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Sigmund
Freud
 Considered
the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund
Freud (1856-1939) revolutionizes the study of dreams with his work The Interpretation Of Dreams. Freud
begins to analyze
dreams in order to understand aspects of personality as they relate to
pathology. He believes that nothing you do occurs by chance; every
action and thought is motivated by your unconscious at
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some level. In order
to live in a civilized society, you have a tendency to hold back our
urges and repress our impulses. However, these urges and
impulses must be released in some way; they have a way of coming to the
surface in disguised forms.
One
way these urges and impulses are released is through your dreams. Because
the content of the unconscious may be extremely disturbing or harmful,
Freud believes that the unconscious expresses itself in a symbolic
language.
Freud
categorizes aspects of the mind into three parts:
Id
- centered around primal impulses, pleasures, desires, unchecked urges and wish
fulfillment.
Ego
- concerned with the conscious, the rational, the moral and the self-aware aspect of the mind.
Superego
- the censor for the id, which is also responsible for enforcing the moral codes of
the ego.
When
you are awake, the impulses and desires of the id are suppressed
by the superego. Through dreams, you are able to get a glimpse into
your
unconscious or the id. Because
your guards are 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 and translates the id's
disturbing content into a more acceptable symbolic form. This helps to preserve
sleep and prevent you from waking up shocked at the images. As a result, confusing
and cryptic dream images occur.
According
to Freud, the reason you struggle to remember your dreams, is because the superego
is at work. It is doing its job by protecting the conscious mind from the
disturbing images and desires conjured by the unconscious.
How
Freud Interpreted Dreams 
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