John Hopton for redOrbit.com – @Johnfinitum
Why do we dream what we dream, and what do dreams tell us about our psychological well-being? We have all heard the pseudo-science and guesswork, but redOrbit spoke to a leading expert from the University of Montreal, Dr. Antonio Zadra, to find out the truth.
“First off, there are very rarely universal meaning to objects in our dreams, and what dreams mean to individuals varies greatly from one person to another,” Dr. Zadra began by qualifying. “So what our brain tries to pick out to represent things for us depends on our waking experiences.”
“That being said,” he continued, “there are certainly a range of themes that are common in people and have been recorded almost since the dawn of time, and they must have special significance, since we have them so often.”
Let’s take a look at some of the classics.
Being chased, falling, being trapped
“Being chased, falling, and being lost or trapped all fall into the same category, and that is people being conflicted about certain waking emotions,” Dr. Zadra said. “But more specifically they are related to our social network and personal relationships.”
“Being lost or trapped is related to unsatisfying relationships or ones which we cannot escape from.”
Teeth falling out
“Teeth falling out is one of the most prevalent recurrent dreams and one of the most common dream themes, too,” said Dr. Zadra. (Common dreams are dreams which many people experience at some time in their lives, reoccurring dreams are ones that people have repeatedly).
“There are two schools of thought. One is that the dream results from physical sensations in our mouth, for example if we go to bed without brushing our teeth. Some people also grind their teeth during the night.”
“Psychologically, there are a number of theories for teeth falling out dreams. One is lacking confidence or feeling we are unattractive to others – we’re newly single or we recently met someone we are attracted to. It may also be related to aging. Losing one’s teeth is a great metaphor for these things.”
“However,” he added, “this may also be related to feeling we are unable to defend ourselves or to express our anger towards someone; we literally don’t have the ‘bite’ to protect or express ourselves.”
Natural disasters
“With earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, things of that nature, people might be overwhelmed by these or want to save the day,” Dr. Zadra suggested.
“These kinds of images are a good metaphor for a great range of things. With an earthquake, everything crumbling around us, it could be a relationship, or something that we worked very hard to create, such as a business.”
“We may feel overwhelmed and over-powered, in business, in relationships, in studies. They don’t tie in to very specific events, but what all of these events have in common is a feeling of being helpless and vulnerable with respect to what we are living.”
Nakedness
“Being naked in a social environment or being inappropriately dressed means we feel exposed or fear being ridiculed during wakefulness,” Dr. Zadra said.
The examination dream
The examination dream is the one you’ve probably had, where you get to school only to realize you actually have a huge exam that day an you know nothing on the test. This dream “almost always comes with a need to pass or face dire consequences,” Dr. Zadra explained.
There’s also the imposter syndrome where people who have done all the requisite training arrive for a job and still feel they are an imposter. Both of these themes are related to lacking confidence in our ability to perform certain tasks, or do well in our professional lives. However, these fears are often unfounded and apply to people are perfectly good at their job.
Animals
Dr. Zadra believes that finding certain animals in your dreams is not necessarily related to any one emotion, but rather it depends on the context for the dreamer. For example, “dreaming about penguins is different for someone who works at a zoo, a child with penguin on their bedcover, or someone who saw a documentary about penguins on TV,” he said.
“The same with snakes, insects, vermin – it often depends on the context. What matters most is not the mere presence of these things but the actual role they play. Are they scaring us or helping us? Where are we and who else is with us? We need to think about the broader context.”
“Animals are not that common, but are more so in kids’ dreams,” he added.
In a follow-up article, we’ll find out about happier, positive recurrent dreams, and how dream themes vary greatly between men and women. Click here to read.
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