Dreams – Insights Into This Mystical World

By TMoM Team Member Suzy Fielders

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I’ve always been fascinated with dreams, both why we have them and what they mean. Almost every night I remember my dreams, if only for a few minutes post waking up. So many of them are very vivid. Every time I was pregnant (I have three girls) the dreams were even more vivid, thanks to the fluctuating hormones! 

Unfortunately, neither question of why we dream and what they mean have a definitive answer from anyone. But, there are a lot of great theories and speculations. I wanted to share a few things about dreams I’ve learned over the years.  

Dreams and Stress 

When receiving my undergraduate degree in Psychology I had to do a senior thesis project. I ended up choosing to do one one on dreams and stress. My hypothesis was that stress impacted dreams. However, more specifically that stress impacted the content of the dreams. 

My findings showed that stress impacted dreams, but not the content. In fact, it proved that stress made a person dream more, or at least that they remembered it more. 

So, the next time you find yourself having or remembering dreams, take a step back and look at your stress levels. It is quite possible, since moms are known for this, you’ve taken a little too much on your plate!

Why Do We Dream?

This is a question for the ages. From the beginnings of psychology study, theorists and researchers have tried to determine why we dream. The majority of the theories fall into three options.

1. To help us understand or overcome issues (Cognitive Theories of Dreaming)
2. Just a mashup of data and information our brain is trying to process from the day. (Physiological Theory of Dreaming)
3. Wish fulfillment (Psychodynamic Theory of Dreaming – thank Freud for this one!)

This might not be a popular belief among psychologists, but I always thought there was a good chance it might be a combination of these theories. 

Dream Interpretations

While working on my Psychology senior thesis I got a little bit of a reputation as a dream interpreter. My friends and other students often came to me to interpret their dreams. I’ll admit there is no real answer to dream interpretation. A lot of it is just understanding what is currently going on in that person’s life and things that are on their mind right now.

There are an abundance of pop culture meanings of what dreams – and things in them – mean. I’ve found that it is rarely ever as simple as one thing in a dream meaning the same thing for everyone. There were often themes though. 

For example, dreams about flying often mean something related to either trying to escape a certain reality in your life since flying could indicate freedom from that restriction. Another instance is dreams of stairs or elevators which often signify either obstacles in your way in real life or a feeling/fear of not accomplishing your goals. 

A final common theme of dreams is being chased. This might mean several things, but typically relates to something around feeling tied down by something in your life or trying to escape a confrontation you are dealing with in real life. 

The best way to interpret your dreams is a lot of self-reflection. Creating a dream journal is a great way to track dreams and reoccurring themes. 

Have Some Fun

While many of the pop culture books tend to not always be super accurate, they are still a lot of fun to read and use as an attempt to interpret your dreams. Below are three I really like and why.

1. 1. The Dictionary of Dreams and Their Meanings by Richard Craze – this has a great section about ‘Dreaming Through History’.
   2. The Ultimate Dream Decoder by M. Jane Taylor and Clare Gibson – this has sections on each page to write out your own dreams related to those topics or items.
   3. The Dream Book – ok this book isn’t one I’d commit to saying is very accurate but it is a lot of fun just to read. 

The next time you dream, grab a pen and write it all down, then focus on some self-reflection of what is going on in your life. That will be your best bet to attempt to interpret it! Here is wishing you sweet dreams!

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