Dream Interpretation Essay Research Paper Dream InterpretationJeffrey

Dream Interpretation Essay, Research Paper

Dream Interpretation

Jeffrey Skarski

Mrs. Murphy

English 8

12 December, 2000

Dream Interpretation

Introduction – What are dreams and why are they important.

I. Reasons for dreaming

A. Coping with daily stress

B. Communicating subconscious thought

II. Uses of our knowledge of dreams

A. Tool to aid in therapy and diagnosis

B. Research to understand human nature

III.Types of dreams

A. Anxiety dreams

B. Traumatic anxiety dreams

C. Self-affirming dreams

D. Wish fulfilling dreams

E. Libidinous dreams

F. Problem solving dreams

G. Initiation dreams

H. Lucid dreams

IV.Facts and misconceptions about dreams

Jeff Skarski

Eng. 8 per. 1

12/12/00

Dream Interpretation

What can fix Jack Nicklaus’s golf swing. Inspire Julius Caesar to invade Rome(Kramer

59). Calculate the structure of a benzene molecule(Horgan 50). Skin two pounds of potatoes a

minute for just four easy payments of only $29.95. The answer to those questions (well, not the

one about potatoes) is a dream. Dreams have always had a huge influence on our lives, as well

as the destiny of mankind.

A dream is defined as “a series of thoughts, images or emotions occuring during sleep”

(Webster’s 344). Sound exciting, don’t they. Dreams are, in fact, much more than that. It is

dreams, not eyes, that are the true windows to the soul. Now that we have established what

dreams are, why do we have them. First of all, there is a reason. They are not mere

hallucinations caused by neurons and chemicals in the brain, but neither are they mystical or

supernatural visions meant to guide our lives(Kramer 56).

Dreams are caused by the area of the mind called the subconscious (Freud). It’s

responsible for collecting nearly every detail of your life you think you forgot and analyzing it

until all of your mental and social obstacles make sense. It is usually productive and helpful, as

far as mental health is concerned, but it can harbor unhealthy desires, such as the fear of success,

clowns, water, and all the other wierd stuff you irrationally avoid. The subconscious is almost

completely separate from the conscious mind (the mind you think with when you’re awake).

There are some links that are disputed as to their validity, such as hypnosis and slips of the

tounge (Freud), but dreams are the most recognized link between these two important parts of

the mind. Generally speaking, if you are in good mental health, your dreams will provide a

means of coping with your daily problems through a metaphorical backdrop. They usually don’t

exactly tell you how to solve your problems, they sort of soothe your mind, basically calming it

down. That’s why you don’t have to remember them the next day for them to have an effect. The

reason you don’t usually remember them, and almost never remember them well, is that they are

only run through your short-term memory (Lawrence 1-8). The long-term memory is asleep like

everything else.

However, not all of your dreams are intended to cope with daily problems. For one thing,

sometimes you might somehow, through some freak of circumstance, actually have a good day.

In such rare cases as this, your subconscious sets to work on more long-term tasks. Kind of like

when all the normal housework is done, and you decide to work on cleaning out the basement.

These tasks are things like social anxieties, anger problems, issues with your mother, and all that

other mental clutter. Now, the subconsious mind, despite all of its wisdom, cannot simply fix all

of your problems. Unfortunately, the best it can do is try it’s hardest to bring them to your

attention. This is no easy task, and because of that memory thing I mentioned earlier, it rarely

works. It can be very successful in rare instances called lucid dreams, which will be discussed

later.

There are two main reasons for studying dreams. One is so therapists can better

understand their patients. The other is to learn more about dreams in general, so that therapists

can better understand their patients. (Okay, so in a way, there’s only one reason, but who’s

writing this paper, you or me.)

Therapist Gayle Delaney says it best: “Doing (psychological) therapy without dream

interpretation is like doing orthopedics without X rays” (Colt 41). Therapists analyze their

patients’ dreams based on generally accepted research and on what they know about the

individual. This is often a daunting task, since the patient rarely remembers anything more than

small fragments of information from a dream. Because of the unreliability of dream memory,

dreams are normally discussed only when the dream itself is the problem. Such problems are

recurring nightmares or just simple curiosity about a dream’s meaning. That meaning is usually

determined b

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