Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-04-07
Why We Dream.
BY H. ADDINGToN BRUCE.

ROM time to time I receive Setters of inquiry
II regarding dreams. Most. of the writers Oh
- these letters seek light specific dreams
that have puzzled them But also l receive In
quiries as to the meaning of dreams in general
And recently a question was put to me which
a, great many people have asked themselves
namely the question, why do we dream at all?'
In answering this question scientists used to be
content with calling attention to the connection
between dreams and physical conditions expert
enced by the sleeper-sensations of heat OF cold'
of pressure etc.
A dreamer they would say, is person who
while asleep, experiences some sensation whicn
disturbs him-such as sensation or colo, que
to a current of air from open window dow
ing on his foot which has become exposed by
the slipping of his bedclothes.
The sensation reaches his brain, and prompts
him to attempt to account for what he feels IL
he were awake he could readily and promptly
do So But being asleep, with his consciousness
invent IAN explanation This explanation is his
dream,
Undoubtedly this answer to the question of why
dream is correct, so far as 1t goes But IL
does not go far enough.
1t does not explain why similar sensations OF
heat, of cold of give rise to striklngy
different people. This phase of the question must
also be taken into account
And taking it into account, an Austrian psy-
chologst, Professor Sigmund Freud, has made
certain discoveries which enable us to answer our
question more definitely than ever before.
Professor Freud has found that there is an
emotional element in every dream. Also he has
found that our dreams, no matter how trivial they
seem, always relate to ideas and desires which
for one reason or another are displeasing to us.
These ideas and desires, because they are dis
pleasing, we put out of mind and try to repress
We do not like to think of them, we wish to for
get them.
We can do this we'll enough when we are awake
But in sleep, with consciousness OFT guard,
the is different.
Then the repressed ideas come surging upward,
TO reassert. themselves and make us think OF
them. The physical sensations which We eXpe-
rience in sleep give them their chance by causing
our mind to become partially active.
But, fortunately, certain repressve power still
is at work If the displeasing ideas and desires
did completely emerge into consciousness they
would be so painful that they would awaken u.s.
Therefore, things arranged that they can
emerge only in a disguised often fantastic, and
quite unacceptable form
On this view that is to say, dreaming is a pro-
tective device to enable. us to continue sleeping.
Sometimes, to be sure. the mechanism works
badly. The repressed ideas too strong to be
denied What happens then is that our dream
itself becomes disturbing that we awake in
order to escape from 1t, as in the case OF night
mares
This theory of Freud's, it must be added has
one or two types of dream-lke the so-called tel
epathic dream-to which it does not apply. But
1t has been borne out time and again by psyche
logical analysis of dreams.
In instance after instance it has been proved
that dreams do have a hidden meaning that ae-
cords with the Freudian theory-that in fine, they
do relate to ideas and desires distressing, some
times repellant, in character.
Copyright, 1916, by H. A. Bruce)