The Unconscious Mind
Dreams. They are so strange, yet so interesting at the same time. I’m sure that like myself, every single one of you have had a funky dream at one point or another. Heck, once I had a dream that I was getting picked up from school, and a hippo stomped on my sister. Another time I dreamt about red ants invading my house. Last but not least, the night before my first dance competition I dreamt that I fell off the stage. I wish I could say that’s as crazy as my dreams get, but that’s only the start. For so long I wondered where these dreams came from, and for any of you wondering the same thing, here is a super simplified answer.
In AP Psychology, we spent some time studying sleep and dreams. Many psychologists have developed theories in order to explain why we dream about certain things. Sigmund Freud, one of the most well-known psychologists, believed that dreams stemmed from the unconscious. This theory stated that dreams are the expression of our repressed, deepest thoughts. This could explain why ex-friends or problems that someone has been pushing aside may magically appear in their dreams without any other explanation. I believe I can even relate this theory to my red ant dream. I have always been so scared of insects/bugs, so when we learned about red ants in second grade, I really had to keep myself together. But later that night, my dreams were infested by the little crawlers.
There is also another very popular dream theory. It is referred to as the activation synthesis model. It was initially proposed by J. Allen Hobson and Robert McCarley. They believed that in deep REM sleep, various parts of the brain become activated. The stimulation of different brain regions combine with random things that happen or are discussed throughout your day and result in dreams. That would be a great explanation for my dance dream. I was stressing about dance so much that week that it caused it me to dream about messing up on stage.
The whole concept of dreaming has always been so fascinating to me. Like myself, my best friend always has the craziest dreams, so in quarantine we started sharing any we remembered. It was so cool to see what our minds brought to us every night. One day, our dreams were completely synced up; that was by far the biggest wow moment for us. After some light research, we found out that sometimes close friends have the same dream and the plots can even intertwine. It is amazing how you never truly know what to expect from dreams because your mind can formulate any story no matter how far off it may seem. The ways in which the mind works are truly incredible.
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| A pretty dream landscape! |
Honestly, I don't really buy into Freud's theory about dreaming. Then again, most of his theories were overwrought speculation, so I'm not sure why I'm surprised. I don't really have the patience for dreams or dream analysis either, so kudos to you for actually being interested in this.
ReplyDeleteI think this is so awesome. I can really drive myself crazy if I try to understand dreams and the mind in this way. I think that your sources were super interesting and relatable. It is crazy how outside pressures and even things you don't realize are upsetting you can make an appearance in your dreams. I have to say I can definitely agree with Freud's theory. Past relationships that I thought were forgotten still can be the focus of my dreams sometimes which is un-nerving and weird to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated with dreams as well, especially those that foreshadow actions that occur in in real life. I have had an experience once of twice where I dreamt of something that occurred later on in my life. These little moments of deja vu are so interesting and make me wonder where we get these dreams from and how my brain can almost predict certain events in my future. Many people have these powerful moments and dreams that move them to change there life, which often saves them from a terrible outcome.I have heard so many survivor stories, where people have a bad dream, changed there plans and luckily avoided a terrible accident that otherwise they would have been in the middle of. I think the wiring of our brains is incredible and something I definitely want to learn more about.
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