Each night as we fall asleep, we may experience dreams that are sometimes entirely different from one another and sometimes strikingly similar. While dreams can be explained through neurological processes, it may also be beneficial to examine them from the perspective of psychoanalysis, which offers an alternative and more interpretative viewpoint. Accordingly, this paper aims to explain dreams and dream-related psychopathology within the framework of the psychoanalytic approach.
Dreaming is one of the general and characteristic features of sleep and is associated with the REM stages of sleep; it can be defined as a set of visual, auditory, and emotional experiences (Güven, 2015). Although dreams have been examined primarily from a neurophysiological perspective, they were first grounded in psychological theory by Freud (1899/1996). According to Sigmund Freud, dreams reflect repressed desires and fears—sexual in origin—stored in the unconscious since childhood, which surface at the level of consciousness, albeit briefly. Freud believed that the interpretation of dreams could contribute to the resolution of psychological problems (Şenel, 2005).
Explanations of dreams can be categorized as pre-Freudian and post-Freudian. Prior to Freud, interpretations of dreams were largely mystical, speculative, or neurophysiological in nature; with Freud, psychological explanations gained prominence (Güven, 2015). Freud argued that dreams emerge through a series of dream-work processes. The first of these is symbolization, whereby bodily regions, functions, or repressed thoughts appear in dreams not directly but symbolically. The second mechanism is condensation, in which a single dream content represents multiple associations. The third process, displacement, refers to the decentralization of dream thoughts, such that the most urgent wish is often represented indirectly or marginally. Psychic energy is thus transferred from the latent content of the dream to its manifest content through symbols. In the final process—projection—the individual’s wishes, emotions, thoughts, and impulses appear in dreams as though they are reflected back to the dreamer by another person or through symbolic representations (Freud, 1899/1996). Through these mechanisms, dream interpretation becomes a pathway to uncovering unconscious material.
Carl Jung’s perspective on dreams is similar to Freud’s in some respects, yet it diverges in significant ways. Jung introduced the concepts of the personal unconscious, the collective unconscious, and archetypes (Caperton, 2012). Conflicts or experiences that cannot access the personal unconscious may manifest in dreams. The collective unconscious, on the other hand, represents an evolutionary level of the mind—a repository of psychic material transmitted across generations, independent of personal experience—and is composed of archetypes. Archetypes include universal models such as birth, death, trees, and heroes, which may appear in dreams. Dream interpretation, according to Jung, involves identifying which archetypes the symbols point to (as cited in Güven, 2015). Jung proposed two primary functions of dreams: first, to compensate for imbalances in the psyche, and second, to provide images oriented toward the future (Winborn, 2016). In this sense, dreams are not merely residues of the past but dynamic expressions of the unconscious.
Another explanation regarding the function of dreams is the Continuity Hypothesis (Domhoff, 1996). This hypothesis posits that the content of everyday dreams reflects and parallels the dreamer’s waking life and concerns, serving as a maintaining factor (Pesant & Zadra, 2006). The majority of empirical findings support this hypothesis (Pesant & Zadra, 2006). For instance, in a study conducted by Schredl and Montasser (1999) with 29 participants diagnosed with eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa), the continuity hypothesis was confirmed. Participants with anorexia nervosa exhibited themes of food refusal and rejection of feminine roles in their dreams, whereas those with bulimia nervosa reported dreams involving increased eating behaviors and a more negative emotional tone. However, Cavallotti’s (2016) study on dream content in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder did not support the continuity hypothesis. Although patients attempted to control distressing thoughts during waking life, these efforts were not reflected in their dreams.
In the study of dreams and psychopathology, research has predominantly focused on depression-related issues; nevertheless, studies examining other forms of psychopathology in relation to dreams also exist (as cited in Güven, 2015). Freud believed that dreams serve as a means of coping with guilt and trauma (Akot, 2010) and argued that psychopathology first manifests in dreams and can be discovered through them (Freud, 1899/1996). It has been found that individuals with specific psychopathologies may exhibit dream patterns distinct from those without psychopathology (as cited in Pesant & Zadra, 2006). Patients with depression tend to experience negatively toned dreams, individuals with schizophrenia report dreams that may be described as bizarre, and those with sleep disorders also show alterations in dreaming patterns (Schredl, 2018).
Dream themes refer to the distinctive contents that occur in dreams (Beck & Ward, 1961). Although dreams are believed to contain universal elements, dream content is considered highly individual-specific. While dream themes may reflect fragments of waking experiences, they also provide clues about an individual’s emotional state and ongoing problems (Güven, 2015). For example, the frequency of nightmares has been associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, while recurrent dreams have been linked to low psychological well-being, neurosis, anxiety, depression, general psychopathology, and stress (Soffer-Dudek & Shahar, 2007). Additionally, certain dream themes may be associated with the severity of symptoms within specific diagnostic subgroups, such as death-related themes in individuals with depression (Schredl & Engelhardt, 2001).
Conclusion
This article has addressed dreams within the context of psychoanalysis, aiming to offer an alternative perspective on dreaming. Dreams transcend being mere nocturnal experiences and may serve as signals of unconscious processes. From this standpoint, a therapist who adopts a psychoanalytic orientation can gain valuable insights into a client’s unconscious material by exploring their dreams, thereby rendering the therapeutic process more comprehensive. Future research on dreams may benefit from more in-depth and extensive examinations of dream themes.
References
Akot, B. (2010). Freud’s method of dream interpretation. Journal of Academic Research in Religious Studies, 10(1), 213–235.
Beck, A. T., & Ward, C. H. (1961). Dreams of depressed patients: Characteristic themes in manifest content. Archives of General Psychiatry, 5(5), 462–467.
https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710170084010
Caperton, W. (2012). Dream-work in psychotherapy: Jungian, post-Jungian, existential–phenomenological, and cognitive–experiential approaches. Graduate Journal of Counseling Psychology, 3(1), 1–35.
Cavallotti, S., Casetta, C., Fanti, V., Gambini, O., Ostinelli, E. G., Ranieri, R., Vanelli, I., & D’Agostino, A. (2016). Dream content and intrusive thoughts in obsessive–compulsive disorder. Psychiatry Research, 244, 410–414.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.08.008
Domhoff, G. W. (1996). Finding meaning in dreams: A quantitative approach. Plenum Press.
Freud, S. (1996). The interpretation of dreams (E. Kapkın, Trans.; 2nd ed.). Payel Publishing. (Original work published 1899)
Güven, E. (2015). The language of dreams: Dream studies in psychology. Turkish Psychological Articles, 18(36), 15–25.
Pesant, N., & Zadra, A. (2006). Dream content and psychological well-being: A longitudinal study of the continuity hypothesis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(1), 111–121.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20212
Schredl, M. (2018). Researching dreams: The fundamentals. Palgrave Macmillan.
Schredl, M., & Montasser, A. (1999). Dreaming and eating disorders. Sleep and Hypnosis, 1(4), 225–231.
Schredl, M., & Engelhardt, H. (2001). Dreaming and psychopathology: Dream recall and dream content of psychiatric inpatients. Sleep and Hypnosis, 3(1), 44–54.
Şenol, V., Soyuer, F., Pekşen Akça, R., & Argün, M. (2012). Sleep quality and associated factors in adolescents. Kocatepe Medical Journal, 13(2), 93–104.
Winborn, M. (2016). Analytical psychology and science: Adversaries or allies? Psychological Perspectives, 59(4), 490–508.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00332925.2016.1240536