Dream Analysis Essay

Dreams are one of the most mysterious and fascinating things of all time. People often rely on the meanings of their dreams help solve personal problems.Dreams represent many different aspects in ones life including physical, emotional and mental. Dream analysis is a process of learning the meaning of a dream by studying the symbols and memories. Sigmund Freud along with many other experts have come up with theories and approaches to interpret dreams. Some of the approaches to determine the meaning of a dream are Adlerian, Gestalt and Psychoanalytic. The adlerian theory is that dreams are a projection of the persons current concerns in their life. Gestalt theory is that every person and object in a dream represents an aspect of the dreamers life. Psychoanalytic approach is that dreams are a look into the persons unconscious mind. Different methods such as hypnotherapy and psychoanalysis therapy can help a person in physical, mental and emotional ways to interpret the meaning of what they dream. A dream can be defined as “ a series of images that occur during sleep” (Collier). When one dreams he/she see's very vivid images and colors that uncover his / her different wishes and concerns in life. Although one can not control a dream, the events taking place in the persons life has a big impact on what they dream about. Sigmund Freud created a psychological technique to interpret a persons dreams and believed that “dreams are to the royal road to the unconscious”, Meaning that our dreams are our unconscious thoughts, fears, needs and desires. In his book “ The interpretation of dreams” he states that “ “As regards to the dream, all the troubles of waking life are transferred by it in the sleeping state” ( Freud ). The problems that we face during the waking stage become part of our unconscious mind. He believed that dreams are composed of two parts; the manifest and the latent. The latent holds the true meaning of the dream; the forbidden and unconscious thoughts and desires while the manifest is what the person remembers as soon as they wake up. Symbols are a huge part of dreams, a simple tree could represent more than anyone could have ever thought. Phallic symbolism occurs in almost every ones dream, representing sexual desires. Freud also states that “ The waking life never repeats itself with its trials and joys, its pleasures and pains, but, on the contrary, the dream aims to relieve us of these” ( Freud qtd.) The most common nightmare among dreamers is when the dreamer is being chased and cannot escape. Being chased represents stress and anxiety in the persons life that they cannot physically or mentally escape. People who are often grieving a loss may have dreams about loved one. In T.J Wray's book Grief Dreams she discuses that grief dreams can actually help heal a person. According to T.J Wray there are four kinds of grief dreams that one can have. There is the visitation dream, the message dream, the reassurance dream and the trauma

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