I have a lot of horrible dreams. In them, I’m often late for class but don’t know where my class is. I have a recurring nightmare where multiple layers of contacts lenses are stuck in my eyes, and I keep pulling them out only to find more and more and—it’s really gross. But the dreams that are the most disturbing to me are the ones when I behave badly. I am filled with rage and screaming at the people who I love the most in the world over something completely inconsequential. I can’t count the number of times I’ve woken up and thought, “Wow, Dream Allison is a BITCH.” This inevitably leads me to wonder, is awake Allison a bitch? Am I suppressing massive amounts of unchecked rage that will eventually burst out of me and destroy my life and relationships? Am I not actually the rational, conflict-avoidant person I believe I am? Or do dreams not matter at all?
Apr 14, 2023·edited Apr 14, 2023Liked by Allison Raskin
Hi, this is really interesting. I listened to an episode of a fun non fiction podcast called Ologies recently that changed how I thought about dreams. The episode is Oneirology Part 1 (DREAMS) and interviews dream expert G. William Domhoff. To paraphrase he says at one point that dreams are when your brain is thinking in an uninhibited way, without actively using the normal limitations we stick to when awake. And that also studies have shown that the brain rests/ turns off the parts that normally deal with symbolism while you are alseep. So actually while dreams can show topics on your mind they are less likely than waking thoughts to show how you'd respond to the situation or represent any deeper meaning than whats on the surface. I really recommend the episode and the podcast!
Hi, this is really interesting. I listened to an episode of a fun non fiction podcast called Ologies recently that changed how I thought about dreams. The episode is Oneirology Part 1 (DREAMS) and interviews dream expert G. William Domhoff. To paraphrase he says at one point that dreams are when your brain is thinking in an uninhibited way, without actively using the normal limitations we stick to when awake. And that also studies have shown that the brain rests/ turns off the parts that normally deal with symbolism while you are alseep. So actually while dreams can show topics on your mind they are less likely than waking thoughts to show how you'd respond to the situation or represent any deeper meaning than whats on the surface. I really recommend the episode and the podcast!
Oh wow!! That is so fascinating and makes a lot of sense! I'm excited to check it out!!
I am constantly throwing up shards of glass in my dreams :)
Relatable!! <3 A
This is so cool!! Thank you so much for sharing!!