Considered the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) revolutionized the study of dreams with his work “The Interpretation Of Dreams”. Freud began to analyze dreams in order to understand aspects of personality as they relate to pathology. He believed that nothing we did occurred by chance; every action and thought is motivated by our unconscious at some level. In order to live in a civilized society, we tend to hold back or urges and repress our urges and impulses. However, these urges and impulses must be released in some way and have a way of coming to the surface in disguised forms.
One way these urges and impulses are released is through our dreams. Because the content of the unconscious may be extremely disturbing or harmful, Freud thus believed that the unconscious expressed itself in a symbolic language. The symbols in dreams were a direct connection to our unconscious, what Freud refers to as the id. The id is centered around primal, pleasure, desire, unchecked urges and wish fulfillment. During our waking hours, the impulses and desires of the id are suppressed by the superego, which acts as a censor for the id. The superego also enforces the moral codes of the ego, the rational and self-aware aspect of the mind. Because your guard is down during the dream state, your unconscious has the opportunity to act out and express the hidden desires of the id. However, the desires of the id can at times be so disturbing and even psychologically harmful that a “censor” comes into play to translates the id’s disturbing content into a symbolic form. This is where you get all sorts of confusing dreams.
When we have trouble remembering our dreams, Freud believe it was the superego at work and its goal to protect the conscious mind from the disturbing images and desires of the unconscious.
