Mum, I had a bad dream.
My son woke up this morning and came down to me in tears.
“What happened”? I asked with worry.
“I had a really bad dream”, he said
“Would you like to talk to me about it”? I asked
“Yes ” he replied
“I was at school with my friends and teacher and a Pterodactyl came. It chased all of us and one by one started taking my friends” he cried. “My friend and I hid and thought we had escaped but it found us . We both ran and it started to chase us. I was looking for you mum but I couldn’t find you”. He sobbed.
I hugged him as tight as I could after a few moments of giving him some space, I asked “Did you find me”? “Yes, I found you”.
His big tears dripped from his eyes as he relieved his nightmare. I could see how much his dream had upset him.
“I know it can’t be real but it felt real mum” he said.
I wrapped him up in a blanket and lay him down on the couch. As I stroked his face, I told him about the bad dreams I had. I told him that I understood how he felt having been there myself. Then, I explained what happens in your mind as you sleep so he could understand that a dream is just a story.
Dream if you must
Dreams usually occur when we are in the deepest state of sleep. It is during this time that certain parts of our mind become more active whilst other areas become redundant. For example, when we are fast asleep, our emotional state becomes heightened whereas our rational state becomes dormant.
I often think of dreams as a collection of stories which we have stored in our subconscious mind or “our memory bank”. This bank unlocks as we sleep and the stories sometimes become intertwined. Hence why they don’t always make sense. For example, one moment we are in our house, then we open the door and we are in NY! Well, one can wish. LOL
Dreams are a collection of feelings, stories, thoughts and events which come alive as we rest. Sometimes the emotional part of our brain otherwise known as the Amygdala can be so active that it can offset emotions which make us feel drained when we wake up. I know I have had dreams where I have cried and woken up to a soaked pillow. My son also experienced the same when he had his bad dream.
Whilst we enjoy reliving our good dreams, there is no indication that our dreams mean anything!
There are various theories which are floating around based on neurological evidence. Some suggest that dreams are designed to prepare us for real life situations in the safest possible way. Others believe that our dreams are suppressed wishes or conflicts and some claim that our dreams are electrical impulses.
The benefits
There is great benefit in dreaming. I believe that whist we may not be aware of it, we learn and grow through our dreams. Dreams are the universes way of preparing us for real life situations. Whilst my son may not be chased by dinosaurs at school, he was able to learn how he feels about his friends and his teacher. He understands what loss feels like and has realised that he loves them which is why he felt upset when he was unable to save them! We don’t have to act on any of our dreams but we can use them to understand who we are and allow them to guide us. So I say dream away…….
