Psychologist Kendra Cherry defines dreams as “the images, thoughts and emotions that are experienced during sleep, which can be extraordinarily vivid or very vague; filled with joyful emotions or frightening imagery; focused and understandable or unclear and confusing” (Cherry, 2014). There are many dream theories that attempt to explain why people dream and how dreams are formed. However, there is no agreement on exact reasons for dreaming. The theories attempt to explain what goes on when one dreams, the source of content of dreams, and the reasons behind the dreams.
One of the popular theories is the psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud which holds that dreams are a representation of motivations, desires and thoughts (Cherry, 2014). The theory suggests that the human mind is driven by intense desire of sexual or aggressive nature, which are however, suppressed by the conscious mind. These thoughts and desires are actualized in the subconscious mind through dreams where the person becomes more aware of their existence. This theory is often applied in the interpretation of dreams (Cherry, 2014). An example is someone dreaming that they are falling down a very high tower; however, before they get down to the ground, they wake up. Sigmund’s theory would explain this as the dreamer’s unfulfilled desires for extreme adventures which are then manifested and nearly realized through their dreams.
The other theory is the Activation- Synthesis model of dreaming, which, according to Cherry, was proposed in 1977 by Robert McClarley and Allan Hobson (2014). Their model suggests that during REM sleep, brain circuits are activated which awakens the part of the brain that controls, emotions, memories and sensation. This activation makes the brain to try and interpret the images, sensations and other information, which are then relayed in the form of a dream. This theory therefore holds that dreams are as a result of internal processes rather than external, maintaining that the fragmented images hold some meaning. An example is when dreams of many different scenes and people all being at a common place despite them being unrelated. Like having distant family members with one at school and not remembering details of exactly what they were doing there. It shows that the brain is taking the snippets of thoughts, images and emotions and creating some sense from them.
The other theory is that dreams are a representation of what goes on in one’s life when they are awake. This theory postulates that whatever goes on in one’s life when they are awake, that is, their thoughts, fears, responsibilities, relationships and interactions; all manifest when they sleep and he brain tries to process and sort out this information. The dreams therefore reflect the person’s life. This theory suggests that dreams have real symbols but these symbols do not hold any deeper meaning, but rather surface meaning. An example is when one does an exam at school and then dreams about the exam all over again. Or when one has an exciting or traumatic experience and then keeps dreaming of a similar thing with different details.
The Dream
Many times when I dream, I never remember the dream the next morning. However, there is one dream that has often featured in my sleep, albeit with different details each time. One of these days when I had this dream, it started at a scene where my college friends and I were jogging, practicing for a marathon that was coming up later that month. It was midsummer under the sweltering heat jogging down the blocks around the campus, tired, thirsty, and dripping with sweat. The race went on many hours, before we broke off to return to our different tasks. I grabbed my sports backpack and together with my friend Ty, started out on our way home, where he would stay over for the weekend. We hurried off without eating of having refreshments since we wanted to get there before dark. Upon arriving home, we found a big gathering of my friends and family members and relatives from afar, who had organized a grand birthday for me. I had not remembered that it was my birthday so the party was a total surprise. The food was all set; the table was crowded with many inviting delicacies. We hurried off to have a quick shower after which we settled down for the meal. My grandmother said the grace and that is the point at which I woke up, wishing that I could back to sleep and at least have a bite!
Explanation
This dream can be explained using two theories: Sigmund Fred’s psychoanalytic theory, and the manifestation of wake-life theory. As Sigmund’s postulates that dreams are a manifestation of desires, the dream seemed to represent a hidden desire for recognition and exiting events, which was fulfilled by the surprise birthday party by family, just for me- recognition, and the excitement of a grand party- desire for excitement. On the other hand, the dream can be explained through the manifestation of wake-life events. Earlier that day, I had spent the whole day revising for a test that I had considered bit challenging. I ended up going without lunch since the test was in the afternoon and I did not want to waste time looking for lunch. I later went home but was so tired to fix a proper meal, ending up with a sandwich with milk. The dream must have been a manifestation of my hunger and long day of work.
References
Cherry, K. (2014). Why Do We Dream? The Most Popular Theories. About.com Health. Retrieved 15 March 2016, from http://psychology.about.com/od/statesofconsciousness/p/dream-theories.htm
