Spiritual torture can be a conflict between right and wrong and spiritual torment is the mental agony, which ensues when we must make choices between two or more courses of action. Often the idea of such torture for the benefit of the majority that is, the Greater Good is part of the process of growth. Spiritual teasing is the sort of irritation engendered by the imp. Being teased in dreams may reveal a fear of becoming a laughing stock. If we are being physically tortured in dreams, we need to look at the other images and personalities in the dream to discover what significance such action has in our everyday life. It may be that we tend to put ourselves in the position of victim without realizing it. Torment has a hugely emotional charge behind it and reveals an element of sadism in our dream tormentor. This can amount to persecution and is the sort of dream that will surface in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. When an image connected with torture appears in a dream, often we are trying to come to terms with a great hurt. This does not need to be on a physical level indeed, it hardly ever is. It is more likely to be emotional or mental pain. If we are unable to deal with the hurt, the dream may escalate into one of torment. You might also like to consult the entries for Imp, Sadism and Victim as well as the information on Nightmares in the Introduction.