Reflective awareness in dreams following loss and trauma

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to explore (a) the relationships between dream reflective awareness and different types of impactful dreams, (b) the relationships between waking reflective awareness and dream reflective awareness following loss and trauma, and (c) the self-transformative potential of reflective awareness within dreams. We conducted a 2 (loss/trauma experiences) X 3 (timeframe: within the preceding 6 months, within the preceding 6-24 months, within the preceding 3-7 years) cross-sectional study to examine reflective awareness within impactful dreams and the changes in subsequent waking reflective awareness. The major results suggested that (a) only transcendent dreams were highly related to explicit dream lucidity (i.e., lucid mindfulness); (b) a continuity between pre-dream waking mindfulness and intra-dream self-awareness was specific to mundane dreams; (c) the experiences of loss or trauma and the timeframe of such experiences both predicted depersonalization within dreams; and (d) depersonalization within dreams was predictive of subsequent decreases in waking mindfulness. In sum, the present study replicated prior studies of the self-transformative effects of impactful dreams, demonstrated the continuity between dreaming and waking reflective awareness, and clarified the ways in which reflective awareness within dreams may affect post-traumatic growth.