams like this? They never bothered me until this last one where it actually affected me after I awoke and I'm hoping that by understanding them, it won't happen again.

Thanks in advance!