Essay about Dreams The Mental Pictures - 918 Words

The average person spends more than one-third of their life sleeping, and over this period of time he or she can have as many as 1,825 dreams (Wicklinski). By definition, dreams are mental images, thoughts, or emotions that are experienced while sleeping. In the beginning, dreams were thought to be messages sent from the gods or spirit world. Researchers now have many theories explaining why people dream. Many of these theories believe that dreams can resemble an individual’s sensory experiences or even secret wishes. All people dream, but only forty-two percent can recall their dreams from the night before (â€Å"Dreams†). Dreaming is important because it can impact people’s health, provide insight into what they are feeling, and reveal†¦show more content†¦Without REM sleep, people can experience hallucinations or â€Å"waking dreams,† which can affect their memory, learning, and ability to focus on tasks. Through science it has been prov en that dreaming is essential to the prosperity of a human’s mental health and can even improve one’s mood. By interpreting a person’s dreams, psychologists can gain insight into the emotions he or she may be feeling. Sigmund Freud was one of the first researchers to publish a book on his knowledge of dreams. Freud believed that dreams are the â€Å"royal road to the unconscious† and contain a person’s unconscious desires (â€Å"Sigmund Freud†). Nowadays, dreams are interpreted not by their story, but by their emotional color. During sleep, the brain replays emotional experiences from throughout day. Often, dreams offer alternative solutions to these experiences. Many psychologists believe that taking actions in a dream can help a person feel better about a situation. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung believes that dreaming is meant to help heal one’s mind by presenting the sleeper with a problem and then offering a way to solve it ( â€Å"Greater Good†). If a person is feeling guilty, he or she may dream that the situation he or she is to blame for is actually the wrongdoing of someone else. In researcher William G. Domhof’s studies, he concludes that: Meaning has to do with coherence and with systematic relations to other variables, and in that regard dreams do have meaning. Furthermore,Show MoreRelated Dreams Essay621 Words   |  3 Pages Dreaming is a form of mental activity, different from waking thought, that occurs during sleep. The nature of dream activity has been characterized by many clinical and laboratory studies. These studies show that dreams are more perceptual than conceptual: Things are seen and heard rather than thought. In terms of the senses, visual experience is present in almost all dreams; auditory experience in 40 to 50 percent; and touch, taste, smell, and pain in a relatively small percentage. A considerableRead MoreEssay about A Tragic Demise in Short Story, Pauls Caseby Willa Cather589 Words   |  3 Pagesflower, Paul’s hope for change is very much alive. Throughout the story, the glass symbolizes the barrier between Paul’s reality and his dream. Towards the beginning, Paul leaves the Carnegie Hall and sees this singer/actress getting out of her carriage, she enters this grand hotel. Paul is left on the street, in the rain, while watching the lady enter his dream. â€Å"Paul followed the carriage over to the hotel, walking so rapidly as not to be far from the entrance when the singer alighted and disappearedRead MoreThe Movie Park Avenue : Money, Power And The American Dream858 Words   |  4 PagesThe Truth behind a Dream It is easy for a person to put away a dream as a mere fantasy that cannot be achieved in life. For this reason, people never take the opportunity to evaluate the true facts behind that dream. 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In addition, Steinbeck uses LennieRead MoreDr. King s Letter From Birmingham Jail1667 Words   |  7 Pageswas evident in the community, Dr. King delivered two of his most noted works called the â€Å"I have a Dream† speech and â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† to the public. These two pieces, quickly following each other in succession, were literary works of Dr. King devoted to the cause of racial equality and used eclectic devices and appeals to achieve that goal. King’s purpose bolstered in his â€Å"Letter† and â€Å"Dream† speech by key rhetorical devices are supported by audience oriented diction and appeals. King’sRead MoreThe Lucid Dreaming And How Can It Be A Method Of Psychotherapy For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Essay1124 Words   |  5 Pagesexperience lucid dreaming in the stage of REM sleep are aware of their dreams and able to control their dreams. Lucid dreaming could be a possible treatment for those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who suffer from nightmares. During lucid dreaming in a nightmare, the PTSD patients would be able to let go of their fear by recognizing the threats they have in their dreams are not real. PTSD patients can also transform their dreams into something more pleasant or try to wake up from their sleepRead MoreAct II Of William Shakespeare s Macbeth998 Words   |  4 Pagesloathsomeness that now influences Macbeth. As the scene closes, we listen, with the Macbeth s, an uproarious and relentless thumping at the entryway. Macbeth s renowned speech toward the start of this demonstration presents an imperative topic: dreams and fantasies created by blame. The dagger of the mind that Macbeth sees is but rather spooky or powerful an indication of the inward battle that Macbeth feels as he examines the regicide. It marshals the way he was going, driving him towardRead MoreLimitations Are Affecting Our Mental And Social Abilities962 Words   |  4 PagesAs Foer mentioned in his article, limitations are affecting our physical abilities to remember, but in Bechdel’s case, they are also affecting our mental and social abilities. In The Ordinary Devoted Mother, Bechdel focuses on her struggle to write caused by her relationship with her mother. Although her relationship is generally positive, there are bad aspects of it that make Bechdel’s job and life complicated, that limits her. This is especially evident when Bechdel says, â€Å"The thing is, I can’tRead MoreEssay On Post-Traumatic Disorder In The Things They Carried1094 Words   |  5 Pagesexperiences. However, these memories, manifesting in t he form of dreams, flashbacks or thoughts, or feelings may exist in some people for longer periods, and could lead to a mental disorder. According to Grohol (n.d), when a person directly witnesses an extremely traumatic, tragic, or terrifying event, the memories or feelings associated with such an experience may extended for a protracted period, more than considered normal, resulting in a mental disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which negativelyRead More`` Illiterate America `` By Jonathan Kozol959 Words   |  4 Pagesanalogies; he compares his experience of a terrifying dream he had to the nightmare illiterate Americans call life. â€Å"All the letters on the walls around me are cyrillic...I struggle†¦ I wake up in a panic†¦ This panic is not so different from the misery that millions of adult illiterates each day†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg.150) This analogy is placed in the text in hopes of making the audience vulnerable. His vivid details and explicit vocabulary , truly makes the dream come alive. Everyone can relate and remember their own