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Do you always dream? How can you interpret your dreams yourself? Here are some exciting facts about dreaming.
Why do we dream?
There are different theories on the function of dreams from various scientific directions. One thing is certain: dreams are used to process events from everyday life, both “organizationally” and “in terms of content”. This means that impressions from the day are stored in different areas of the brain during the night, compared with other impressions, compared and perhaps also connected. This could be determined by observing brain activity during sleep. But the brain does not only “tidy up” in dreams. This processing also has a kind of “therapeutic” effect. In dreams, we often process experiences for which, for example, there was too little time during the day or which we simply pushed away during the day.
Do we always dream?
Normally, people dream every night. Even if you can’t always remember them. This is because the dream experience is only accessible to the short-term memory. In this memory, content can only be stored for a very short time, as the name suggests. This means that if you really want to remember a dream, you have to memorize it immediately after waking up.
However, there are also people who do not dream. This can be due to an injury to a certain area of the brain, for example.
How do we dream?
People dream mainly in images and sounds. The images can be colorful, but also black and white, depending on which areas of the brain are currently active. Dream researchers assume that the majority of dreams are colorful. Only rarely are the senses of taste, smell and touch involved. However, blind people who have never been able to see anything also dream. For them, acoustic impressions and tactile perceptions are the most important.
Dream interpretation
For many people, interpreting dreams is very exciting and often funny. There are lots of books in which you can – supposedly – read what which dream means. But no book can tell you the meaning that a symbol has for yourself. Only the dreamer himself can decipher his dreams. At most, such books can help you find ideas or give you a few laughs when you want to pass your free time.
Using dreams for everyday life
Dream interpretation is sometimes used in therapy, for example, to find unconscious problems. However, this article is not about therapeutic dream interpretation, but about what you can learn from your dreams for your everyday life, if you feel like it.
TIP — Dream diary
If you want to take a closer look at your dreams, you could, for example, keep a dream diary. This means that if you remember a dream when you wake up, you should write it down, make a picture of it or retell and record what you dreamt. It depends on what you prefer.
Relate dreams to everyday experiences
If you remember a dream, you can first take a closer look at the dream. Maybe you will have an idea why you dreamt the dream you did when you first read it. Sometimes it is quite clear why something specific occurs in the dream. For example, you may have just been abandoned and you keep reliving this scene in your dream. Or you may have noticed a certain car during the day and then race it in your dream.
Deciphering symbols
However, dreams are often more coded. In dreams, only what has been previously stored in our brain appears, but it is often connected in a very peculiar way, without regard to temporal consequences and without any logic. If you have no idea at first sight, you can write down which things, people and animals appeared in the dream. Then think about the first thing that comes to your mind spontaneously. This is called “free association”. This can help you to understand what the symbols in the dream stand for. It is also important to know what feelings you associate with the dream.
Perhaps the following information will help you to interpret your dreams:
Dream about processing
Experiences are processed in dreams. For example, people who have suffered particularly bad experiences show that they relive this event (e.g. a fire) again and again in their dreams. Over time, this dream changes and at some point disappears completely. This means that dreaming alone, without doing anything in the waking state, can help us to process what we have experienced. This is often the case, for example, with separations or bereavement.
Revenge dreams
In dreams you can also take revenge on people without actually doing it. It is not uncommon, for example, when you are angry with someone, to dream that you have taken revenge on that person. And this can happen in dreams in the most fantastic way, because in dreams you can do anything. Even flying. The dream alone can make you wake up with such a relieved feeling and make revenge unnecessary in waking life.
Lucid dreaming
Some people know while dreaming, even though they are asleep, that they are dreaming. This is called lucid dreaming or lucid dreaming. Especially you as young people often master this without having to practice much. You have the possibility to intervene in your dream. Especially in dreams that frighten you. It could look like this, for example: If someone is chasing you, you can try to turn around in your dream and look at the person chasing you or ask him what he wants. Or maybe just fly away. This is how you can get rid of your anxiety dream. Some people even manage to get help for their “awake” life from such dreams. For example, musicians sometimes dream entire pieces of music, which they then write down immediately after waking up.
Daydreams
In fact, you can also dream during the day. People often scold you for it. “Don’t daydream again, concentrate instead!” But to enter a kind of “dream state” during the day, that is, to transport oneself to another world through one’s thoughts and imaginings, is a special gift. Daydreaming is a skill that can help you relax in particular. So don’t let it stop you if you enjoy it. But be careful: Of course, there are also situations in which daydreaming is not quite so appropriate, such as when riding a moped, during schoolwork, etc. But you will certainly recognize these situations. But you can certainly recognize these situations yourself. 🙂
For further help and support — Speak with a licensed therapist today.