Dreaming about the Pandemic: a content analysis of COVID-19-related dreams during the outbreak in Portugal
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2023
Autores
Becker, Joana Proença
Vicente, Henrique (Orientador)
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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of people around the world, altering sleep patterns and dream experiences. Since dream content is associated with waking-life experiences, one would expect pandemic-related concerns to pervade dreams. This study aimed to explore the content of dreams associated with the pandemic and to assess if specific pandemic experiences and concerns, perceived impact of the event, and sociodemographic characteristics influenced dream content. The survey questionnaire included questions on pandemic-related experiences, perceived impact on personal, social, and professional life, sleep patterns, and dream experiences. A thematic analysis was performed to codify participants’ dream contents. Chi-square tests addressed possible relations between dream content and pandemic-related experiences. The most frequent dream themes were sickness, death, inefficiency, and work-related concerns. Being a health professional was associated with inefficiency and work-related concerns themes. Inefficiency dreams were also associated with the death of loved ones and with impairments in social life. There was a strong association between the pandemic impact on employment and the being chased theme. Data supports the notion that dreams reflect waking-life anxieties and concerns, which can be a way of understanding them and looking for possible solutions. Investigating the factors that may influence dream content can contribute to developing prevention strategies and therapeutic interventions in different healthcare settings.