Finally, there are those dreams many of us have about being revealed as an imposter. This challenging (even traumatizing) experience of being “found out” is portrayed in a dramatic manner by Kets de Vries (Kets de Vries,2003). He is a leadership expert who applies psychoanalytic theories to the functioning of organizations. It is in the sorting out of our “real” identity from the many “false” identities that “saturate” us. Ken Gergen (Gergen, 2000) suggests that we are often in a state of “multi-phrenia”. Each of the identities competing for our attention may show up in our dreams and be tested out in some powerful and often insightful ways—often leaving us naked and ashamed. Contained in each of these themes of identity in dreams, as identified by the ego psychologists, push us forward in anticipation of the future. These dreams of identity, however, are often accompanied by a pull backwards in fear. Our dreams offer us perspectives on both anticipation and fear.
Signaling: this ego-function is a “Biggy”! This is the function of dreams that wakes us up at night with a cold sweat. Many years ago, Sigmund Freud (1934) identified this signaling as an important function served by anxiety:
“[Freud observed that] small amounts of anxiety under the control of the ego may act as a signal to prevent the development of a traumatic situation, in which there occurs anxiety of overwhelming proportions. (Mack, 1992, p. 348)”
A splash of cold water (or perhaps acid) on our face lets us know that we are treading on dangerous turf. Our ego is telling us (or even shouting at us): “Beware, this is not where you want to go right now.” The fears of childhood reside deep in our psyche and do not wish to be given re-birth in our adult years. Traumatizing experiences don’t want to be re-lived. We experience nightmares when childhood fears are experienced in our dreams, or the trauma is replayed. The signal is being ignored, and the result is a horrible experience that wakes us up, out of breath and sweating profusely:
“. . . [A major] factor that contributes to the occurrence of . . . overwhelming anxiety in dreams is the failure of the signal function to prevent the development of more intense anxiety. The ego in the dream situation is unable . . . to ‘sample’ a traumatic situation in the dream or to regulate effectively the amount of anxiety that is experienced.” (Mack, 1992, pp. 348-349)
A large number of dream themes are related to this signaling function. These themes include some lightly sounding signals, such as falling in a dream or feeling uneasy. Moderately loud signals include nightmares, being chased, and some forms of disturbing sexuality. Loud signals are to be found in dreams of falling to pieces (like Humpty Dumpty) and experiencing an earth-shattering apocalypse.
