Do our dreams hold a message for us? Or are they perhaps just a series of coincidences?
Every dream could be the work of our subconscious, a secret message desirous of being unraveled.
Dreams are mute, complicated, and secret wars that battle while we drift off to sleep. Though they appear to be haphazard images and surface phenomena, researchers have found that dreams are a method through which our subconscious communicates with repressed emotions, thoughts, and trapped feelings (Freud, 1900; Jung, 1964). Whether we like it or not, dreams give psychological and emotional equilibrium and offer valuable cues for potential solutions. This mystifying phenomenon of the human mind presents an excellent chance for psychological healing.
Dreams may indicate several types of psychological turbulence. Repetitive dreams of escaping, being chased, and confusion indicate the intensity of stress and anxiety in our subconscious. Besides that, repetitive dreams may also indicate unfinished emotional conflicts in our subconscious. Suppressed anger and rage may manifest in our dreams as shattered objects, injustice, or conflict. “It is like repressed wails that our unconscious is seeking to show us.” In this regard, dreams are a significant vehicle for raising psychological consciousness.
Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming or conscious dreaming helps us take charge, mold, and become aware of events occurring in dreams. We can guide ourselves through the darkness of our own mind and transform nightmares into allies. Neuroscientifically, with the activation of the prefrontal cortex, a person can observe and control subconscious messages. This could bring emotional relief and psychotherapy (Bahçeşehir Psychology, n.d.; Hiwell, n.d.).
Nightmares and Trauma
Nightmares express traumas in our unconscious. Nightmares have been associated with stress, grief, losses, and traumas. Furthermore, psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, phobic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and insomnia may provoke nightmares (Avicenna Hospital, 2023). Psychoanalytic theories, nonetheless, explain nightmares as a manifestation of unresolved internal conflict and traumas. According to this theory, dreams give individuals an opportunity to recognize and correct their internal imbalances. Increased awareness and nightmare management by the skill of lucid dreaming can help in psychological healing.
Confrontation with nightmares is a valuable opportunity to recognize and change our fears.
Creativity
Dreams also play a role in creative problem-solving. Historical examples exist of the utilization of dreams as a means of inspiration for art and science. For example, McCartney composed the melody of the song “Yesterday” in a dream and documented it the moment he woke up. This indicates that the subconscious mind solves problems and ideas in a silent but in a way inaccessible to the waking mind.
One example is Kekulé’s dream regarding the benzene molecule’s structure. These examples indicate that our subconscious mind can generate creative solutions by processing solutions in unconscious processes. Perhaps every dream is an inspiration because our brains create new ideas while our eyes sleep.
Memory and Daily Life
During REM sleep, the brain processes and consolidates information. Dreams bridge the gap between memory and subliminal messages and are accountable for making us aware of past experiences and repressed emotions. It is helpful to maintain a dream diary to record the theme, frequency, and similarity of dreams. By doing so, we can observe the emotions that we repress and interpret past experiences, and awareness and creativity are developed.
Conclusion
Last but not least, dreams are not passive copies of our subconscious; they are a whisper from our subconscious. They are an unspoken but powerful source of guidance to self-awareness. In dreams, we can understand feelings and concerns we unknowingly push aside in daily life. They also allow us to solve problems creatively and give birth to fresh ideas. While nightmares allow us to deal with the traumas and phobias within our subconscious securely, lucid dreaming allows us to possess consciousness and control of it. McCartney remembering the melody of “Yesterday” in a dream or Kekulé discovering the benzene molecule in a dream awakens the creative abilities of our subconscious.
To this degree, dreams are extremely crucial both in psychological rehabilitation and in our consciousness. That is, dreams do not occur by chance; they occur completely from within us, from our subconscious. Dreams don’t merely decorate our nights; they heal and take us to new ideas. Each night offers us the opportunity to know, learn, and discover more about ourselves personally and to find the unknown potential of our minds. Therefore, what are the secrets you think your dreams tell you? What are the events that it conceals which you observe but do not know about?
References
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Avicenna Hastanesi. (2023). Kabusların psikolojik nedenleri. Retrieved from https://avicennaint.com/kabus-gormenin-psikolojik-nedenleri
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Bahçeşehir Psikoloji. (n.d.). Neden kötü rüyalar görürüz? Retrieved from https://bahcesehirpsikoloji.com/neden-kotu-ruyalar-goruruz
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Cafrande. (n.d.). Rüya, kabus ve psikanaliz: Freud ve Jung’da rüya yorumu. Retrieved from https://www.cafrande.org/ruya-kabus-ve-uyku-psikanaliz%E2%80%99de-ruya-yorumu-freud-ve-jung
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Freud, S. (1900). The Interpretation of Dreams. Basic Books.
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Jung, C. G. (1964). Man and His Symbols. Aldus Books.