Sometimes dreams consist of making a terrible descent from an incredible height and waking up right before hitting the ground, and other times they involve talking lions that have taken over the world and want to make my father their king. Usually, waking up from these kinds of dreams presents reason to hesitate opening my eyes and entering consciousness, but then, there is another type of dream that has some rather impressive side-effects: the sexy dream.
Recently, a friend and I gabbed about how the summer heat seems to be adding fuel to some already fiery dreams. This particular type of dream leaves the typical human being cursing over waking up right before the best part and begging for just a few more moments of respite. But apparently, sexy dreams might be more than just sub-conscious television for an otherwise-clear mind or an excuse for being late and slightly unfocused in summer classes.
First of all, if having dreams about sex is slightly disturbing or concerning, don’t fret. More often than not, these dreams have nothing to do with sex at all. One theory of why dreams exist in the first place, says that dreams arise out of a great deal of mental activity that occurs in the subconscious mind. Naturally, since sex is one of human beings’ most prominent drives, it’s no shock that some dreams will have sexual themes.
Dreams can reveal a wide range of emotions—desire, fear, anxiety, emptiness, and discontent. In a series on dreams and their meaning by the Huffington Post, Richard Nicoletti, J.D., a psychotherapist trained at the Jung Institute in Boston, spoke on the potential meaning behind different kinds of dreams. He said that the joining of two bodies could suggest the idea of wholeness within, depending on the partner in the dream. If the sex involves an inappropriate partner (a professor, relative, best friend, etc.) it might just mean that one admires a quality about that person that’s either missing from a real-life partner, or in oneself.
Nicoletti also said that sexy dreams could be compensatory, for those without many good relationships or those in relationships that are missing depth, attraction, or another key element.
The actual purpose of sexy dreams is still debatable and highly subjective, but if there’s one thing to do this summer, it’s to sit back and enjoy one’s sexy subconscious, or at least try to learn from it—it might be trying to say something.
Photo Credit: MommysDirtyLittleSecret.com
