John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory Attachment Theory is a well-known and widely accepted concept in human development and psychotherapy. British psychiatrist John Bowlby developed it in the 1950s. The crux of attachment theory is that the early emotional bonds between...
John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
The Helpful Ideas of Donald Winnicott
The Helpful Ideas of Donald Winnicott Continuing my series on the founders of psychoanalysis I'm exploring Donald Winnicott this month. Donald Winnicott (1896-1971) was a paediatrician who then trained as a psychoanalyst, first to adults and later to...
The Importance of Melanie Klein
The Importance of Melanie Klein Melanie Klein was a groundbreaking and highly creative psychoanalyst. She was born in 1882 in Vienna but spent most of her life in UK, dying in London in 1960. Her life was fascinating, with many losses and tragedies but...
Carl Jung – Is He Relevant Today?
Carl Jung – Is He Relevant Today? Carl Gustav Jung was born into a religious family in Switzerland and studied to be a doctor. During these studies he became fascinated with current philosophy, anthropology and psychological theories and work in...
How Freud Is Still Relevant Today
How Freud Is Still Relevant Today Prompted by last month’s blog on Narcissism, this is the first in a series on some of the founding members in psychoanalysis and some of their ideas, many of which, I believe, are still useful for us today. Widely...
Narcissism
Narcissism The term 'narcissism' is banded around a lot. But what does being a narcissist actually mean? And how do we work out if we are in a relationship with one, or even if we might be one ourselves? Origins of Narcissism The term narcissism comes from...
The Art of Self-soothing 4: Using Our Senses
Using Our Senses This final post in my series is about using our bodily senses to self-soothe. There are lots of ways that we can self-sooth by looking. Sight Natural Vistas As I’ve already mentioned in a previous post, nature and landscapes are very calming. For...
The Art of Self-soothing 3: Creativity
Creativity is a sure way to self-soothe. People have lost themselves in creative pursuits since time began. Getting in touch with our creativity is a way of reaching something within ourselves. By allowing this to develop we can usually make something bigger than...
The Art of Self-Soothing 2: Nature
This month’s way to self soothe is by being in nature. It’s long been known and proven that being outside and preferably in nature can improve our mental health. Take a Short Walk The simplest ways are often the most effective. Such as going for a short walk from your...
The Art of Self Soothing
There is so much going on in the world now. It’s hard watching the news, in fact I am more likely to just quickly check a news ap than I am to watch the news in real time. Many people I speak to are unable to watch the news at all because they struggle to think of the...
How To Remember Your Dreams
I often work with people who dream frequently and are interested in their dreams. Many suffer from nightmares and night terrors which they remember vividly. I will be exploring these in a later post. But a lot of people don’t remember their dreams. This is a shame because our unconscious dreaming world is a powerful tool, often throwing light on challenges we may be facing in the present. So how can we begin to remember?
We all dream during our sleep. Dreaming happens during the rapid eye movement (REM) phase. This usually occurs towards the end of a sleep cycle. A sleep cycle usually lasts about 90 minutes and we can have several of these throughout the night. Potentially there are several pockets of time to remember our dreams, although it is perhaps easiest and most convenient to record the ones right at the end of our sleep as we wake in the morning.
It is possible to train ourselves to remember our dreams to some extent. If we tell our unconscious that we want to remember our dreams and drift off to sleep with the intention of remembering, this may encourage it to happen. Like many people who record their dreams, I find the easiest time is just before waking, when I’m sleeping relatively lightly. As I stir, sometimes mid-dream, I reach for my dream journal and pen and hastily scribble a few words. This will often be enough to prompt me to remember my dream later when I am fully awake.
How To Keep A Dream Journal
It helps to value the process of recording your dreams. One way to do this is to treat yourself to a really nice journal and a pen you find comfortable to write with. That way it’s a pleasure to write, even if it’s just a few scribbled words when you are only semi compos mentis!
Obviously, it makes sense to keep the journal and pen by your bedside for easy access, so you’re not fumbling around in the dawn light. To begin with, it can be quite an effort to wake yourself up enough to make notes, but hopefully it will be worth it when you are able to fall back asleep with enough of an interesting dream to explore later in the day.
Dream Apps
An alternative to a journal is to record dream fragments on a phone or tablet if you keep these in the bedroom. There are several apps available to enable this:
How To Reflect On Your Dream
If you want to reflect on your dream either alone or with someone, it’s best to have as much detail as possible to work with. It’s always good to find some time in the day, the earlier the better, to give the dream your attention.
Here are some prompts to ask yourself:
What did you write down?
Can you remember the dream from your notes?
What can you remember about it?
Who was in the dream?
Where did the dream take place?
What happened in the dream?
What were the feelings you experienced in the dream?
How did you feel immediately on waking up?
How do you feel now remembering it?
It can take time and determination to foster this habit. But give it a try, it could lead to you getting to know your dreams and therefore yourself much better!
Photography by Claudia Mañas on Unsplash