In July of 1895, Sigmund Freud’s dream analysis began. While treating a patient, his treatments were not being as successful as he would have liked, resulting in feelings of guilt. He dreamed about being guilty and thus concluded that dreams were a form of your ego expressing its desires or wishes. Wanting to share his ideas, Freud wrote The Interpretation of Dreams. It discusses REM dream analysis. Usually, Rapid Eye Movement sleep is associated with dream analysis because this is the stage of sleep where the id and superego are dormant, and dreams are most common.
Rapid eye movement sleep is the fourth stage of sleeping and is a very deep sleep that stimulates ludicrous dreams. Because the prefrontal cortex is inactive, it causes the dreams to not be restricted by reality and logic. In REM sleep, however, the amygdala and visual association areas are active, causing dreams to be extraordinarily visual and emotional. While REM sleep may allow crazy dreams, it has proved to help stimulate learning, memory, and mood changes. If the amount of REM sleep time is reduced, it can result in a down climb in learning and memory. REM sleep is reduced by drinking alcohol, but also by having an inconsistent and short amount of sleep. While you are paralyzed during REM sleep, anyone who is diagnosed with REM sleep disorder will not be paralyzed and acts out dreams, which can be dangerous. Generally, REM sleep disorder is common among men who are older than fifty and take an antidepressant. REM is a necessary stage of sleep because it aids memory and learning, and it intrigues psychologists because it is a state when our brain’s emotional systems are active and dreams could have deeper meanings.
Although dream analysis is critical to some and foolish to others, here are some common dreams and their meanings. Falling, which is one of the most common dreams, could mean insecurity or simply an undeniable fear of heights. Loss teeth while dreaming can have several different meanings: a sudden increase in income, vanity, or inadequate health. A dream about driving an out of control vehicle can indicate a long-term problem that is out of your control. In one of your recent dreams, if mud was an element, it means troubling times lie ahead. Mud does have two interpretations. Strangely, in India, mud would instead be interpreted as wealth. Whether dreams do mean something has yet to be proven, but the meanings still depend tremendously on culture, age, background, and personality.
If dream analysis was less introspective and easier to monitor and verify the dreams and their meanings, scientists and psychologists would have an easier time believing in dream analysis. Patients could alter or forget details of a dream after they have awoken from REM sleep, thus, leading to false analysis. In addition to this, personal factors, including trauma, culture, and fears, can affect dreams. Dream analysis can be misleading. Unfortunately, the dream world, as of now, lies unexplored because there is no scientific way to fully understand this confusing, chaotic domain.
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