Types of Dreams

Why do we daydream? They can help us prepare for future events. They can help us prepare for future events. They can nourish our social development. Can substitute for impulsive behavior.

Lucid Dreams  Lucid dreams occur when you realize you are dreaming.  Most dreamers wake themselves up once they realize that they are only dreaming.  Others have cultivated the skill to remain in the lucid state of dreaming. They become an active participant in their own dreams, making decisions and influencing the dream's outcome without awakening.  Others have cultivated the skill to remain in the lucid state of dreaming. They become an active participant in their own dreams, making decisions and influencing the dream's outcome without awakening.

Nightmares AAAA nightmare is a disturbing dream that causes the dreamer to wake up feeling anxious and frightened. NNNNightmares may be a response to real life trauma and situations. TTTThey may also occur because we have ignored or refused to accept a particular life situation. Research shows that most people who have regular nightmares have had a family history of psychiatric problems, bad drug experiences, people who have contemplated suicide, and/or rocky relationships.

Recurring Dreams  Recurring dreams repeat themselves with little variation in story or theme.  Recurring dreams repeat themselves with little variation in story or theme.   These dreams may be positive, but most often they are nightmarish in content.   Dreams may recur because a conflict depicted in the dream remains unresolved or ignored. Once you have found a resolution to the problem, your recurring dreams will cease.

Dreams Signal Dreams  Signal dreams help you solve problems or make decisions in your waking life. Epic Dreams  Epic dreams are so huge, so compelling, and so vivid that you cannot ignore them. The details of such dreams remain with you for years, as if your dreamt it last night.  When you wake up from such a dream, you feel that you have discovered something profound or amazing about yourself or about the world. It feels like a life- changing experience. Prophetic Dreams Prophetic dreams are dreams that seemingly foretell the future. One rational theory to explain this phenomenon is that our dreaming mind is able to piece together bits of information and observation that we normally overlook or that we do not seriously consider. In other words, our unconscious mind knows what is coming before we consciously piece together the same information.

Why do we dream?

Freud Psychodynamic Theory- dreams are a way of expressing our unconscious desires. Freud believed this was part of our wish fulfillment. Manifest- the dream that we remember Latent- the actual content of the dream

Freud begins to analyze dreams in order to understand aspects of personality as they relate to pathology. He believes that nothing you do occurs by chance; every action and thought is motivated by your unconscious at some level. In order to live in a civilized society, you have a tendency to hold back our urges and repress our impulses. However, these urges and impulses must be released in some way; they have a way of coming to the surface in disguised forms. ID, EGO, SUPEREGO

Id - centered around primal impulses, pleasures, desires, unchecked urges and wish fulfillment. Ego - concerned with the conscious, the rational, the moral and the self-aware aspect of the mind. Superego - the censor for the id, which is also responsible for enforcing the moral codes of the ego. When you are awake, the impulses and desires of the id are suppressed by the superego. Through dreams, you are able to get a glimpse into your unconscious or the id. Because your guards are down during the dream state, your unconscious has the opportunity to act out and express the hidden desires of the id.

Carl Jung According to Jung, dreams are a way of communicating and acquainting yourself with the unconscious. Dreams are not attempts to conceal your true feelings from the waking mind, but rather they are a window to your unconscious. They serve to guide the waking self to achieve wholeness and offer a solution to a problem you are facing in your waking life.

Alfred Adler Problem Solving – dreams are an important tool to mastering control over your waking lives. They are problem-solving devices. Dreams need to be brought to the conscious and interpreted so that better understanding can be shed on your problems. Inferiority Complex – Dreams are an open pathway toward your true thoughts, emotions and actions. In your dreams, you clearly see your aggressive impulses and desires. Dreams are also a way of overcompensating for the shortcomings in your waking life.

Organize the brain dreaming is a way to file away key information and discard meaningless data. It helps keep our brains organized and optimizes our learning.

Activation Synthesis Theory Sees dreams as being meaningless random byproducts of our mind. Hobson & McCarley

Middle Ground Dreams are the random firing of the brain but also have some level of meaning.

So, Why do we dream???? Scientists generally seem to agree that dreaming is a form of thinking during sleep. Dreams contain at least some psychological meaning, but this doesn't necessarily prove a purpose, such as problem solving. Overall, our understanding of dreams is still quite vague. What do you think?