The Interpretation of Dreams According to Sigmund Freud And Carl Jung

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Whatever his origins, man has always been fascinated by the mysteries surrounding his dreams. Do they really have hidden meanings? Can we trace our unconscious desires by interpreting our dreams? A lot of people think so.

We can have five to six dreams each night, depending on how long we sleep and how many REM sleep cycles we go through, also known as REM sleep. In all likelihood, the things we experience in our dreams are likely a reflection of the concerns we face in everyday life.

Sigmund Freud, the famous Austrian psychoanalyst, described dreams as the royal road to the unconscious. He suggested that by studying the content of our dreams, we might shed light on the hidden and unconscious desires that lead to neuroses.

Freud was the pioneer in this area of research. Later, the Swiss Carl Gustav Jung, founder of analytical psychology, expanded the theory of dreams with his own ideas. Modern dream theories consider how you react to what you are experiencing in your dreams, and how you can use this information to guide you in your real life.

“Desire is the most frequent creator of dreams. “- Quote Sigmund Freud

Our ancestors saw dreams as meaningful paths that contained divine messages and had the power to change history. Today we are still searching for meaning in our dreams. Although our methods of interpretation have changed, our desire to understand them is much the same.

If you have ever woken up from a particularly disturbing dream, you may have wondered why you dreamed such a thing. Having anxious dreams is usually a red flag for real-life stress and the role that stress can play on your body. Some wear a magnetic bracelet on their wrist or sleep near a quartz crystal. Others swallow sleeping pills or drink herbal infusions. But that doesn’t always solve the source of the problem.

Unfortunately scientists cannot attach a precise and specific meaning to each dream. It’s up to everyone to determine what their own unconscious movie means.

However, you can start to dissect your own with the help of what you will learn in this article. We will explore modern ways of interpreting dreams and examine what nine of the most common dreams can mean.

What is the purpose of the dream?

The goal of the dream, according to Freud, is to bring deep desires to the surface in order to reconcile and confront repressed feelings. He writes in his book “The Interpretation of Dreams” that dreams are fulfillments in disguise of repressed wishes.

There are many theories about the function of dreams. For some neuroscientists, dreaming is one of the well-being tips used by our brain. They seem to help with memory formation, memorization, consolidation of ideas and problem solving. Dreams also appear to help regulate mood and process information.

A generally accepted concept is that dreaming is a highly emotional process. Indeed, according to studies, the amygdala, which is an emotional center of the brain, is one of the areas of the brain that is most active during dreams.

it seems that we are dreaming for several reasons, described below.

1. The dream helps to process emotional life experiences

Dreams help manage the emotions we feel. Brain imaging shows that the same areas of the brain are active both when we are dreaming and when we are dealing with extremely emotional events.

2. The dream can provide response scenarios

It is also possible that dreams help us train us to react to tragic scenarios that might arise in our life. In this way, dreams provide a ground for training and analysis in critical situations in life.

3. The dream helps to sort the information collected during the day

The brain uses the dream to sort the information we collect during the day. For example, deciding what information is important enough to be stored in our memory and what can be easily forgotten.

4. The dream is used to reveal subconscious feelings

Some researchers believe that dreams serve psychological purposes in addition to having a biological role. For example, they can represent desires and feelings that we don’t recognize in real life.

Why are some dreams common?

To dream of falling or being late for an exam seems to be quite common. These dreams are popular because they are related to common actions, behaviors, thoughts, and fears. Likewise, many people, if not most, worry that their partner is having an affair, which may appear in their dreams. Having dreams where we appear embarrassed or downright naked in front of a crowd is often linked to social anxiety, or our worry about how others perceive us.

The Interpretation of Dreams by Carl Jung

Carl Jung agreed with Freud that dreams were rooted in the subconscious of our being and that they could help us heal if understood correctly. He suggested that dreams reveal the ways in which an individual can be out of balance.

“Until you make the subconscious conscious, it will rule your life and you will continue to call it fate. “- Quote from Carl Jung

In the analysis of Jungian dreams, each aspect of the dream represents something in the psyche. So, the dream is an effort to communicate with oneself about the things that prevent us from becoming a fully developed individual.

Connect the images of his dream to the real world

Just as with biblical parables or accounts from Greek mythology, dreams are not meant to be interpreted literally. Symbolism is the language of dreams and the unconscious. Hence, it borrows images from your external environment to symbolize things in your dream.

Interpret his dream

Interpret your dream taking into account everything you have written before. Remember that a dream is a message from the subconscious surrounded by symbolism. When you interpret your dream and come up with an interpretation that seems “to ring right” to you, then you are on the right track.

The dream message should surprise you, because your subconscious will not send you a message that you already know. And if you come up with an interpretation that condemns or blames others, then that interpretation is probably incorrect. Dreams are about you and not about others, because the characters in your dream represent different aspects of yourself, even if they look like someone you know.

Conclusion on the interpretation of dreams

We all have dreams whether we remember them or not. Dreams can be scary, pleasant, frustrating, calming, or downright bizarre. While scientists know a lot about what happens physiologically when we dream, there is still a lot to be discovered psychologically and about the interpretation of dreams.

But one thing seems certain: our dreams are a reflection of our real life, reflecting our anxieties, our fears, our desires, our aspirations and our hopes for the future.