Dreams: The True Form of Therapy

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A dream is the experience of having images, sounds, or other sensations while sleeping. Many dreams come from various activities from throughout the day but some offer symbolic expressions. There is a connection between the conscious and the unconscious that can fill in the gaps of self-knowledge and provide the information needed. Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung have two theories on dreams. Sigmund Freud’s theory was that dreams are an expression of what one is repressing during the time being awake. Carl Jung believed that dreams provide messages about “lost” or “neglected” parts of ourselves that need to be reintegrated. Why do we dream? Dreams are wish fulfillment. They reveal wishes or emotions that one did not realize they had. Dreams help with problem solving because the dreaming mind makes connections more quickly than the waking mind does. It also helps in processing painful emotions with symbolic associations. The brain often associates emotion with a symbol. The model of dreaming is a process more like therapy. People run through ideas and emotions and place them in a broader psychological context. Dreams can have a very big impact on people’s lives.
When dreaming there are two options. Dreaming can be done in either black and white or color. Only a small percentage of people dream in black and white. There is a very low range for causes for dreaming in black and white, and depression plays a factor in it. A black and white dream reflects depressed feelings in an inner world. These black and white colors express their current emotional state. Among older people the media is the prime reason for black and white dreaming. People from many years ago had the opportunity of black and white television. Older films are the memori...

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...t can affect a person’s mood of the day by the type of dream that occurred. If the dream was happy the person will be left glowing all day, but if the dream as angry or sad the mood will reflect the dream. It could take hours, depending on the person, to shake the negative effects of a dream. Dreams can also affect the quality of sleep. If the dream is pleasant the sleep will seem too quick, but will wake feeling refreshed. If the dream was a nightmare, the dreamer’s sleep will be awoken multiple times due to fear. The only way to have a chance at remembering dreams and entering the REM stage is by getting enough sleep, getting curious about them, and keeping a dream journal to later retrieve key ideas. Dreaming can help with learning processes too. When the brain dreams it helps solve problems. Dreams are known to process, integrate, and understand new information.

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