Why We Dream
Dreams have fascinated humanity for centuries. Many books claim to decode symbols in a “one-size-fits-all” way, but the truth is far more personal.
Your dreams are tailored by your mind to process unexpressed emotions and help you manage life’s challenges. They are not random — they are your brain’s nightly method of emotional housekeeping. For guidance on improving sleep quality and patterns, see my Sleep Solutions page.
How Dreams Process Emotional Arousal
Not all emotions trigger dreams. Only unexpressed emotional arousal while awake becomes fuel for dreaming.
Examples:
- If you have an argument and fully express your feelings, your mind clears it before sleep.
- If frustration or anger is suppressed, your brain creates a dream scenario to safely release the tension.
Dreams often symbolise real-life experiences. A work colleague you feel anger toward might appear as a monster in your dream — allowing the emotion to be expressed in a safe, imaginative way.
Rumination and Repetitive Dreams
Constant rumination can increase unexpressed emotional arousal:
- Depressed or anxious individuals often dream more because they ruminate more.
- Repetitive dreams indicate unresolved emotional patterns.
- Over time, dreaming helps process these emotions, though exhaustion can occur if unresolved patterns persist.
Tip: Using hypnotherapy can help reduce rumination and gently redirect the mind toward emotional release, reducing repetitive or distressing dreams.
Dreaming and Hypnosis
Dreaming is one of the deepest natural trance states:
- You are immersed in a self-created reality, often unaware it’s imaginary.
- REM sleep shows brain activity patterns similar to hypnotic states.
- Hypnosis harnesses this same ability to simulate experiences safely, making it powerful for emotional processing and therapeutic change.
Connection to hypnotherapy:
- Both dreaming and hypnosis allow the mind to safely explore emotions and experiences.
- Hypnosis can help manage unresolved issues, echoing the brain’s nightly dream work.
Catalepsy, Dreams, and Hypnosis
During REM sleep, your body naturally becomes immobile to prevent acting out dreams.
- Hypnosis can recreate a similar state safely, allowing deep relaxation and focus.
- This explains stage hypnosis phenomena, like catalepsy, where the body remains still while the mind is active.
- Understanding this link shows why dreams and hypnotherapy complement each other for emotional processing.
Practical Insights from Dreams
- Pay attention to repetitive dream patterns — they may highlight unresolved emotions.
- Use dream journaling as a tool to understand your subconscious and support therapy. Listening to calming audio in comfort, for example using a Snoozeband, can make your bedtime routine more effective and enhance your dream awareness.
- Combine insights from dreams with hypnotherapy sessions for deeper emotional work.
FAQs
Q: Can understanding dreams help my mental health?
A: Yes. Dreams process unexpressed emotions and can reveal areas where your mind needs attention, supporting emotional balance.
Q: Are dreams random?
A: No. They are your brain’s way of handling unprocessed emotions and rehearsing solutions to real-life problems.
Q: How does hypnotherapy connect to dreaming?
A: Hypnosis taps into similar subconscious processes as dreaming, enabling safe exploration of emotions, patterns, and behaviours.If you want to experience guided sessions, see my 10-Day Sleep Reset programme.