Dreams offer perceptions into one's present condition
When one makes a record of the events that occur in his dreams and compares them to everything else that is happening in his life, they come to a self-realization. Exploring dream content and connecting it to the dreamer's waking existence, according to Edwards et al. (2013), "can help in the achievement of insights and self-understanding." (p. 10). The majority of problems experienced during the day and the things one values most are the subjects of dreams. Sleep and visions are influenced by a variety of things. Understanding such interactions results in altering one's conduct going forward. These three main insights are further discussed in the succeeding sections of this paper.
Contents of dreams
Like a crumpled piece of paper, a dream only gives bits and pieces of the things that bother a person. One has to open the paper to see the entire picture and gain an understanding. This writer remembers standing in the middle of a road feeling confused and uncertain. Other kinds of metaphors for choices kept recurring for several nights. This writer has realized that such pictures of making a choice is related to the change in degree that this writer has been contemplating for some time. There are no definite plans of when the change will take place or if such decision will be made. However, such issue has become part of the dreams that keep recurring for several nights.
Another theme recorded in the dreams is family time
Such scenes include being in the kitchen while the wife prepares dinner, playing with my child, talking with my brother, and having walks together with the family. Dreams like these manifest my longing for my family. Since I am deployed, I do not see them often and I miss them a lot. During the day, my work and studies fill up my schedule and I have to focus on completing my tasks. Exhaustion after a day’s work can lead to immediate sleep, however the things that I am emotionally attached to appears in my sleep through my dreams. These dreams of being with my wife and kid are situations that I am wishing that could occur at the present time, but since these are not possible due to distance, these become wish-fulfillment dreams. Like Freud’s belief, "dreams express the hallucinatory fulfillment of wishes" (Boag 2016). These scenes with my family members show that they are always in my thoughts both consciously and unconsciously.
Interaction of psychological and physical health
There were instances when this writer woke up in the middle of the night feeling confused and worried after a dream wherein my child calls for me needing my help but I was not able to reach my kid. Such dream bothered me the entire day. I felt worried for my child and I felt guilty for not being there. Dreams such as these affect me physically in the sense that there is a feeling of sadness and worry. Sometimes, I have also realized that whenever my day has been very exhausting and I have happy dreams with my family I wake up feeling less tired and more refreshed. It seems that the psychological awareness gives reassurance and motivation which translates to a better physical health.
Impact of several factors on dreams and sleep
Stress, fatigue and exercise affect my dreams and sleep. During days of extreme stress, I wake up several times in the night due to dreams of running after a bus or going after someone and not being able to reach my goal. There are instances when I dream of particular scenes during the day, like being reprimanded or questioned by a superior. Stressful situations during the day continue through the night through the dreams. Sleeping patterns are then affected.
When strenuous exercises are done during the day leading to the release of stress and tension, my dreams are more relaxing. Sometimes, I wake up feeling refreshed with the knowledge that I had a good dream but just could not ignore it. These kind of sequence of events has made me believe that when I have a good day, my dreams would also be pleasant. This kind of interaction just shows that external factors can have positive or negative effects on my psychological well-being.
Impact on future decisions and behavior
This exercise of going through the dreams for the past two weeks has given me a greater understanding of the interaction between my waking hours and sleeping patterns. I realized that the things that bother me, or those experiences I value most show themselves in my dreams. I began to understand that dreams have a link to my conscious decisions. For example, when my wife or my child shows up in my dream, it means that I am longing for their company. I do not interpret these dreams as metaphors for things to come or premonitions of some sort. I look at these dreams as reminders of what I value in life as well as the things that have been bothering me for some time. I do not have a lot of time in my waking hours to dwell on these matters extensively because of my responsibilities at work. Therefore, in sleep these matters come out in dreams.
The realization about the interaction between my dreams and my conscious decisions can help me in my future decisions. The dreams help me to know which issues bother me or which parts need to be further examined. I can get additional insights from dreams because I can go through the process of looking deeper into my feelings about issues and events. I begin to think that "Ah, I need to further examine this issue because there is more to it" or that "I seem to be affected by it." An example is living separately from my family because of work. Images of my wife and kid keep appearing in my dreams. Therefore, I need to acknowledge how much I miss them and do something about. The decisions I make in relation to my job and family situation may vary a little because of the additional input from my dream diary.
In relation to dreams about issues that bother me, it helps to know that I need to look at these issues. My decision on how to resolve such matters are influenced by the knowledge I acquire from assessing the severity of issues. Such move to examine these are brought about by the exercise of listing down the dream contents. It is like listening to oneself more. Our psychological self can also provide a clearer picture about the decisions that has to be made in our career, work, and family relationships.
References
Boag, S. (2016). On Dreams and Motivation: Comparison of Freud’s and Hobson’s Views. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 2001. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02001.
Edwards, C. L., Ruby, P. M., Malinowski, J. E., Bennett, P. D., & Blagrove, M. T. (2013). Dreaming and insight. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 979. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00979.
