Our dreams can haunt us. But what are we to make of them? From omens and art to modern science, we tell the story of dreams and the surprising role they may play in our lives. (Originally ran as The Way We Dream)To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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I was five when my father died. And for some months, I didn't show any major symptoms of trauma. But then I developed this nightmare, which was horrible, and it was repetitive. In this nightmare, I was completely hopeless. I couldn't see either mother or father around. And the whole thing was quite scary, so much so that I told my mother that I didn't want to sleep at all.
And this is when she realized I needed help. And then she took me to a psychotherapist. I don't exactly know what he did because I don't have a lot of memories of this process. What I remember is going to those sessions and playing with toys and talking, but not directly about the events of my father's death.
But then he very, very simply, he led me to believe that I could change the course of the dream, that I could have some degree of autonomy, some degree of consciousness, and that I could change that dream script. And after that, the dream changed. And I was a detective looking for a mad criminal. I was hunting a tiger in the jungle. And I also had a male friend, an adult friend.
And at some point he says, I cannot go on with you. You need to go by yourself now.
You must move forward now.
And then I accepted that and I moved alone towards, you know, finding that tiger. Then the tiger finds me. And I had to flee. And jump in the water and swim. And there was a big shark there. In the end, I felt like I was going through an adventure and I was overcoming the fear. It was about overcoming the fear of going alone. And then after that third dream, these dreams ceased. They stopped.
Dreams are basically an expression of what's going on. But we may not be conscious of that at all. And that's why they're so precious.
You know, sometimes I struggle with that idea of that the dreams are actually telling us something real because... My dad passed away, and hearing you describe that, I had dreams. They were the most vivid dreams I've had in my life. And part of me wants to dissociate them from my reality, sort of have them be in their own space. But what you're describing feels like...
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