NIGHTMARES? This is what it says about you…

Email Delivery Date: March 5, 2024

🦁🖤 Lyon Pride,

Welcome to your weekly DREAM MAIL

What is it about YOUR personality that causes nightmares and lucid dreams?!

Joshua Lambert gives us the answer in his “A Study on the Personality Characteristics of Dreamers”. In this paper, he explores the relationship between personality traits, specifically boundary structure, and dream experiences. Lambert uses two pieces of research as the platform for his work. First, Ernest Hartmann’s theory of thin and thick mental boundaries and second, the Big Five theory of personality.

Lambert proposes that if you have thin mental boundaries, you are more prone to vivid dreaming and nightmares due to how easily your mind is influenced.

The study investigates how these boundaries, along with factors from the Big Five personality traits, might correlate with the frequency and intensity of nightmares and lucid dreaming.

Through empirical research, the study helps you understand how your psychological profiles might influence how frequently you experience lucid dreams and nightmares, potentially offering insights into what therapeutic approaches will work best for you, if you are being affected by distressing dreams.

Here is what you need to know!

The Big Five personality traits, also known as the Five Factor Model, are a widely accepted framework in psychology used to describe human personality. They are:

Openness to Experience:

This trait features characteristics such as imagination, insight, and having a broad range of interests. If you are high in openness, you are often more curious, creative, and open to trying new things.

Conscientiousness:

This trait is characterized by high levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse control, and goal-directed behaviors. If you are highly conscientious, you tend to be organized, mindful of details, and responsible.

Extraversion:

This trait is marked by excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness. If you are extroverted, you are often more outgoing and are energized by being around other people.

Agreeableness:

This trait includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors. If you are high in agreeableness, you tend to be more cooperative and get along well with others.

Neuroticism:

This trait is characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional instability. If you score high in neuroticism, you may experience stress, anxiety, and depression more frequently than those who are low in neuroticism.

The TWO traits

that can cause vivid dreams, nightmares and lucid dreams?

Openness to Experience:

If you are high in this trait, you are more likely to experience vivid dreams due to your rich imagination and openness to new experiences. You are more likely to experience nightmares, possibly due to your sensitivity to inner emotional states and external stressors. Additionally, you are more prone to experiencing lucid dreams, where you are aware of a dream while it’s happening, possibly due to your introspective nature and strong ability to self-reflect.

Neuroticism:

If you have high levels of neuroticism, you are more prone to experiencing nightmares. This is likely due to your tendency to experience negative emotions with high intensity, such as anxiety and depression. This has a strong impact on your psyche and can influence your dream content.

These correlations suggest that certain personality traits can influence the type and quality of your dreams. But even more revolutionary is that a therapist, counselor or coach who understands this connection can more quickly identify the underlying issues you are facing and more accurately structure their therapy to be more effective with you. Forward this email to your therapist and see what they think!