The Interpretation of Dreams by Freud was a ground-breaking book and has had far-reaching influence.

However, there are many people who are curious aboutFreud dream interpretations but dont want to read Freuds rather dense prose. If that describes you, then here you will find a Freud Interpretation of Dreams summary. Freud Interpretations of Dreams: Dreams are the Guardians of Our Sleep Everyone has dreams when they sleep. Some people dont remember their dreams, and some of us remember many of them vividly, but we all have them. Throughout history, weve asked the question, Why do we dream? and even more so, what do our dreams mean? Sigmund Freud, considered to be the father of psychoanalysis, maintained that we dream as a way to keep us sleeping according to him, dreams are the guardians of our sleep. When we head off to bed for a nights rest, we close out as much external stimuli as possible. Freud Interpretations of Dreams: Why We Dream We turn the lights off and close the shades. We try to suppress outside noises. We do all of this so that our bodies can go about the business of getting rest without interruption. Its a way to disconnect from our daily reality. During sleep, the mind manufactures dreams as a way to protect us from being disturbed by other stimuli, such as noise, but also things like temperature fluctuations, pain, and the worries, fears, desires and mental and emotional distractions of the day. Freuds work was mostly with internal stimuli worries, negative emotions, thoughts and desires that are forbidden and other thoughts that must be censored in some way. If the brain is busy with these at night, they may cause us to wake and not get the rest we need. So dreams are the minds safe way of keeping the person asleep, while allowing the mind to digest and work on all of the internal stimuli that we have rattling around in our heads every day negative, positive or forbidden. Freud Dream Interpretations Sigmund Freud believed that the dream was made up of two distinct parts the manifest and the latent content. The manifest content is what the dreamer remembers when they wake, and according to Freud has no meaning because its a disguised representation of whats underlying the dream the latent content. Latent content is the true meaning of the dream. Its the forbidden or negative thoughts and the unconscious desires. These are disguised in the manifest content. Dreams, according to Freud, often have a sexual tone to them and use the symbols in manifest content to signify the underlying sexual meaning of our dreams. In order to discover the underlying meaning of a dream, Sigmund Freud used the free association method. The dream would be described in the most accurate terms possible. Then the dreamer would focus on a specific piece or symbol in the dream and form as many associations to it as possible. This allowed the dreamers mind to wander and discover the possible underlying meaning, the latent content, of the dream. Freud said that dreams are way of fulfilling suppressed wishes. Freudian Slip or Pajamas? Instead of being wakened every night by our unfulfilled wishes and desires, which are usually forbidden, the mind weaves dreams about them to allow us to fulfill them in sleep, allowing us a restful night. The Interpretation of Dreams (German: Die Traumdeutung) is a book by psychoanalystSigmund Freud. The book introduces Freud's theory of the unconscious with respect todream interpretation, and also first discusses what would later become the theory of theOedipus complex. Freud revised the book at least eight times and, in the third edition, added an extensive section which treated dream symbolism very literally, following the influence of Wilhelm Stekel. Freud said of this work, "Insight such as this falls to one's lot but once in a lifetime."[1] The initial print run of the book was very low it took many years to sell out the first 600 copies. Freud was paid $209. However, the work gained popularity as Freud did, and seven more editions were printed in his lifetime.[2] The text was translated from German into English by A. A. Brill, an American Freudian psychoanalyst, and later in an authorized translation by James Strachey, who was British. Because the book is very long and complex, Freud wrote an abridged version called On Dreams. Background Memorial plate in commemoration of the place where Freud began The Interpretation of Dreams, near Grinzing, Austria

Freud spent the summer of 1895 at manor Belle Vue near Grinzing in Austria, where he began the inception of The Interpretation of Dreams. In a 1900 letter to Wilhelm Fliess, he wrote in commemoration of the place: "Do you suppose that some day a marble tablet will be placed on the house, inscribed with these words: 'In this house on July 24th, 1895, the secret of dreams was revealed to Dr. Sigm. Freud'? At the moment I see little prospect of it." - Freud in a letter to Wilhelm Fliess, June 12th, 1900 In 1963, Belle Vue manor was demolished, but today a memorial plate with just that inscription has been erected at the site by the Austrian Sigmund Freud Society. [edit]Overview Dreams, in Freud's view, are all forms of "wish fulfillment" attempts by the unconscious to resolve a conflict of some sort, whether something recent or something from the recesses of the past (later in Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Freud would discuss dreams which do not appear to be wish-fulfillment). However, because the information in the unconscious is in an unruly and often disturbing form, a "censor" in the preconscious will not allow it to pass unaltered into the conscious. During dreams, the preconscious is more lax in this duty than in waking hours, but is still attentive: as such, the unconscious must distort and warp the meaning of its information to make it through the censorship. As such, images in dreams are often not what they appear to be, according to Freud, and need deeper interpretation if they are to inform on the structures of the unconscious. Freud used to mention the dreams as "The Royal Road to the Unconscious". He proposed the 'phenomenon of condensation'; the idea that one simple symbol or image presented in a person's dream may have multiple meanings. For this very reason, Freud tried to focus on details during psychoanalysis and asked his patients about things they could even think trivial (i.e. while a patient was describing an experience in their dream, Freud could ask him/her: "was there any sign upon the walls? What was it?"). As Freud was focusing upon the biologic drives of the individual (a fact that alienated him from several colleagues of his like Breuer, Jung and Adler), he stated that when we observe a hollow object in our dreams, like a box or a cave, this is a symbol of a womb, while an elongated object is a symbol for penis. Due to these statements, Freud attracted much criticism from those who believed him a "sexist" or "misanthrope", as he was alleged to have overemphasised the role of instinct, as though he believed people were "wild beasts". Nevertheless, he sometimes admitted "Even a cigar may be just a cigar."[citation needed] [edit]Contents The first edition begins: "In the following pages, I shall demonstrate that there exists a psychological technique by which dreams may be interpreted and that upon the application of this method every dream will show itself to be a senseful psychological structure which may be introduced into an assignable place in the psychic activity of the waking state. I shall furthermore endeavor to explain the processes which give rise to the strangeness and obscurity of the dream, and to discover through them the psychic forces, which operate whether in combination or opposition, to produce the dream. This accomplished by investigation will terminate as it will reach the point where the problem of the dream meets broader problems, the solution of which must be attempted through other material."[3] Freud begins his book in the first chapter titled The Scientific Literature on the Problems of the Dream by reviewing different scientific views on dream interpretation, which he finds interesting but not adequate.[4] He then makes his argument by describing a number of dreams which he claims illustrate his theory. Much of Freud's sources for analysis are in literature. Many of his most important dreams are his own his method is inaugurated with an analysis of his dream "Irma's injection" but many also come from patient case studies. [edit]Criticism Some later psychoanalysts have expressed frustration with this section, as it encouraged the notion that dream interpretation was a straightforward hunt for symbols of sex, penises, etc. (Example: "Steep inclines, ladders and stairs, and going up or down them, are symbolic representations of the sexual act."[citation needed]) However, Freud repeatedly argued that he never claimed anything of the sort and felt compelled to address this simplistic interpretation of his work in the fifth edition of the book (1919): "The assertion that all dreams require a sexual interpretation, against which critics rage so incessantly, occurs nowhere in my Interpretation of Dreams. It is not to be found in any of the numerous editions of this book and is in obvious contradiction to other views expressed in it." - The Interpretation of Dreams, fifth edition, 1919, Chapter VI, Section E, translated by James Strachey, 1953

Some authors, such as Hans Eysenck, have argued that the dreams Freud cites do not really support his theories. Eysenck argues inDecline and Fall of the Freudian Empire that Freud's examples actually disprove his dream theory. Max Schur, Freud's physician and friend, has provided evidence that the first dream that Freud analyzed, his so-called "Irma dream" was not very disguised, but actually portrayed rather closely a medical disaster of Emma Eckstein, one of Freud's patients.[5] Among his conclusions were: Dreams have a preference for using impressions from days just past, yet they also have access to early childhood memories. The method of memory-selection in dreams is different to the waking mind: the unconscious mind generally does not focus on major events, but remembers the trivial or unnoticed. Despite their reputation as being random or absurd, in fact dreams have a unifying motive that easily pulls disparate people, events and sensations into one 'story'. Dreams are always about the self. Dreams can have multiple layers of meaning, and a number of ideas can be 'condensed' into a single image. Equally, ideas could be 'displaced' (a familiar person could become someone else, a house takes on a different purpose etc.). Nearly all dreams are 'wish-fulfilments', that is, they reveal a deep motivation or desire which wants to be fulfilled, often a wish going back to earliest childhood.

Dream Analysis Part I: Dreams as Wish-Fulfillment (Sigmund Freud) Sigmund Freud placed tremendous emphasis in the psychoanalytic value of dreams. He believed that dreams provide rare insight into ones unconscious mind. Freud was so fascinated by dreams that he kept a dream diary even as a young child and used these dreams as the source for many of the ideas outlined in his first and most well-known publication, The Interpretation of Dreams. In order to better understand Freuds ideas about dream interpretation, it is helpful to have some background knowledge of his overall theories. Freud Basics Freud is often quoted as saying, The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water. He was stating his belief that our unconscious wishes and desires can have a great deal of influence over our outward behavior. He believed that getting in touch with these hidden desires was the key to a healthy and fulfilling life. Dreams act as keys to unlocking these hidden secrets, he felt, thus making them invaluable to mental health. Furthermore, Freud believed that the mind was subdivided into three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. According to Freud, we are born with our Id. The id is an important part of our personality because as newborns, it allows us to get our basic needs met. Freud believed that the id is based on our pleasure principle. In other words, the id wants whatever feels good at the time, with no consideration for the reality of the situation. When a child is hungry, the id wants food, and therefore the child cries. When the child needs to be changed, the id cries. When the child is uncomfortable, in pain, too hot, too cold, or just wants attention, the id speaks up until his or her needs are met. The id doesn't care about reality, about the needs of anyone else, only its own satisfaction. If you think about it, babies are not very considerate of their parents' wishes. They have no care for time, whether their parents are sleeping, relaxing, eating dinner, or bathing. When the id wants something, nothing else is important.

Within the next three years, as the child interacts more and more with the world, the second part of the personality begins to develop. Freud called this part the Ego. The ego is based on the reality principle. The ego understands that other people have needs and desires and that sometimes being impulsive or selfish can hurt us in the long run. Its the ego's job to meet the needs of the id, while taking into consideration the reality of the situation. By the age of five, or the end of the phallic stage of development, the Superego develops. The Superego is the moral part of us and develops due to the moral and ethical restraints placed on us by our caregivers. Many equate the superego with the conscience as it dictates our belief of right and wrong. In a healthy person, according to Freud, the ego is the strongest so that it can satisfy the needs of the id, not upset the superego, and still take into consideration the reality of every situation. Not an easy job by any means, but if the id gets too strong, impulses and self gratification take over the person's life. If the superego becomes to strong, the person would be driven by rigid morals, would be judgmental and unbending in his or her interactions with the world. (Allpsych online) What are dreams? According to Freud, then, dreams are the ids attempt to psychically fulfill its wishes, especially those that can not be fulfilled in waking life. Because the ids desires are often objectionable to the superego, the id must disguise its wishes in symbolism. Thus, a dream has a manifest content (the actual storyline you remember from a dream) and a latent content (the underlying meaning). The manifest content is often confusing and misleading unless one knows how to properly interpret his or her dreams. The symbols are not universal but reflect ones personal associations. However, as they reveal the wishes of the primal id, they often symbolize sexual or aggressive urges. Freud believed that the id was a powerful force and suppressing its desires could lead to neuroses in our conscious self. Answer the questions to part I of the dream interpretation handout. Now complete a Freudian analysis of the dream on your worksheet. Follow the tips below: Step 1: List specific items from the manifest content and try to identify their symbolic meaning. Since you cant ask Lisa her specific associations, just make some up. Here are a few guidelines: 1) Dreams tend to reflect things from childhood, and 2) dreams often bring to light details that seemed trivial to us at the time, and 3) dreams reflect the wishes of the id, which are primal and often repulsive. Step 2: Find the wish that is being fulfilled by the dream. What is the latent desire of Lisas id? Remember, it is probably something she would find repulsive or else there would be no need for her id to hide it in symbols. Dream Analysis Part II: Activation-Synthesis Activation Synthesis Theory is a neurobiological theory of dreams, put forward by Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley in 1977, which states that dreams are a random event caused by firing of neurons in the brain. This random firing sends signals to the body's motor systems, but because of a paralysis that occurs during REM sleep, the brain is faced with a paradox. It synthesizes a narrative by drawing on memory systems in an attempt to make sense of what it has experienced. The original 1977 theory denied that dreams have meaning or are related to our real world environments. But this point drew criticism from other dream experts. In response, in 1988, Hobson published a revised theory acknowledging that dreams do reflect past memories, fears, hopes, and desires. To put it simply, Hobson and McCarley suggest that during REM sleep the cortex is highly active and activity in the brain triggers certain neurons at random (activation). The brain then tries to make sense of this by synthesising and interpreting this activity, producing the dream. The activation synthesis hypothesis would explain why we do not experience taste or smell in dreams as these neurons are not triggered. It is also supported by the fact we are paralysed in REM sleep. (from Wikipedia) Answer the questions to part II of the dream interpretation handout.

Dream Analysis Part III: Information Processing Theory Proposed in 1993, social scientists claim that dreams allow people to review and address problems they faced during waking life. During dreams, our brain processes sensory and conceptual information accumulated during the day. This information is sorted and new neural connections are made to accommodate newly forming memories. In other words, dreams allow us to rehearse experiences as we sleep so that we remember them better. Plus, they allow us to rehearse hypothetical situations so that we can learn from them. As such, dreams aid in memory and problem-solving. This theory is supported by several arguments and research: In experiments, people given a memory task before sleep perform worse if awakened each time they enter REM sleep as compared to those awakened each time they enter other sleep stages. Rats that are made to spend much of the day running mazes are found to have similar brain activity patterns during REM sleep as when they were running the mazes. REM sleep (when dreaming is most common) is limited to mammals. The mammalian class is distinct from other vertebrates in the adaptability and higher learning capacity of its species. Thus, it makes sense that dreaming may be related to learning. Dreams are usually disjointed and illogical. If your brain were attempting to make sense of random neural firing, wouldnt the storyline, make sense? It has been demonstrated that mental rehearsal can facilitate physical performance (imagining shooting free throws can make you a better free throw shooter). Thus, mental rehearsal during sleep could be selected for evolutionarily. Newborns spend a large percentage of their sleeping time in REM sleep as compared to adults. If dreaming necessary for learning, then it would make sense that newborns would need to do more. If dreams are simply opportunities to mentally rehearse daily experiences (either real or hypothetical), then why are they so bizarre? One explanation is that regions of the brain that typically edit and make judgments about our thoughts are disabled during dream sleep. The belief is that dreaming is an opportunity to rehearse different scenarios without censoring ideas that could generate novel solutions (kind of like brainstorming). Thus, even the most bizarre thoughts and ideas creep into our dreams. Answer the questions to part III of the dream interpretation handout.