Nightmares and Dream Therapy
Lots of people this year have been asking questions about why they have such vivid dreams this year, or why they are having more nightmares. There’s lots of reason for this. Times of both personal and societal stress are a cause for increased anxiety dreams. Another reason that I have mentioned before is that during lockdown there was more time for many to think and rest. So, I’d like to talk about nightmares and dream therapy and the work I do to help people heal trauma.
Cutting out the Noise
The more time we spend in quiet time in introspection, the easier it is to remember our dreams. For example, if you have to hustle out the door in the morning to get to a train or battle rush hour traffic, you don’t have much time to think. But, if you go from bed to a cup of coffee, straight to your desk to organize yourself before hopping on a Zoom call, there may be less interruption of your thought process between sleeping and waking.
Dreams: The Soul’s Voice
From a Jungian perspective, dreams are the core part of your soul, speaking to you in images. That reoccurring nightmare? It’s that deep part trying to help your conscious mind, your ego, insight about your relationship with reality. These dreams might be about wounds, trauma, or old coping mechanisms.
Anxiety Dreams, Nightmares and Dream Therapy
The anxiety that wells up in your waking mind is connected to your unconscious. Through dreams, your unconscious mind is creating metaphors to illustrate what the anxiety is really about. The first step of working with anxiety is learning how to function and track symptoms so that you can cope with your daily life. However, that’s not the end! Working with complexes through dream interpretation, or dream pattern analysis can give you insight. This insight, in time, can heal trauma, resolve relationship issues, and free you from anxiety.
Highly emotional content or disturbing images in dreams are what we commonly call nightmares. Marion Webster defines the word nightmare like this:
1 : an evil spirit formerly thought to oppress people during sleep. 2 : a frightening dream that usually awakens the sleeper. 3 : something (such as an experience, situation, or object) having the monstrous character of a nightmare or producing a feeling of anxiety or terror.
So, when a capsule or knot of emotion, like a psychic scar, is triggered, nightmares result. Your consciousness connects with a high charge of emotional energy. This energy can be experienced as anxiety, anger, or terror. Your soul is saying, “wake up! Go to action! This is of utmost importance!” A nightmare is a call to action, to increased awareness, a call for a personal revolution.
A Note on Medications
I didn’t mention anti-anxiety medication. Did I? Medication is a tool that can help you cope. (see above) It is possible to not need anti-depression and anti-anxiety medications forever. The difference is that the insurance, pharmaceutical, and medical industries in the United States are profit-based and are not funded in a way to provide long-term depth therapy so that you can permanently heal yourself.
Furthermore, most health insurances that do cover therapy do not cover therapy without a diagnosis of mental illness. Need help with relationships? not covered. Need to find a new career? not covered. Even when issues such as anxiety, grief, and depression are covered, they are often not covered for as long as you need them to complete therapy.
Creative Keys to Unlocking your Dreams
Can you imagine what you could accomplish if you felt that your emotions were an ally and not an overwhelming barrage on your peace of mind?
With dream pattern analysis I do just that, help you understand the messages from your dreams, and unlock the meaning of your art. These practices give you access to your deepest desires, and what changes to make to fulfill your dreams. What’s holding you back may not be what you think it is. I can guarantee you this though, whatever it is, is encoded in your dreams.
Want to work on a dream with me? You can contact me for a free consultation to see if dream pattern analysis might be just what you’re looking for.
More Resources about Dreams in General
Video on Lucid Dreaming and dreaming in general by Youtuber, Thoughty2.
An article from National Geographic about pandemic related dreaming this year.
And finally, here’s an article from the Washington Post about how sleep disturbances this year are contributing to mental health concerns.