The Mystery behind your Dreams

All of us used to have dreams during sleep. We often wonder what it means. We discuss the dreams with our close ones and might have done an analysis on it by ourselves. Or you might have browsed in the net to get an idea with the vari0us parts of your dream on what really happened. There are many who regularly note down the dreams and keep a record and do an analysis later.

However, experts take these to be very important factors of the psychological condition of a person.  They consider this to be the best source to know about a person.   It is a major factor of the psychological therapies.  Here we will take a look at this in details. What does a dream mean? What does it convey? 

Dream Analysis: The exact Meaning

Dream analysis itself is a very good tool in therapy.  It is also a healing process.  In the dream analysis, the apparent happenings in the dream is examined to get to the inner meanings.  The apparent part is the one that the mind knows and seen in the dream. The later part examines it to be the representation of many feelings inside the mind.  This activity of examining the surface level dream to reach on conclusions with the inner meaning is known as  Dream Analysis.

The theory of Dream Analysis

Experts in the filed opine that the person comes across has got a lot to do with their innermost desires and worries.  People involved in the process of dream analysis believe that the dreams are very useful to understand people.   Dream analysis helps to analyse all those hidden things embedded in the mind and gives a clear picture of this.  This will help not only the analysts to know better about the person but also is beneficial for the very persons to know themselves better.    

Dreams and the Psychological state of Minds

Studies are still on why and what are the reasons for dreams and the particular vague elements in the dreams. Sleep is one of the most important body function.   After studies happening all these years, the experts have come on a conclusion that, dreams happen all through the hours of sleep.  However, clear and bright dreams happen when you are in the Rapid Eye Movement sleep. 

After studies, some of the experts in the field opine that dreams which we see at night is a representation of the transmission of the thoughts of conscious and sub-conscious mind. Dreams convey those complex thoughts which are difficult for the conscious mind to extract and digest, and are away from the reach of consciousness.  Dreams are also at times, a reason for the mind to deal with certain complex emotions and situations.  Take, for example, you come across a very bad situation in your life. Following this, you will usually have some dreams relating to that trauma itself.  This is because the real-life situation is getting processed and you are in the process of resolving it.

Psychoanalysis V/s Dream Analysis

 Since a long time, Psychoanalysis is closely associated with Dream analysis. It is one of the early forms of therapy and is well known. Psychoanalysts often use the technique of dream analysis. Not only the psychoanalysts but any mental health practitioners shall use this technique.  History shows that dream analysis was very popularly used in Psychoanalysis.

Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud, the father of Psychoanalysis has also contributed a lot towards Dream Analysis, since its origin.  Freud describes dreams as the “Royal Road” to the unconscious.  Freud opined that the unconscious mind of the humans is the storage of every information. He said that dreams are a collection of much-hidden information.  When a person comes to know about some information through a dream, this gives the person enlightenment, which will, in turn, have a positive effect as a whole.   However, he was of the opinion that an only an expert therapist could analyse and reach on conclusions

Carl Jung

Carl Jung was a disciple of Sigmund Freud. He also has the same opinion about dreams are a source of information and can reveal much information about one’s mind.  He did not agree with the point of Freud that only an expert can come to conclusion about a dream.   He later separated from Freud and came up with other theories about dream and conscious.

Effect of dream analysis on a person

Dream analysis has a considerable effect on a person.  It particularly helps a person to find himself and become his self.  This will help the person to connect with his/her unconscious in a better way.  The hidden things in the unconscious of a person now become known for the person in the form of a dream. This will help them to work on their selves.

Analyzing dream by yourself

All of us have had dreams at night and we have at some point attempted to analyze it by ourselves.  But none of us has an idea on how to do this.  Experts opine that the self-dream analysis is the best way of getting to know about one’s self.  Dream analysis helps to clear out much confusion.  But it will always be helpful to take the help of a therapist for this.

Dream Analysis Techniques

Dream Analysis is the most popular tool used for mental therapies.  If you go to a mental therapist for dream analysis, they will most probably be using this technique of dream analysis. There are many ways of applying this technique of dream analysis. Most therapists will be asking you to document your dreams in writing.  You will have to take note of all your dreams by writing them in a diary or a notebook once you wake up from the dream.  You will have to write all the minute things which you remember about the dream. This is to make sure that you do not miss out or forget any of your dreams.   Many studies reveal that this is useful for a close study and observance of the dreams.

Once you are done with the documentation of what you saw in the dream, you will have to analyze yourself on your feeling during the dream. What is the emotion or feeling that you felt during the dream? What was your approach or reaction towards the happening in the dream? Also, try to describe the feeling you had soon after waking up from the dream. Try to measure your level of comfort with the dream.  Sometimes people have unique feelings in their dream, which they cannot experience or have not yet experienced.

Dream Analysis the Process

Once you have closely examined your dreams start working on it to find out what they actually mean. Find out the representations in the dream and try to figure out what does it symbolize.  What are the repeating thoughts of the dream?  Find the similarity between your thoughts in a dream and those when you are awake.

Do not miss out any of the details of your dreams while analyzing.  The important representations and symbols might be present in the minute details of your dream which you might give attention. Take for example the presence of other people and other happenings actually mean much more than what you expect.

There are dream dictionaries which help you analyse your dream.  However, experts do not recommend the usage of Dream Dictionaries. They opine that there is no such universal meaning or representation for any of the dream elements.  Each of the elements of your dream is something that is uniquely conveyed to you.  You will have to conclude the meanings of your dreams. The most suitable analyzer of your dreams is you yourself.  No one else can do the best of it other than you. The help of a therapist will also help you get through it easily.

When you depend on a therapist for analyzing this, you will have to explain the whole dream to your therapist.  You will have to discuss the whole dream and discuss certain major peculiar elements of the dream. This will help you to extract new information out of your dream and will help you to understand your dream in depth. Once you get to know about your dream in depth, it will also help you to understand yourself more.

In the therapy, you will also get to know how to link the dream with your daily life. They shall be talking about the dream as well as anything which comes to their mind.  This is a combination talk of the dream as well as the self.  This talk will give an easy link to dream analysis and in a deep manner.  This type of dream analysis is known as the Free Association.

The result of Dream Analysis

 Studies and expert opinions reveal that dream analysis does work and is helpful for mental therapy.  However, this shall not be used as the only one method by a therapist. This can act as a supporting technique along with others.   This is usually applied at abroad sense as per the preference of the person if they feel it be beneficial.  

Why Dream Analysis

 The exact aim of dream analysis is to act as a solution for some psychological issue. T the dreams are results of ourselves and our thoughts.  Based on the type of issue and the problem of mind, any of the various techniques of dream analysis shall be used.

Training for Dream Analysis Specialists 

A person, who wishes to practice Dream Analysis with the client will first have to secure basic education on the topic, maybe from an expert in the field.  After this, they will have to get some practical experience from and knowledge by taking some cases for study initially.

Dream analysis is widely being used by mental therapists and psychoanalysts since ages.  This is also a major tool in the Gestalt Therapy (a psychotherapeutic approach developed by Fritz Perls focusing on insight into gestalts in patients and their relations to the world). Here the person is asked to play out the situation in the dream as it happened.  Many with all or some of the elements which they remember.  This will add o t the understanding of the dream and grasp meanings out of it.  There are also therapists who work on the imagery of the dream.  This approach is known as an existential approach.  Here they act as an evident part of the dream.

The Defects of Dream Analysis

The advantages of dream analysis have already been proved through studies done so far.  However, the study of dream analysis and dreams as such is not an easy task.  There are many psychologists who opine that dreams are just a biological process of the body. They say that dreams happen during the brain activation.  They are of the opinion that dreams have got nothing to do with the unconscious of the human mind.  The difficulty in studying dream analysis also acts as a hindrance in the overall success of the dream analysis technique.

Dream Analysis Therapist 

If you are in need of help of a dream analysis therapist,  you will have to approach a therapist in accordance with your problem specifically. Browse online for the best therapists near you. Find out their specialization, whether that suits you or not.  Ask your close ones to suggest the best option for you. 

Tips to remember when you go to a therapist.

Make sure that you choose a licensed therapist – A LMHP ( Licensed Mental Health Professional)  who is knowledgeable and well experienced in the field of therapy. 

If you are going for a mental therapy with dream analysis, it will be better for you to approach someone who has good experience in the specific field of dream analysis therapy.  You might be choosing this because you will have to solve out some mental issues.  Thus make sure that they are used to this and have good experience in doing this and solving problems similar to that of yours.

 Also, go for that therapist, whom you can comfortably deal with.  As you are approaching with a problem make sure to choose a person, with whom you can be free.

Know your therapist, before the therapy

Get to know about the whole process of therapy before starting the session.  Ask the therapist on what is the actual method, what are the techniques that will be used in the therapy. Refer some testimonials if possible. If you wish to have a dream analysis as a part of your therapy ask about that also. How useful is it? How practical and productive it is etc.  You may also explain your problem or need of therapy and ask the therapist how they are going to deal with it specifically. You may also ask the possible result of the therapy and how is the therapist going to mark the result of the therapy.

How to find the best Therapist

 The best and highly recommendable way of finding a therapist is to ask your close ones about one and go to the therapist in person.  You may also choose a therapist from a trustworthy source – a website. They can suggest you a good, to the standard therapist, whom you can choose from many.  SAMSHA is a website that will help you to choose a therapist near your location

There are many online platforms from which you can get Mental Therapy online, without going to the therapist.  There are many user-friendly sites like thrive talk which is easy for you to start with.  You also have the option to choose from many therapist sins the platform.  You may choose someone specifically if you wish to choose from a good list of dream analyzers.  You may choose a convenient time and get a convenient appointment.

Dream analysis is an intervention into the mental state of the person by the analysis of the dreams that come in their sleep.  They can be used to support the process of Mental Therapy of a person which I used as a tool to understand one’s self and improve the mental functioning as a whole.