This article was automatically translated from the original Turkish version.
Have you ever felt that a scene you once dreamed of suddenly appeared in real life? Or have you ever woken up convinced that the dream you just had was delivering you a message?
At this point, dreams are not merely images that occupy our minds during the silence of night; they are complex, meaningful, and sometimes mesmerizing messages sent to us by our unconscious mind.
So what do these messages mean?
In this article, we will step into the mysterious world of dreams and explore how they connect us with our unconscious mind.
A dream is the totality of sensory, cognitive and emotional experiences that arise in the mind during sleep.
Dreams typically occur during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, as this stage is characterized by high brain activity and ongoing cognitive processes.
Dreams are also images, thoughts or feelings that emerge during sleep. Visual images are the most common, but dreams can involve all the senses.
While some people experience colorful dreams, others see black and white dreams, and individuals who are blind tend to have dreams with stronger auditory, taste and olfactory components.
We need dreams for our mental, emotional and physical well-being.
Dreams help us manage emotions, memories and other information effectively. We can easily access information about how sleep regulates metabolism, brain function and blood pressure. However, explaining the role of dreams remains challenging for researchers.
A dominant theory suggests that dreaming helps us consolidate memories and analyze them, serving as a form of preparation for various challenges and situations we encounter while awake.
Dr. Drerup states that we are more likely to dream during REM sleep. He also adds that dreaming during this stage is associated with memory consolidation.
“I believe dreaming represents important cognitive functions. The brain activity that occurs while we dream resembles the brain activity involved in memory processing when we are awake.”
When you experience more stress or anxiety, you are more likely to dream frequently. The types of dreams you have also change. Dr. Drerup notes that nightmares or stressful dreams, such as being chased or placed in frightening situations, are common during periods of stress. “This is one of the theories about why we dream,” he says. “Our dreams may help us process and manage our emotions.”
According to Freud, the unconscious is a reservoir of thoughts and emotions we are not consciously aware of but that shape our lives.
Dreams serve as a bridge between this reservoir and our conscious mind.
For example, you might feel lost in a dream or be chasing someone.
Such themes often indicate that your unconscious mind is drawing attention to unresolved issues or suppressed desires.
Dreams also provide a space for processing trauma or difficult experiences. According to Carl Jung, dreams reflect not only the personal unconscious but also the collective unconscious.
Archetypes (meaningful patterns) and universal symbols are part of the multi-layered meanings found in dreams.
Symbols: Every element you see in a dream may be a message from your unconscious mind expressed in its own unique language. For instance, water often represents emotions, while a house may reflect your mental state.
Recurring dreams: Dreams with the same theme may signal unresolved problems or repressed emotions.
Lucid dreams: Lucid dreaming is a state in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming and can consciously intervene within the dream. This offers an opportunity for direct interaction with the unconscious mind.
Prophetic dreams: Prophetic dreams refer to dreams believed to foretell future events. Although there is no scientific basis for such dreams, many cultures hold beliefs in these kinds of experiences.
Ultimately, dreams are reflections of our unconscious mind, dancing in the depths of our mind throughout the night.
They are not merely byproducts of sleep but a mysterious realm where our unconscious thoughts, desires and fears take shape.
Sometimes they confront us with fear and anxiety; other times they seek solutions to unresolved problems.
Discovering the meaning and function of dreams is not only about achieving deeper self-awareness but also embarking on a journey to decode the language of our unconscious mind.
Every dream carries meaning; you simply need the courage to find it. Sometimes a dream leaves behind only a memory upon waking; other times it compels us to reevaluate our lives.
Dreams are reflections of the unconscious mind’s processes of survival, learning and healing, unfolding in the silence of night.
What is a dream?
Why do we dream?
The connection between the unconscious mind and dreams
Decoding dreams