I was going to recommend a long academic paper on child trauma and dissociation, but I would have to admit that I haven’t read it all yet due to being really mental these last few days. Nevertheless, it presents several interesting hypotheses, so if you’re interested:
Betrayal Trauma: Traumatic Amnesia as an Adaptive Response to Childhood Abuse [PDF]
The following I have read in full. This is an article from the Suite 101 which discusses the possible meaning of dreams, as conceived by the likes of Freud and Jung. I’m always loathe to take this kind of thing seriously, as I think it’s very unlikely that we’ll ever really know the point or meaning of dreams, but nevertheless, the article succinctly describes interpretations of some of the most common symbols in dreams.
The most pertinent for me was falling. Like many others, it’s a dream that I experience frequently. I always wake because I’ve acted out what I am doing in the dream – ie., I am flailing about as I ‘fall’. According to the article, this dream could represent repressed despair or anxiety, with the subconscious using the dream to express “the threat”.
In all honesty, that probably proves that there’s nothing particularly revelatory in this piece but nevertheless, it’s worth having a quick look at.
Related posts:
Follow Follow Tweet Tweet 
You know how CRAP I am @ commenting in public!! SO…please forgive me!… I just want to say that you are SO not “mental” HUN- YOU have Huge insight into your illness and meds and that the services available are imho! SO not up to mark!! You are a HUGELY BRIGHT SPARK!! who again IMHO deserves FAR better tre atment than you are currently getting honey!! if only I could pay for better treatment for you,I would!! (even
THAT`S DISGRACEFUL,that ANYONE should have to pay for treatment)!! We ALL just want to see you better! and I know it may not seemlike it right now but WE shall ALL pull together to get you well- I WILL HAPPILY speak to ANYONE you wish to ensure you get the necessary treatment required! i MAY ONLY be a Nursing Sister status,But I HAVE medical friends who may be able to fight your corner! just plese hang on to JUST how much you are LOVED!! XX CVM.
The core myth of psychotherapy and counselling is that insight brings about behavioural change. Some greater understand? Sure. The ability to forgive oneself? Sometimes.
25 years ago I set out to become as expert as the so called experts – it’s a necessary foundation, but it is only the beginning.
In my anger at the system I waited far too long before taking the initiative, before beginning to note down those occasional, small, practical, physical changes – which usually occur by accident – which actually changed the way I felt for a while, and made it easier to get up the following day.
Start building your own model of mental wellbeing now.
I don’t try to get lost in my head any more-especially with definitions-so what I say next is from my own personal cultural experience.
There is an assertion(completely non-medical in basis) that we progressively form our internal dictionaries for life. Dreams use symbols when the mind gets stuck. (for example your conscious thought thinks a snake represents “A” but the internal dictionary you have created thinks snakes are “B”.)
So for me I trust my internal dictionary alone. I know quite vividly childhood and adult abuse. When we start to “interpret” we lose (I think-my opinion only) the “gut” opinion.
The gut thing says: X person is not okay for me-then the interpretations come in and say: but such and so is highly esteemed, valued by the community, has done lots of research,and will probably have the “answers” etc. Then you meet with X and X is a douchebag.