What Do Dreams Mean?

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Dreams are the one place in life where anyone can escape. Why not learn what dreams mean? As stated in the book Beginner’s Guide to Dream Analysis by Sigmund Freud, dream analysis is the process of assigning meanings to dreams. Pamela Ball stated in her book 10,000 Dreams Interpreted, that dreams are said to be the mind's way of making sense of the various issues it deals with at any given time--be it work, family, health, or relationships. Dreams help sort out all the information and events that are inputted during waking hours, creating a way for a person, free of conscious limitations, to understand what is really going on, to solve problems, to gain clarity and insight into a situation, issue, or other human being. The interpretations within dream analysis are based on everyday influences. Some of these influences include drugs and vitamins, sleeping position, personality, sounds, smells, and state of mind. There is a host of ways in which pharmaceuticals can influence dreams. Nicorette, for example, tends to make people experience intensely vivid dreams. Drugs can also affect dream recall. According to Lauri Loewenberg, a certified dream analyst and member of the International Association for the Study Dreams, “Since depression makes a person less likely to remember his or her dreams, anti-depressants can counteract that effect. Vitamin B6 has also been shown to help people remember their dreams more vividly and easily.” A recent study from Hong Kong found that if someone sleeps on his stomach it will increase the chances he will have a sexual dream or a dream about being persecuted. Examples of themes mentioned in the study include “having a sexual relationship with a big wheel or celebrity,” “being smothered, u... ... middle of paper ... ...Publications, 2003. Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams. New York: Macmillian CO. 1937. Parker, Alice Anne. Understand Your Dreams. California: H.J. Kramer, 2001. “6 Things That Influence Your Dreams.” huffingtonpost.com. 28 Sept. 2013. Huffington Post. 2 April 2014. . “What Dreams Say About Personality.” health,howstuffworks.com. 16 August 2005. How Stuff Works, Inc. 2 April 2014. . “What Do Your Dreams Mean? Here’s How You Can Decode Them.” healthland.time.com. 9 Dec 2013. TIME. 27 Feb 2014. . Ball, Pamela J. 10,000 Dreams Interpreted. London, GB: Random House Value Publishing, 1 October 2000.

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