Interpreting our dreams: the Jung and the restful

Dreams often reveal what is happening in the depths of our psyche, from fears to hopes. In a new guest column, psychoanalyst Michael Murphy analyses the meaning of our dream world. Denise O'Donoghue reports 

Dreams occur every 90 minutes and can count for up to a quarter of a night's sleep. 

DREAMS have long been considered the royal road to the unconscious as they were once beautifully described by Sigmund Freud, a way for our unconscious selves to communicate our otherwise inaccessible hopes and fears to us. Psychiatrist Carl Jung felt similarly, stating: "The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the psyche." 

Psychoanalyst Michael Murphy agrees, pointing out that dreams have long been a survival function in many mammals, including humans, so understanding their meaning is important.