Like Jim, I would think that daily stress, worries, etc., may play a
role in dream content but from dream content it may not be easy to
establish any daily corresponding events. Aside from the fact that
dreams often represent daily experiences in a general way, is there ANY
psychological (non-biological) theory that has established evidence for
psychological etiology of specific dream content? Gary Peterson
Gerald L. (Gary) Peterson,Ph.D.
Dept. of Psychology
Saginaw Valley State University
Jim Guinee wrote:
>
> < It is not known why falling is so common, I
> > suspect that answer would lie in the realm of dream interpretation and
> > stresses in a person's life. However, the sensations are completely
> > normal (albeit frightening at the time) and indicate no pathology of the
> > sleep process.
>
> One possibility for a non-biological interpretation of the commonality of falling
> is that these folks often have some stress in their lives that they are unwilling
> to confront. It's possible the falling could be "I should deal with this but I'm
> afraid to..."
>
> Interestingly, most of these folks experience a falling dream in a similar
> fashion: they wake up before the hit the surface. This may represent the
> idea that it is more anxiety-provoking to approach one's monster than
> actually being in the monster's presence.
>
> Ex: a client who had repeated nightmares about falling was in therapy
> because of his extreme stage fright. He acknowledged that being in front of
> a group was never as bad as he imagined it. Once he learned how to deal
> with these events his nightmares stopped.
>
> Of course this is all speculative, and I haven't even been able to find studies
> that support any psychological etiology of falling dreams.
>
> *************************************************************************
> Jim Guinee, Ph.D. Director of Training, Counseling Center
> Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Psychology/Counseling
> Dept. of Health Sciences
> President-Elect, Arkansas College Counselor Association
> University of Central Arkansas
> 313 Bernard Hall Conway, AR 72035 USA
> (501) 450-3138 (office) (501) 450-3248 (fax)
>
> "God looks at the clean hands, not the full ones."
> -Publilius Syrus
>
> ************************************************************************
