Psychology Freud's Theory on Dreams

The average person spends more than one-third of their life sleeping, and over this period of time he or she can have as many as 1,825 dreams (Wicklinski). By definition, dreams are mental images, thoughts, or emotions that are experienced while sleeping. In the beginning, dreams were thought to be messages sent from the gods or spirit world. Researchers now have many theories explaining why people dream. Many of these theories believe that dreams can resemble an individual’s sensory experiences or even secret wishes. All people dream, but only forty-two percent can recall their dreams from the night before (“Dreams”). Dreaming is important because it can impact people’s health, provide insight into what they are feeling, and reveal

Our dreams are objects of endless enchantment and mystery for mankind as far back as the beginning of time. The nocturnal

We spend six years of our lives in sleep and many of us do not think about what occurs while asleep. Everyone has experienced more than a few dreams while asleep, that is because, whether you know it or not, everyone dreams while asleep. Based off the Activation Information Mode Model theory, dreams are random neurological firings that have no particular meaning. The reason dreams feel so real and personal is because they are based from recent memories located in the brainstem. Although dreams are meaningless, our brain tries to make connections. Through the Activation Information Mode model people are able to analysis personal dreams.

To many people, dreams are the thoughts that occur while sleeping, having almost mystic qualities. For millennia the significance of dreams has escaped even the brightest of philosophers and intellectuals. Many people have speculated about why people dream and what meanings the dreams have but in recent times two theories have gained credibility in answering those questions. The first theory is Sigmund Freuds and the other is known as the cognitive theory of dreams also known as biological determinism.

It is through this dream work that Freud contended unconscious thoughts were transferred into dream content. (Freud, 1900)

As we lay ourselves down every night to put our bodies to rest, our brains begin doing something extraordinary. It begins piecing together images, creating scenarios, simulating sensory perception, and adding in emotions and fears. They can make us wake up with a smile on our face or in a cold sweat. Dreaming is such a strange and often inexplicable phenomenon, but something we all do just about every night. People have theorized the process and the utility of dreams for centuries. However, much of the accepted knowledge we have a bout dreams today is still only theory. In fact, hardly anything about the dreaming experience is concrete because it is an experience

He believed by examining dreams he can understand how the unconscious mind works and what it is trying to hide from conscious awareness. Freud broke down dreams into two different types, the manifest content of the dream and the latent content. The manifest content of the dream contains all the images, events, and thoughts contained in the dream, this is fundamentally what the dreamer remembers upon waking. The latent content is all the hidden and symbolic meanings within the dream. Freud believed that dreams were essentially a form of wish fulfillment, by taking those unconscious thoughts and desires and making them into less unacceptable behavior in society

A dream, by definition, is a sequence of emotions, ideas, images, and sensations that involuntarily occur in the mind at various times; typically during the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000). Throughout history, dreams have been the cause of much speculation; holding both philosophical and religious interests (Hobson, 2009). Before the days of scientific research, opinions varied regarding dreams, and their usefulness in psychotherapy. Dreams were often viewed as either being divinely inspired or having derived from a dark, evil source. Even in today’s scientifically advanced society; dreams are still not totally understood.

By studying the ideas of other psychologists and philosophers to support his own ideas, Freud was able to take the parts he agreed with and disprove the parts he did not agree with. He explores the ideas of Aristotle, Hildebrandt and Strumpell to name just a few. He agreed strongly with Aristotle’s belief that dreams are not divine in

Dream analysis has undeniable benefits within the realm of therapy, but is by no means restricted to use in therapy. Details in dreams can represent larger ideas in a person’s life, details which can uncover the truth. A person’s dreams are knit very closely with that person’s thoughts, morals, and life. Therefore, dreams speak truth about a person; these truths can be the key that opens closed doors. Vital memories seemingly lost can be re-acquired through dream work which can improve everyday life.

In the article entitled "Do dreams really mean anything?," David B. Feldman discusses the scientific opinions and theories about dreams, also speaks about people's understanding of it, if they really show us the future or what will happen in people's lives and if they really refer to any meaningful thing in people's live. Firstly, the author talks about the ancient Egyptian thoughts about dreams and their religious beliefs about it, also he talks about "Sigmund Freud" investigation of dreams in his book. Furthermore, Feldman points out the meaning and the truth about "dreams dictionary "and the symbols of dreams. However, he shows the scientists and "neuroscientists" assumptions about dreams also he mentions the importance of sleeping and its

According to Ciccarelli and White many of today’s professionals no longer appreciate Freud’s dream theory (151). The theory proposed by Freud appears highly unscientific. The unconscious mind was important in Freud’s work and the Freudian theory emphasized that the unconscious mind governed behavior.

Dr. Robert Stickgold believes that an individual’s dream is formulated in a web of memories; memories that individual’s do not have clear access to during wakeful times and therefore, dreams can be a view of our unconscious. Dreams contain more of what the brain finds most essential, which could be something an individual spent the majority of a day thinking about, or something meaningful happening just prior to going to bed according to Dr. Stickgold. Moreover, Dr. Stickgold admits that our dream’s may also be the brain’s way of searching for ways to connect the complex webs of an individual’s memory, but it is not likely that our dream’s content actually fits with an individual’s beliefs or feelings. Dreams can definitely help an individual

The video suggests that the most accurate theory for the explanation of where dreams comes from is the theory proposed by J. Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley known as the activation-synthesis model of dreaming. The video has a very simple and easy to understand explanation of this theory. It states that “normal signals from our brains

these theories about why we dream, and what they mean. He believes that what we dream about