Dream Analysis

Dream Analysis

To understand the functioning of dreams is a concept that we may never fully comprehend. For years scientist and psychologist have contemplated and came up with many different theories that have attempt to explain dreaming and its purpose. One explanation includes the principle that dreams make connections between old memories, such as a traumatic experience for example. These connections are also influenced by the dreamer is experiencing. The theory states that our dreams then “contextualize” these emotions into visual images. To dream is to simply visualize both the memories and the dominant emotions that one has experienced.

According to Ernest Hartman who has conducted numerous case studies on dreams in correlation with trauma, “Dreams make connections between traumatic events and other material, such as old memories, including memories of past trauma. These connections seem to be guided principally by the emotions and emotional concerns of the dreamer” (Hartmann 7). In one particular case, he studies the dreams of a rape victim to better exemplify how emotions influence our dreams. Following the rape, the victim had several dreams that involved some sort of physical conflict and struggle. In this case terror is the emotion that is repeatedly being expressed in response to the frightening struggle actually experienced in the rape.

Following a rape, a victim may suffer from Post Traumatic Stress disorder. This is a psychological disorder that follows a traumatic experience in which the individual suffers from reoccurring flashbacks of the event and of the emotions experienced.. One of the symptoms includes reoccurring dreams or nightmares symbolizing or reflecting emotions experienced during the trauma (MedlinePlus). This is hard evidence to support Hartmann’s theory and beliefs.

A dream I have had recently also clearly demonstrates how our emotions and past experiences play a key role in the development of our dreams;

While vacationing with my family on an exotic island I win the lottery and become financially stable for the rest of my life. The first thing that I buy an airplane so I can go to California. I run into friend I have met at college and invite him to join my sister and I on our journey. On the plane there is a faceless woman who is holding an infant in her hands. As the plane starts to take off I can no longer resist the urge to take the baby into my arms. Just as I take the baby into my arms, the plane suddenly stops. I look for the woman but she has disappeared. Suddenly both pilots jump out of the plane and the only people who remain are my sister, the baby, and my friend Seth who is knocked unconscious. Suddenly the plane starts to reverse and I realize that we are about to crash into the ocean. Realizing that I am responsible for our survival, I kick out the window just as the water starts rushing in. I grab Seth and the infant and swim to shore. As my sister and I were pulling Seth ashore a shark ate Seth killing him. The next thing I know I am standing at his funeral looking down at him lying in a casket. Just as I am mourning over his death he suddenly yawns and rolls over.

The plane crash in my dream could simply be a manifestation of a recent car accident I was in. My father, sister, and I had been pulling out of our driveway onto rt. 46 when a blazer smashed into our car. My father was knocked unconscious while the car spun out of control and headed straight for our home. In the chaos of the instant I realized that my father was unconscious and I had to stop the car before we crashed into our front porch.

The way my dream is set up is very similar to the actual accident. In my dream I am responsible for the lives of an infant child and for an unconscious friend while in the actual accident I was responsible for my little sister in the back, and for my father, who