Sleep and dreaming
You will find lots of information about the importance of sleep and the connection between dreaming and mental health on this website, see:
• Dreaming to forget: the real reason why we often don't remember our dreams >>
You can also watch the following free lectures on the HG College's Online Courses website:
- Why do we dream?
Joe Griffin reviews past theories and recent research findings (all of which add further evidence in support of his ground-breaking theory) as he tells the riveting story of how he solved the mystery of our dreams...
Watch now - Dreaming, daydreaming and creativity
Ivan Tyrrell's fascinating talk from the HG Diploma course throws new light on our evolution as he explains the crucial role of the REM state and much more...
Watch now
Definition of dreaming
An imaginary perceptual experience that occurs primarily in REM sleep. Dreams act out our unexpressed emotional expectations (positive and negative) through the medium of metaphor. Dreaming reduces stress and preserves the integrity of our emotional responses. Excessive and intensive dreaming has been linked to clinical depression. Dream phenomena occurring while patients are awake have been linked to schizophrenia.
More information about why we dream can be found in the book Why we dream: the definitive answer – How dreaming keeps us sane or can drive us mad (listed opposite)
> Click here to explore a website dedicated to why we dream
Explore our articles and interviews
Dancing out of step
Miriam Chachamu explains why she is always mindful of those who are not in the therapy room.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy… and Overcome Anxiety
Do you think of yourself as an anxious person? This can lead you to think that anxiety is your lot; that there is damn all you can do about it. Well, that isn’t true at all and you are confining yourself to a limiting box if you continue to believe that...
Why we dream in metaphor
The expectation fulfilment theory of dreaming put forward by Joe Griffin is, to date, the best explanation for why we dream and why we forget our dreams...
Give your car keys to someone who loves you
Mark Evans describes how one key idea helped Stephen to master his drug addiction.
What’s love got to do with it?
Among our essential emotional needs are two nods to our need for human interaction, in the forms of both an intimate relationship and community connection.
The fast cure for phobia and trauma: evidence that it works
Counsellors who use it know that the 'rewind technique' is fast, safe, painless and effective for dealing with trauma. Keith Guy and Nicola Guy have tested it in research.
Case Study: Evidence that it works, the fast cure for phobia and trauma
Read about how a Faulklands war veteran overcame the severe flashbacks and panic attacks he suffered for 20 years after a horrifically traumatising experience during his service in the navy.
The Trickster: Medicine's forgotten character
Therapy in all its forms can be confusingly capricious and unpredictable. We should not try to deny this, but learn to accept it, says Larry Dossey MD.
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To help others effectively we need to have enough ‘spare capacity’ – which means looking after our own wellbeing too. Find out more about Human Givens College's new live online workshop - with Emily Gajewski.
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