1/31/2021 What Do Our Dreams Mean?

Dream Interpretation & Theories - Sleep Matters Club

Do dreams really mean anything?

While we often enjoy recalling our dreams the following day, it’s important to decipher
if there’s any significance in dream meanings. There are many different theories
when it comes to dream interpretation and whether they mean something, and most
of those theories offer different views.
One neurobiological theory of dreaming is the Activation-Synthesis
Hypothesis.This was proposed by Harvard University psychiatrists, John Allan
Hobson and Robert McCarley. The theory states that dreams don’t actually mean
anything. Instead they’re merely electrical brain impulses that pull random thoughts
and imagery from our memories. The theory suggests that humans construct dream
stories after they wake up. This is a natural attempt to make sense of it all.
However, renowned psychologist Sigmund Freud thought otherwise. He believed
that dreams revealed unconsciously repressed conflicts or wishes. According to
Freud, dreams are imagery of a wish or impulse from childhood that has since been
repressed. This is why Freud studied dreams to understand the unconscious mind.
Therefore, according to Freud, your dreams reveal your repressed wishes to you.
Another theory is the Threat Simulation Theory, which describes dreams as a
defence mechanism our brains put in place to prepare us for scary events. This
allows us to face our fears in a safe simulation. This theory adds that “children who
live in an environment in which their physical and psychological wellbeing is
constantly threatened should have a highly activated dream production and threat
simulation system”. If this theory is to be believed, it could be assumed that we
dream more often when in a state of fear or anxiety.
Although it’s impossible to pinpoint one theory, Loewenberg states: “In my
experience, people are beginning to be more open to the fact that dreams are more
than random misfirings of the brain, and that they are telling us something about
ourselves.” These may not be obvious links, for example, to lose your bag in a dream
doesn’t mean you’re going to lose your bag tomorrow. It would more likely mean that
the dreamer feels that something important to them is missing.

https://www.dreams.co.uk/sleep-matters-club/do-people-actually-believe-dreams-mean-something-to-us/#:~:text=The theory states that dreams,stories… 1/1