DreamsJUDGE

We explain that whats the meaning of dreams? If we talk about the interpretation of dreams, one immediately imagines on the couch of a psychoanalyst trying to find out why he dreamed of a green goat playing the ukulele. Dreams, their content and meaning, have always caused curiosity. Why do we dream? What’s more, why do we dream of what we dream of?

As far as theories about dreams are concerned, we can say that there are three large groups: those who understand that the contents of dreams have an inherent and fixed meaning ( If you dream of the sea it means that … ), the currents related to Psychoanalysis , and the theories that have emerged as a result of the advancement of scientific research from disciplines such as Medicine or Psychology. whats the meaning of dreams

If I dream of a chest that I cannot open, it means that … whats the meaning of dreams

There is a current for which the content of dreams, as I said, has a fixed meaning , that is, whenever we dream of flowerpots it will mean that … (fill in to suit the consumer).

From this perspective, associated with mysticism, innumerable books have been published, more specifically “dictionaries on the meaning of dreams . ” Try to put in Google “Dictionary of dreams” and you will see the number of websites, “professionals”, books, etc. that appear. whats the meaning of dreams

Freud and Psychoanalysis

It is impossible to talk about dreams and their interpretation without mentioning Mr. Freud . In 1900 the father of Psychoanalysis published “The Interpretation of Dreams”, a key work in his career. The importance that Freud attached to both dreams and their content endures today. But what exactly was this man saying on the subject? whats the meaning of dreams

Freud postulated that our unconscious is constantly struggling to fulfill his / our desires and at the same time resolve the conflicts that this generates in us. But there is no direct access to the unconscious, so it is not easy to get to the bottom of each person’s affairs, a key objective, among others, of this theory.

And why were dreams so important for Psychoanalysis? whats the meaning of dreams

Because, again according to Freud, dreams are the direct door to that elusive unconscious, since they are made without filters or (self) censorship. Thus, the interpretation and analysis of dreams becomes a cornerstone and tool for this paradigm.

Current science says …

However nice, convenient, well elaborated or precise that the previous theories seem to us, the reality is that they do not have scientific support. What’s more, advances in Medicine, Neurology, Psychology, etc. in terms of sleep (and dreams) they have refuted the psychoanalytic postulates, needless to say it has the other theories that I commented at the beginning.

Why do we dream? whats the meaning of dreams

Current theories, based on scientific evidence, indicate that dreams are, simply put, a kind of over-activity of the brain, like lightning that occurs because there is a lot of “loose energy”.

Throughout the day the brain does a thousand things: we talk, we see, we walk, we breathe, we read, we listen … the information it processes is a lot. In fact, it is so much that he somehow needs to “tidy up the house” and “take out the trash” from time to time . And this would basically come to be dreams.

Dreaming is absolutely necessary for the human being: in fact, the recommendation to sleep eight hours is based, among other things, on the fact that in this period of sleep we would have the peaks of REM (or REM: rapid eye movements) and of Non-REM sleep – both stages in which it is dreamed-necessary for a correct mental functioning. whats the meaning of dreams

Sleep deficit is related to anxiety, depression, lack of concentration (and therefore problems with memory, attention, etc.) … which in turn causes sleep disturbances, thus entering a vicious circle. And if we talk about extreme sleep deprivation, paranoia, hallucinations and even ulcers could appear … Not funny. whats the meaning of dreams

Why do we dream of what we dream of?

As I said before, throughout the day there are millions of things that our brain perceives, to which we must add our emotions, sensations … whats the meaning of dreams

Not all these contents are processed consciously, that is, they are perceived but we do not “realize”. For example, we are not able to consciously process everything we see while walking on the street, because we would go crazy . Think about it: a leaf, the sidewalk, a stain, the air, the rubbing of clothes, a man, the gray sky, an elbow itches, a car rings, another sounds …

What the brain does is take all those things that we perceive but do not elaborate and store them in a kind of warehouse by default. On the other hand we have our emotions, thoughts, everything that has happened to us in the day that are also kept in a warehouse. It is a lot of information. The content of dreams is precisely that information that we have handled in the brain in the last 48 hours. whats the meaning of dreams

But, why do I dream of my classmate at school if I haven’t seen him for fifteen years? Most likely, in the last two days you have seen, smelled or thought something that is related to school. That has made your brain open the box “school” and therefore have information at hand. You will not have noticed that association, because they are non-conscious processes.

In this way, by this same process, when something worries us inevitably we think more about it, so we have it fresher in our memory and more accessible when dreaming.

If we have nightmares it will be indicative that we are nervous or that something worries us, but the content of the dream does not necessarily have to be indicative or clue, or anything, of what is happening to us. There are no magic keys, there are no doors: if I am worried, what I have to do is solve it, relax (with relaxation techniques for example) and try to have good sleep hygiene.

This goes in phases whats the meaning of dreams

In the REM phase, dreams are usually more moving and very emotional . On the other hand, in the NREM (non-REM) sleep phase, dreams are more about thoughts, with contents related to day-to-day concerns. And finally, in the slow wave sleep phase, dreams of “They haunt me and I can’t move from the place” are very typical. whats the meaning of dreams

To remember dreams it is necessary to wake up in one of these stages in which we dream. And of course, depending on the stage in which we wake up , the dream will be of one content or another. whats the meaning of dreams

The curious thing about many dreams, the reactions they provoke or their surprising content, has always caught our attention. But dreams do not stop being a physiological response and necessary for the physical and mental well-being of the human being, yes, with a fascinating packaging. Sweet dreams.