DREAM INTERPRETATION

There are many different interpretations of dreams and dreaming. These interpretations tend to fall into two main categories. There is the physiological approach or the psychological approach. The physiological approach deals with the brain’s interpretations of nerve actions. Where as the psychological approach deals with dreams as our interpretations of feelings and experiences.

The physiological approach to dreams goes along with the basic belief that while sleeping nerves throughout the brain send out various messages. There is also a degree of hormone involvement (norepinephrine and noradrenaline). The brain interprets these signals by trying to place order on them. It is thus the brain’s perception of physiological signals that creates dreams.

The psychological approach is based on a more Freudian idea. Freud believed that dreams were repressed desires and impulses. Many Psychologists today, though they do not all embrace Freud’s theory entirely, believe that dreams are in fact related to our day-to-day lives. There are many studies that support these sorts of theories. There have been studies on Universal dreams and dreams of recovering alcoholics that prove dreams are related to experience. There have also been studies done on the Senoi people. These people are an aborigine people that have dream rituals. They believe dreams are very important. They work on controlling their dreams. Psychologists call dreams that we can control lucid dreams.

Patricia Garfeild has done studies on universal dreams. Universal dreams are defined as dreams shared by all people. There are some dreams that are most commonly shared by all. These dreams include dreams of death, death of a loved one, running in terror from someone or something, or being naked in public. Everyone, regardless of spoken language, shares these dreams. Everyone will have these sorts of dreams at some point in their life. Though these dreams are universal their details can differ slightly from culture to culture. For example, the children in India who have dreams of being chased are often chased by. Where as in the United States many children have reported these dream chasings done by sharks.

The studies done on recovering alcoholics have shown that many of these people have dreams involving alcohol, quitting drinking, institutions, and help groups. These dreams are very similar to dreams of absent-minded transgressions. In these dreams the user sees themselves quitting or being unable to quit and turning helplessly back to the substance. This is often motivation to actually quit.

In studying both of the two most popular interpretations of dreams it seems to make the most sense that reality lies between the two. While we sleep our brains receive information from both our nerves and our subconscious. This information is interpreted accordingly. Dreams are therefore both psychological interpretations as well as physiological.

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