Monday, February 23, 2009

What’s in a Dream?

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Mental Health Monday

A few weeks ago I had a dream, within a dream. It really puzzled me, I started wondering what is a dream, and what do they mean? I also have prophetic dreams, I have a handful of these dreams every year (yes, I am insane, just call me Miss Cleo).

Dreams happen during REM sleep. Heart rate and respiration speed up and become erratic, while the face, fingers, and legs may twitch. Intense dreaming occurs during REM sleep as a result of heightened cerebral activity, but paralysis occurs simultaneously in the major voluntary muscle groups, including the muscles of the chin and neck. A person typically has 3-5 periods of REM sleep a night. An episode of REM can last anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour.

There are many hypotheses on what the exact function of a dream is. Freud thought that bad dreams let the brain learn to gain control over emotions from distressing experiences. Jung thought that dreams may compensate for one-sided attitudes held in waking consciousness.

Many people dream about emotions, the most common being anxiety. Only 8% of men’s and women’s dreams are sex related. Some sex dreams can result in orgasm or nocturnal emission (that word really makes me giggle.) 70% of women have recurring dreams, where men only have 65%. The most common dreams include school, being chased, running slowly in place, falling, being late, a person now alive is dead or vice versa, teeth falling out, flying, future events, embarrassing moments, falling in love with random people, failing a test, not being able to move, not being able to see, car accidents, being accused of a crime you did not commit, and being naked in public, to name a few.

I have recurring dreams about my teeth breaking and falling out, the brakes going out on my car, and flying (I love those dreams).

What recurring dreams do you have?

I'm reading: What’s in a Dream?Tweet this! Posted by Beth Mancuso at 7:11 AM
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7 comments:

  1. Ok so I am probably going to be saying to much but hey that is what blogging is all about right! I dream of my husband leaving me constantly. Or having my mother (who is too old) to be pregnant. Or I am alone with my children. A single mother. Am I crazy too. As a child I would always dream about being abducted and being held as a captive and being tortured so scared I could even move. So I think I have been crazy for my whole life. :)
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  2. I don't dream frequently, but when I do, it's always something odd. Either something angry towards hubby, or something old from my high school days. I hate the ones, though, that are just mixed-up, scrambled bits and pieces of weirdness, that don't "go" together. Those frustrate me because they just don't make sense.
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  3. In the past, I have also had my teeth breaking and falling out AND the brakes going out on my car....Oh, and also that I am "running late" especailly for college exams.
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  4. Bethany, I cant imagine having dreams of my hubby leaving thats awful.
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  5. I started having these really AWFUL nightmares after my oldest was born. Dreams about him dying or being killed. They were so intense that I would wake up moaning and balling to a soaked pillow. It got to the point that I could no longer sleep for fear of the dreams, I went and saw a therapist about it and was told that it was common for mothers to have these sorts of dreams and it was typically associated with post-partum depression. (Beth this is Brittany by the way, and I LOVE reading your blog!! Anthony told be about it a few weeks ago and I am now an avid follower. I love the topics you choose and how you write)
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  6. Hi Brittany! Thanks for reading and commenting. Your dreams sound awful!
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  7. Hi :)

    Great post !

    I came across your blog via a discussion thread in blogcatolog.
    Dreams are weird arn't they at times!!
    I used to dream about my teeth falling out too!
    I am now having problems with them at the age of 43 !, and have had to have quite a few extractions of late . I always says its because of those dreams LOL
    I also used to dream that I could never drive a car straight, that it would go in different directions to how I was driving it lol. Same when I rode horses in my dreams.

    I have been having quite a few dreams where I see events happening. I wrote about it in my blog just recently.

    Years ago I used to suffer with really bad nightmares. I was told to get some particular crystals and place them in my pillow case. Well they got even worse for a while after that, but eventually they went away. Not sure if it was a coincidence or not, but it helped me anyway! :)

    My Mother had a weird one recently. My brother and his wife have been having marriage problems for a long time now, so it's been on my Mum's mind naturally. But a couple weeks ago my Mum had a very distressing dream she could see boxes packed up, furniture in different spots around the house, and she also saw a completely different house, in her dream.

    The next day she rang my brother about something (not to do with the dream), and he told her his wife was leaving him, and she had found a rental house and was leaving that next day! spooky hey!

    Anyway just wanted to share with you about this subject as well. Sorry about it being so long!;-)
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