This was a reoccurring nightmare I had as a child. In my dream I would "wake up" but be terrified and unable to move. I would be experiencing a sense of dread and terror. After being unable to move for a bit my bedroom door would open and nobody would be there. I'd then be forced to levitate up out of bed and I was moved upright by an unseen force. Even though there was no idy I could see if feel like there was someone or something there directing me. The nightmare continues by me being moved by the invisible force through different rooms of my home. I'd feel scared and have the sense of dread thought the whole dream. I would end up at my basement stairs and that door would open by itself too. At this point I was terrified and it's the most scared I've ever felt. I was being moved down the stairs into the basement. But the basement had a huge machine made of metal. The machine had rollers, presses, conveyer belts all sorts of industrial things but all linked together and very long twisting so it filled up my whole basement. I was moved into the machine where I'd be squished and crushed. I'd then wake up from the nightmare in a sweat, still terrified. Thought the whole dream I was unable to move myself, but an unseen force was making me levitate and moving me.
This recurring nightmare you experienced as a child reflects feelings of powerlessness, fear, and being controlled by unseen forces in your life. The initial sense of dread and terror in the dream suggests that you may have been dealing with anxiety or fears that felt overwhelming and out of your control during that time. The imagery of being forced to levitate and move through your home by an unseen force could symbolize feeling manipulated or guided by external influences beyond your understanding or will.
The climax of the dream in the basement with the complex machine may represent a deep-seated fear of being crushed or overwhelmed by pressures or challenges in your life. The machine and its industrial components could symbolize the complexities and pressures you felt in your environment or within yourself during that period.
Overall, this dream may have manifested as a way for your subconscious mind to process and cope with feelings of helplessness and fear. It could also point to a need to address any unresolved fears or anxieties from your past that may still be lingering in your subconscious mind.