A dream about an attack usually means that you are repressing negative emotions in waking life.
If you dream that you are attacking someone, you could be releasing feelings of anger, resentment or frustration.
These feelings could be directed at the person you are attacking in you dream, or at something represented by that person.
A dream of attacking a stranger can symbolize a confrontation with an aspect of yourself that you find undesirable.
Dreaming that someone is attacking you can mean that you feel that you are being treated unfairly or that you have been placed in a vulnerable position.
You may dream of being attacked when you are feeling guilty about something.
Theories of evolutionary biology say that dreams of being attacked, whether by another person or by an animal, are designed to teach you how to defend yourself if you are attacked in waking life.
A dream that you are attacking someone is a sign that you feel unable to express yourself in real life. You have repressed feelings of anger or frustration and they are being released in your dream. If you dream that you are attacking someone who represents authority, such as a parent or a police officer, your dream can mean that you feel that you have lost control.
If you dream that you are being attacked by someone else, you are feeling threatened in real life. You may be feeling threatened by another person, by a difficult situation or by your own thoughts. Perhaps you are beginning to see things in a new way that confuses you or frightens you.
How do you react when you are being attacked? Do you submit quietly, do you try to run away, or do you fight back?
The way you react to being attacked in your dream can tell you something about how you react to unexpected and unwanted situations in real life.