Little Giant Encyclopedia
by Klaus VollmarIf you are torturing somebody else, it is usually aggression against your own habits, for which the Other is simply a symbol.
If you are being tortured, you are harming yourself, revealing a tendency toward masochism, which we probably all have.
On the other hand, hidden behind such a dream might be a need for more tension or excitement in your life.
An unconscious sadomasochistic attitude may be clamoring for release. Are you sure that what is called sexual lust is not part of a full range of sexual pleasure? In another sense, these dream situations might be an expression of tension due to repressed feelings of revenge. You may not be willing, except in dreams, to do to others what you feel is being done to you. Those are a few of the scenarios such dreams deal with.
Ten Thousand Dream Dictionary
by Pamela BallIt is more likely to be emotional or mental pain.
2- If wc are being tortured we need to look at the other images in the dream to discover what significance this will have in everyday life. It may be that we tend to put ourselves in the position of victim without realising it.
3- Spiritual torture can be a conflict between right and wrong It can also be a matter of choices between two courses of action. Often the idea of such torture for the Greater Good is part of the process of growth.
Dreamers Dictionary
by GarudaDepth Psychology: Dreaming about torture is a sign of a bad conscience; you made a mistake and feel guilty. Sometimes it expresses empathy: you feel “tortured” knowing about people in need and not being able to help.