In "The Interpretation of Dreams," Sigmund Freud also referred to anxiety dreams. My dream is clearly an anxiety dream that points to an underlying phobia: my fear of illness and death. Freud also argues that most anxiety has its roots in sexual tension and repressed sexual desires. In "The Interpretation of Dreams," Freud claims, "neurotic anxiety derives from sexual life, and is the expression of unsatisfied desire which has been diverted from its goal." Therefore, Freud would seek for sexual symbols in my dream. Being in a hospital and receiving surgery does not seem like sexual symbolism. However, Freud looked beyond the manifest content of the dream to discover underlying sexual imagery. In my dream, being cut open symbolizes the vagina. A crystal in my body is like a phallus. Surgical implements are also phallic symbols. The doctors are paternal figures, signifying the Oedipus or Electra complexes that explain repressed...
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