How dreams help us to accept death: A case study

Abstract

The patient was referred to the psychologist due to recurring dreams related to threats and death. A few sessions after existential psychotherapy, the patient had seen a dream full of symbols. And this dream was very strange and meaningful to the patient, and she wanted to interpret it. Usually, when the dream is repeated over and over, it indicates that the unconscious mind of the person intends to transmit a message that the patient is not willing to accept or face with that specific issue in the real world, or rather, the resistance causes the unconscious mind to use the symbol to convey its message. The interpretation of the dream taken in this article is most similar to that of Professor Freud’s approach, although it has religious and cultural implications related to the patient's background. In that dream, probably the most important unconscious mind message for the patient was that She could not run away from death and if the patient did not accept death, he would have to endure more stress. Only by accepting that death may occur at any given moment, these recurring dreams would leave the patient. In Existentialist Therapy School, one of the essential things to be dealt with is death. The dream shows how the patient is slowly approaching death after several sessions of psychotherapy, and the unconscious mind, in a very indirect and symbolic way, tries to help the patient to accept death and reduce the patient's psychosocial pressure.