10 records
Dream emotions
The emotion is usually the most accurate part of a dream report and the part people discard first when they go looking for a meaning. A dream about a snake that left you calm and a dream about a snake that left you sick are not the same dream, and no symbol lookup that ignores that is worth reading.
- EmotionAngerAnger is common in dreams and frequently directed at people the dreamer is not consciously angry with. It is not a verdict on the relationship and not something to act on.
- EmotionConfusionConfusion in dreams is usually not content. It is the texture of dreaming itself. Dreams suspend critical judgement, and noticing that they do not make sense is the doorway to lucidity.
- EmotionDesireSexual and romantic dream content is common, normal, and a poor guide to waking preference or intention. Dreaming about someone is not a decision, a confession, or a wish you have to act on.
- EmotionFearFear is the most commonly reported dream emotion in most content analyses. A frightening dream is not unusual and is not by itself a sign of anything wrong.
- EmotionGriefGrief dreams are a normal and well-studied part of bereavement, and a large proportion of people who have them describe them as comforting rather than painful.
- EmotionHelplessnessHelplessness is one of the most reported dream feelings, and it has an unusually strong physiological contributor: during REM sleep the body genuinely cannot act, and dreams frequently build a story around that.
- EmotionNostalgiaNostalgic dreams are usually about a time rather than a thing, and they cluster around transitions, as though the mind reaches back when the ground shifts.
- EmotionPeacePeaceful dreams are under-reported rather than uncommon. They are less memorable and less likely to be searched for. When they are reported, they are described with unusual warmth.
- EmotionShameShame dreams are unusually social. They nearly always involve being seen. Being naked in public is the classic form and one of the most reported dreams in every survey.
- EmotionWonderAwe-filled dreams are rare, disproportionately remembered, and reported by people of every belief and none. They are one of the more interesting things dreaming does.