A Response to Amanda's Question

In her blog Amanda asked: What is it that your subconscious attempt to convey anyhow through nightmares?
This question has been asked time and time again and still there is no real answer to this question. Dream analysis is one of the few things that we have that could potentially answer this question. As Freud believed, many of our dreams and daydreams convey some type of deep desire or fantasy of ours that we hide from the outside world. This explanation could not possibly work for nightmares though, could it? We do not fantasize about getting chased by rabid animals or killed by an insane mass murderer or a loved one dying or even ourselves dying. These thoughts in our waking day are terrifying to us and are just as terrifying when played out in the very real (or at least to us) dream world. This is where we find the answer to what they are trying to convey. These terrible thoughts and happenings cannot be fathomed or thought about constantly while living or we would go insane and have constant anxiety. Our waking lives would become nightmares. So in our vulnerable and open sleep states we fathom these awful happenings, we let our mind wander and wonder about the dark and seedy parts of the world and our lives. This release allows us to live our lives without constant anxiety and depression. Instead of desires and wishes, we allow the things we desire the least and would not wish upon our worst enemy to bubble to the surface and convey our fears and worries in a manageable way. Anxiety and depression do, however, affect numerous people around the world so what does this say about nightmares for them? Are they not sufficient enough or do they have an overactive mind?