Sigmund Freuds Theory Of Dreams
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Dreaming is a universal human experience that happens to everybody rich or poor, male
or female, black or white, adult or child, all over the world. In ancient days, dreams were
viewed as messages from the gods which foretold future events. In modern times, people
still believe that their dreams are meaningful and contain important information about
past, present, or future events. Over the years, questions have been raised as to whether
dreams serve any important psychological function.
One answer to such a question was provided by Sigmund Freud, who stated that
dreams served as a safety value "through which the individual's unacceptable wishes or
impulses, forbidden thoughts and unconscious desires can be released in a censored or
disguised form, protecting the sleeper from waking up confused and distressed. In his
book "The Interpretation Of Dreams," Freud regarded dreams as the products of the
conflict between the conscious controlling impulses of rational thought and the primitive
impulses from an individuals unconscious processes. By an unconscious process, Freud
meant those thoughts, wishes, and fears, of which the person is unaware but which still
influences his behavior. Freud believed that the socially unacceptable wishes of
childhood are suppressed by the process of civilization and become part of an
individual's active unconscious, but where they still remain influential. But, according to
Freud, the active unconscious then finds its expression in neurotic illnesses (anxiety,
hysteria, obsessive compulsive disorder) and in dreams.
During sleep these primitive impulses and wishes come from the unconscious and
rise towards conscious awareness...