Carl Jung: In itself the fact of having frequent dreams is not abnormal.

To P. Schmid

Dear Herr Schmid, 21 December 1934

In itself the fact of having frequent dreams is not abnormal.

There are very many people who have a very active dream life, but this could not be said to be in any way extraordinary or pathological.

If, on the other hand, people who ordinarily dream very little suddenly get into a phase of dreaming very much, this is a sure sign that an overloading
of the unconscious has set in, usually because there is a problematical situation which the dreamer has tended to overlook or has not mastered.

In such cases one can say that the unconscious would have all sorts of things to contribute to his conscious life provided he understood what the unconscious meant.

But even such an activation of the unconscious is not in itself a pathological phenomenon.

Only when the dreamer is basically disturbed by the dreams, for instance in sleeping, or feels nervous the next day, can one speak of a real disturbance of the psychic equilibrium.

But that is not in itself a disquieting fact either, for the equilibrium can often be temporarily upset without there being any fear of a more deep-seated injury.

Yours truly,

C.G. Jung ~Carl Jung, Letters Vol. I, Page 182