Dreaming Reality: How Dreaming Keeps Us Sane, or Can Drive Us Mad

by Joe Griffin, Ivan Tyrrell

Ivan Tyrrell and Joe Griffin explain why dreaming is vital for our mental health; why depressed people dream more intensely than non-depressed people; why daydreaming is fundamental to who we are; the universal appeal of storytelling and metaphorical communication; the connection between dreaming and learning; and much more.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Mental Illness

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Carmilla Voiez · Rating 4 out of 5]

An immensely readable book from 2006 that presents a clearly stated workable theory on why we dream and what happens when something upsets the balance between our dreaming and waking lives. I've looked online for updates on evidence for the theory and have found little independent research in the intervening 12 years. However, sometimes you hear or read an idea and it feels both true and simple - this is one of those ideas.

It deals with psychosis, autism, depression and healthy dreaming. It tears the previous theories of Freud and Jung to shreds and claims that much damage has been done to patients by following those theories.

I also found references to a lot of interesting books that I plan to obtain.

If you have an interest in dreams, hypnosis or psychosis, I would recommend this book. It is not particularly academic and as such is easily understood.

[Kat McAra · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite non-fiction books of all time. As someone who loves puns and metaphors I was really interested to see what part they play in dreams.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very in-depth look into why we dream, it was quite hard going at times for me but only because I have a short reading length span and wanted to understand the science etc. I’m so pleased I persevered as it was very interesting and I felt I learnt something from the findings.