Anxiety dream
An anxiety dream is an unpleasant dream which can be more disturbing than a
Classification and provenance
Most individuals, when woken by a disturbing dream, would label it as a nightmare; but dream classification is not that simple. Anxiety dreams, punishment dreams,
The division of distressing dreams within REM sleep is subtle. The distinction between an anxiety dream and a nightmare comes down to what, contributing author of The Nightmare, Ruth Bers Shapiro calls the "profoundly disturbing" content that distinguishes the nightmare from the anxiety dream.[1]
Common themes
Common themes in anxiety dreams involve incomplete tasks. These can include such things as a suitcase that has not been packed or an exam that has not been taken.
Pre-Freudian explanations
In literature
Anxiety dreams have a long tradition in (Western) literature, beginning with Homer, who describes in Book 12 of the Iliad how Achilles is unable to catch up with Hector, "As in a dream a man is not able to follow one who runs from him, nor can the runner escape, nor the other pursue him, so he could not run him down in his speed, nor the other get clear." This anxiety of not being able to escape (or catch up) was borrowed from Homer by Virgil in Book XII of the Aeneid, where Turnus is unable to catch up with Aeneas; subsequently the dream is found (always in simile, never reported directly) in Oppian's Halieutica, in Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, and in Phineas Fletcher's Locusts and Purple Island, to be "burlesqued" in Samuel Butler's Hudibras. An anxiety dream related more directly is Eve's in Books 4 and 5 of John Milton's Paradise Lost, who dreams prophetically that she will eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree, an event that will take place in Book 9. Other such anxiety dreams are found in the Anglo-Saxon elegy "The Wanderer" and in Arthurian romances such as Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (ll. 1750-55).[4]
Supposed origin
In contrast to the supernatural and somatic origins for dreams proposed in classical dream theory, anxiety dreams were considered to be continuations of the thoughts when interrupted by sleep. Such references are found (cryptically) in Greek authors including the
Freudian theory
Function
Causes
One suggested cause of anxiety dreams is
Conflict in a child's life as well as the approaching of developmental stages can also cause anxiety dreams. For example, there may be conflict present as a child begins toilet training. "Toilet training precipitates conflicts between the wish to soil and fear of loss of parental love. If, during this period, the child is subject to disturbing experiences which leave him feeling helpless and unprotected, his anxiety over parental disapproval is exacerbated."[1] This anxiety could likely lead to anxiety dreams in a child.
Effects
Positive
Anxiety dreams have an important function. When the
Negative
General anxiety is a negative effect of anxiety dreams. Individuals dealing with distress in their dreams have been found to have general anxiety more often than those who were experiencing real life events that could be equally as stressful.[6]
Treatments
Barry Kraków developed three steps to alleviate any anxiety dream or nightmare. These steps include:
- Learning imagery techniques
- Recording the dreams
- Changing the dreams
Once a person has been taught the first step he/she can continue using the second and third steps to overcome any new anxiety dreams that might develop.[7]
If more help is needed one might consider workshops that utilize
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kellerman, Henry (1987). The Nightmare: Psychological and Biological Foundations. New York: Columbia University Press.
- ^ a b c Hobson, Allan (1988). The Dreaming Brain (1st ed.). New York: Basic Books, Inc.
- ^ dream of falling
- ^ JSTOR 4173557.
- S2CID 32152853.
- ^ Joelving, Frederik (2010). "More Than Just a Bad Dream". Scientific American Mind. 20 (7): 1.
- ^ Moorcroft, William (1993). Sleep, Dreaming, & Sleep Disorders (2nd ed.). New York: University Press Of America.
- ^ PMID 16770914.