By: Angela Espinoza

Our Dreams as Storytellers

Are you the person who is able to recall the content of their dreams? If so, are there recurring themes that you can think of when you recall your dreaming? Others may not be able to remember what their dreams are about some or most of the time, and that is okay, too. From time to time, some of us may be able to interpret our dreams in meaningful ways if we find that the content of our dreams resonates with us and is a reflection of something that is happening in our life.

Dreaming is a unique experience to all of us. Some of us may have dreams frequently while others may have dreams occasionally or from time to time. What we dream about is also unique with the themes of our dreams being a reflection of our unique life journey – both the good and the bad can manifest in our dreams. It can be interesting, hopeful, and sometimes more confusing and uncomfortable when we are able to notice that the content of our dreams mirrors different timeframes of our life.

Dare to dream! Our dreaming experiences can serve as opportunities for us to uncover more about ourselves. Let’s explore more about how our dreams open the door for us to untangle and process emotions that we might have suppressed or not resolved before.

Emotional Processing During REM Sleep

During REM sleep (rapid eye movement), there are structures of our brain that become active. Research suggests that this may help to explain the role that dreams play in our emotional processing. For instance, the amygdala and hippocampus structures of our brain are thought to contribute to the emotionality that can take place when we are dreaming.

An expression, a suppressed thought/s, or a confident plan of action regarding a real life situation that we are experiencing in the present moment or that was experienced in the past can be reflected in the content of a dream that we have had or a series of dreams. Have you ever said to yourself, “I had a dream about _____, and I did/said ______ in the dream”. Has the course of action or what you said in the dream been something that you have been wanting to do and/or say in real life before? Here, our dreams may be reflecting the desire that we have to let out what it is that we need, whether an expression, a thought, or a behavior/action to find some sort of resolution to a real life event.

Emotion regulation theory suggests that our dreams may serve as opportunities to safely process emotions. As we have all types of experiences in our life, including those that surround grief, loss, fear, traumas, uncertainty, etc., the content of our dreams can mirror what we have not said, done, or acted upon regarding these circumstances in their actuality. At the same time, because there is only so much information that we can process and that our mind and body can take on at a given time, when we finally reach the point of the day where we rest and fall asleep, the opportunity to continue processing what was left unfinished when we were awake can continue. Only this time, we are asleep processing through our dreaming which may just be what our bodies need.

Dreams as Our Safe Space

Dreaming may serve as a safe space to journey through real life experiences with heightened intensity, such as painful past experiences. Research suggests that an increase in amygdala activity in our brain alongside the vivid dreaming that occurs during REM sleep are two factors that may allow us to process the emotions that resonate with our fears, worries, traumas, or any other painful real life occurrences.

If our dreams are mirroring negative real life experiences from our past or the present moment, it may be important to try to reflect on the quality of sleep that we are getting through the night. At times when we are emotionally processing through our dreaming, our somatic responses may still allow us to continue to have a good night’s rest when moderacy in processing is present. On the other hand, when our emotional processing through our dreams is happening to find resolution from deep, severe trauma, the quality of our sleep can be interrupted. As a consequence, our functioning is impacted when we are awake and are trying to live our day to day life.

When dreams are becoming too intense and having a negative impact on our quality of sleep, it may be best to check in on this with a health professional to look further into improving our sleep before its negative effects trickle into other areas of our life. Healing the root cause/s of poor or decreased quality of sleep can help us find our way back to nurturing rest so that our nights cultivate the sleep that we require.

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Begin Therapy in Austin, TX!

Looking to learn more about how our dreams can help us process emotions? Safe Space Healing Collective can help! We provide mental health counseling, as well as other mental health services. To begin counseling in Austin, TX follow these three steps:

• Contact our office to set up an appointment or to learn more information.
• Meet with one of our knowledgeable therapists.
• Start feeling more seen, heard, and understood!

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Here at Safe Space Healing Collective, we offer counseling services for people of all ages in areas including Complex PTSD, PTSD, Attachment Trauma, Somatic Trauma Work, LGBTQIA+ Mental Health, Identity Exploration, Dissociation, Women’s Issues, Adolescent Issues, Anxiety, Depression, Troubled Childhood, Exploring Sexuality & Gender Expression, Blended Families, Healthy Communication & Conflict Resolution, Relationship Issues, Personal Growth, Life Transitions, Grief & Loss, Family Estrangement, Death & Dying, Career Transitions, Problems at Work & School, Interrupted Sleep/Insomnia. Our therapists strive to post blogs regularly. We provide helpful information on a variety of mental health topics. To learn more about our therapists and our counseling services, please reach out to the Healing Collective today!