“Dreams are never about trivialities. Let not our sleep be disturbed by trivial things” (Sigmund Freud)
After completing his studies, Sigmund Freud did not limit himself to a conventional career, becoming a renowned neuropathologist in his private practice.
His entry into medical circles was marked by the publication of “Studies on Hysteria” in 1895, with Josef Breuer as co-author, generating heated discussions.
THE PSYCHOANALYTIC REVOLUTION: THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS AS A STARTING POINT
The year 1899 marked the completion of another remarkable work by Freud, “The Interpretation of Dreams”, strategically published in 1900. This work solidified itself as the definitive starting point for psychoanalysis.
In his view, the dream became a fundamental way of understanding psychic processes, being, for Freud, more of a window into the past than a prediction of the future.
Surprisingly, Freud was not alone in this interpretation, making references to ancient thinkers such as Plato, who cited dreams as a source of self-knowledge and attributed therapeutic properties to their messages.
THE PURPOSE OF DREAMS: WISH FULFILLMENT
By presenting himself, his dreams and his interpretations as objects of study, Freud brought deeply personal issues to the fore. Notable biographers, such as Ernest Jones and Peter Gay, recognize the importance of this approach for Freud’s self-analysis.
Wolfgang Mertens pointed out that Freud was a pioneer in demonstrating, through the continuous analysis of his own dreams, that enigmatic and apparently meaningless images reveal repressed psychic material that can be integrated into meaningful thought.
The central postulate of Freudian dream interpretation lies in wish fulfillment, where the unconscious desires of the dreamer find expression. This realization can be direct and explicit or undergo a distorted transformation, requiring interpretation.
The distinction between manifest and latent dream content becomes fundamental.
MANIFEST - LATENT
The manifest content comprises the events of the dream as they are remembered. Latent content is hidden behind the manifest content and must be decoded.
The dream elaboration acts as a “censorship” so that the latent content can manifest itself. Various processes are involved in this censorship, revealing the complexity of the human mind.
In short, dream images are not merely what they appear to be, but traces of psychic activity, the origin of which can be discovered by analyzing the relationships between them.
In this context, Psychoanalysis employs the technique of “Free Association” to uncover the censorship methods characteristic of each individual, providing valuable insights for decoding dreams.
Below are some quotes from Sigmund Freud on his discoveries about dreams.
“Dream interpretation is the royal road to an understanding of the unconscious activities of the mind”
“The study of dreams can be seen as the most reliable route of approach for those who seek to understand the deep processes of the psyche.”
“Not only dreams, but also hysterical attacks are means of wish fulfillment.”
“Once the work of (dream) interpretation is finished, we realize that the dream is the fulfillment of a wish”
“All dreams are, in a sense, dreams of convenience. They serve the purpose of prolonging sleep rather than waking up. Dreams are guardians of sleep, not something that disturbs it.”
“Since we have learned to understand even crazy and confusing dreams, we know that every time we go to sleep, we throw off the morality we have acquired through so much effort as if it were a piece of clothing and put it back on in the morning. This undressing is obviously not dangerous, because paralyzed by the state of sleep and condemned to inactivity, we pose no danger at all…. Thus, for example, it is noteworthy that all our dreams are governed by purely selfish motivations”.
Written by Gilberto Luiz de Souza – Psychoanalyst – Professor of Psychoanalysis – Researcher on Phenomena of the Human Mind
