Why Do We Dream? The Relationship Between the Subconscious

Dreams have been a subject of great interest and curiosity throughout human history. These strange and sometimes terrifying experiences during sleep have been studied and interpreted by scientists, philosophers and artists.

Many theories and opinions have been put forward about the meanings, symbols and causes of dreams. However, the nature of dreams is still not fully understood.

If you want to know more about what a dream is, why it occurs, what it means and its relationship with the subconscious, let’s get started.

What is a dream?

What is a dream scientifically? It is an experience that occurs in the mind during sleep and consists of emotion, thought, perception and dream components. Dreams usually contain visual, auditory, tactile and emotional elements. Dreams usually occur during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) phase of the sleep cycle, and activities in the brain increase during this phase.

The origin of dreams is still not fully understood, but some research shows that dreams are formed under the influence of subconscious thoughts, emotions, experiences and memories. Dreams can also help a person process, confront, and make sense of experiences in daily life.

There are different opinions about the meaning and interpretation of dreams. While some think that dreams are just a mental activity, others believe that dreams contain important messages and clues. The meaning and interpretation of dreams may vary depending on cultural, psychological and individual factors.

Interpretation of Dreams

Throughout history, many cultural and religious beliefs have been developed on the importance and meaning of dreams. In Sumerians and Ancient Egypt, dreams were considered a means of communication with the gods. There are many sources on the interpretation and meaning of dreams in these cultures.

But what is a dream in psychology?

Sigmund Freud’s theories about dreams made significant contributions to the development of modern psychology. Freud argued that dreams are the expression of the subconscious, and he tried to understand the person’s subconscious impulses and desires through the interpretation of dreams. Freud’s dream theories formed the basis of research on the psychological effects of dreams and are still valid today.

Freud sees dreams as the “royal road to the unconscious.”

He asks his patients to describe their dreams freely, without any inhibitions, and develops a method he calls “dream work”.

Thanks to him, dreams in therapy turn into fertile lands that yield abundant harvests.

According to Freud, unconscious wishes are satisfied in dreams. Most of the time, hidden truths that we cannot even admit to ourselves come to the surface. But these have changed shape due to the “censorships” applied by our mind.

The unconscious distorts desires that are difficult to confront, which can create anxiety when revealed .

According to Freud, this distortion is necessary for the continuation of sleep. “The dream is the guardian of sleep.”

Because dreams in which we experience intense emotions and whose content is clear are like nightmares and can wake the person up and cause sleep disorders .

Dreams are surprising compromises between desire and sleep. At the same time, this distortion is our “resistance” to confronting ourselves. Because of this resistance, dreams cannot be remembered or are quickly forgotten.

The dreams that we find ridiculous when we wake up are actually representations of the problems boiling in our inner world.

Dreams seem inconsistent to us because they consist of timeless, spaceless, irrational impulses of the unconscious.

The content of the dream is hidden through distortion methods called displacement and condensation.

Memories and emotions that leave effective traces on us are repeated with other actors and different events on the stage of daily events. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the excesses related to the day of the dream, which are called “residue of the day” and hide the real message. Only then does the dream become a raw material that can be processed.

The next process is to process and analyze the dream to understand the “hidden content”. The therapist and the patient can make this analysis by “working” together.

The method to be applied here is to release all associations (thoughts, feelings, words) related to the dream. The therapist guides and helps with an unbiased eye.

Symbols and Meanings of Dreams

The symbolic meanings of dreams have different interpretations from a psychological perspective. While trying to unravel the symbolic language of dreams, psychoanalysis theory argues that different symbols may have different meanings and that dreams express the person’s subconscious emotions. Here are some common psychoanalytic dream symbols and their meanings:

House: symbolizes the human body.

Authority figure: The king or queen represents the person’s mother and father.

Water: Represents birth. Actions such as jumping into water, getting out of water, saving a person receive messages from the mother-child relationship.

Journey: According to Freud, it refers to the idea and fear of death.

Underground: It means searching for someone.

Sexual Symbols: Represents sexual desire.

Snake: Represents hidden fears and desires for power.

Flying: Represents freedom, success and ascension.

Death: It is the symbol of new beginnings. It is a sign of an emotional or physical transformation.

Mirror: It represents the person’s image of himself.

Car: Represents a person’s life journey.

Cat: It is a symbol of secret desires, mysterious or insidious behavior.

Clock: Represents the value and limitation of time in one’s life.

Of course, dream symbols and their meanings are not always fixed and can vary from person to person. Interpretation of dream symbols may vary depending on a person’s subjective experiences, cultural beliefs, and psychological state.

The Most Common Dream Types

Dreams, in their various types, are the rich inner worlds that people experience during sleep. Here are the most common dream types:

Chasing dreams: These are dreams in which the person is chased, runs away or hides. These dreams often indicate feelings of anxiety, anxiety and fear.

Falling dreams: These are dreams in which the person imagines falling from high places or falling down. These dreams can be symbolic of feelings of loss of control, failure, and insecurity.

School and exam dreams: These are dreams in which the person is at school or in an exam and has low grades or is unprepared. These dreams may be related to anxiety and stress.

Flying dreams: These are dreams in which the person dreams of flying or being in a glider. These dreams can represent freedom, success and ascension.

Sexual dreams: These are dreams that reflect a person’s sexual desires and fantasies. These dreams may be related to a person’s sexual identity and desires.

The Relationship Between Dreams and the Subconscious

Psychological theories argue that dreams are reflections of subconscious thoughts. Dreams can be thought of as an area where thoughts, feelings and experiences stored in a person’s subconscious are symbolically expressed. For example, a stressful situation experienced in daily life can be expressed with dream symbols during sleep.

Sigmund Freud argued that dreams are the expression of hidden desires in the subconscious. According to him, subconscious desires are expressed by using symbolic expressions in dreams. Carl Jung thought that dreams were related to the collective subconscious. According to him, some dreams are reflections of common symbols in human history.

As a result, dreams are thought to be closely associated with the subconscious. Dreams can be used as an important tool to understand a person’s inner world.