The best way to work through a recurring dream that you don’t want to have anymore is by figuring out how it relates to your waking life. From there, you can take steps to address the issue in real life, and the dream should stop.

Given that dreaming about being shot typically relates to feeling emotionally wounded or victimized, Loewenberg says pay attention to how you felt in the dream. Were you angry, scared, or unable to fight back? These emotions are showing up somewhere in your real life, and were likely present the day before you had this dream.

“If you frequently dream you’re getting shot or you’re in some kind of gun battle,” she adds, “then you have to take a good look at how you’re being treated and why you’re letting people treat you that way.” She suggests unpacking a potential victim complex, or at least, asking yourself why you’re consistently in emotional conflicts.

These are all questions you can self-reflect on, or of course, you can jot down your thoughts in a dream journal (which is another effective way to get better at interpreting your dreams, according to Loewenberg).

Once you pinpoint what scenario in real life is being mirrored by your dream, you can work on making changes to that situation.