EBD Blog

This has little too do with the emotional and behavior disorders experienced children and youths, but it reminds me that there are still folks around who attribute meaning to their interpretations of others’ dreams. Usually, intrapsychic—Freudian or Jungian—interpretations of dreams assign symbolic meanings to them. Writing for the Cox News Service, Terri Jo Ryan, reported a long string of dreams and their deep, dark, secret meaning (sorry if the sarcasm dripped onto your keyboard).

Nightmare: Someone is trying to break into the home.

Meanings: The intruder is often an inner psychological figure who may represent some shameful or unwanted part of yourself who is breaking into your consciousness. Some new insight is about to emerge from the darkness.

Nightmare: Catastrophic disaster — earthquake, avalanche, flood, fire or storm.

Meanings: Disasters represent emotional upheaval — an earthquake, our world is being shaken up; an avalanche, feeling overwhelmed and buried by some situation we find ourself in; a flood, being caught up in the currents of everyday life and not feeling on solid ground; a fire, being consumed by passion, rage or some other strong feeling that may feel out of control.

Disaster can be a positive image indicating a significant change by tearing down old patterns of behavior, a turning point of opportunity, or it may be a warning of something valuable in life that’s falling apart or being swept away.

There are many other, even-richer examples. Anyone who does this with children and youth should be required to show proof that their interpretations are accurate, no?

Link to Ms. Ryan’s article, which appeared in the Middletown (OH, US) Journal.