Do fearful dreams of hunter-gatherers inform modern anxiety disorders?
Friday, May, 24, 2024.
As a family therapist, it's fascinating to explore how the dreams of our ancient ancestors may relate to the anxiety disorders we see today.
In hunter-gatherer societies, which still mirror the lifestyles of our early human ancestors, dreams play a crucial role in coping with threats and anxieties.
Recent cross-cultural research delves into the function of dreams among hunter-gatherer societies, suggesting that dreams help prepare us for anxiety-provoking situations in waking life. These are known as ‘simulation theories.’
A previous study by the same team found that people react better to frightening situations when they've experienced fearful dreams beforehand. This current study takes it a step further by examining the cultural context of dreams, comparing narratives from European and North American societies with those from Africa.
Dangerous Dreams and Coping Mechanisms
The study focused on two hunter-gatherer societies: the BaYaka in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Hadza in Tanzania. Dr. Lampros Perogamvros, a co-author of the study, explained:
“We discovered that the dreams of the BaYaka and Hadza are very dynamic. They often begin with a situation of danger, in which life is threatened, but end up staging a means of coping with this threat, unlike the scenarios in the Western groups we observed.”
This research included participants with psychiatric disorders from high-income, capitalistic populations for comparison. Dr. Perogamvros noted:
“…in clinical populations—such as patients suffering from nightmares or social anxiety—the dreams are intense but do not contain a cathartic emotional resolution. In these latter groups, the adaptive function of dreaming seems to be deficient.”
Social Support in Dreams
A key narrative in the dreams of hunter-gatherer societies is social support. For instance, a dream where a person is attacked by a buffalo might end with them being rescued by a friend. Dr. David Samson, the study’s first author, highlighted:
“Among the BaYaka and Hadza, the social bonds they have are, by necessity, very strong.
Compared to the more individualist societies in Europe and North America, day-to-day life and division of labor is typically more egalitarian. It appears this kind of social connection and reliance on community means that the best way they process the emotional content associated with threat in their dreams is through the social relationships they have.
In effect, these relationships are the emotional tools used to process life’s challenges.”
Dreams in Individualist Societies
Dr. Perogamvros emphasized that the dreams of people from individualist, capitalistic countries also have their functions:
“…it is difficult to deduce any causal links between the dreams and daytime functioning in this study.
Nor should we conclude that dreams in groups of Western individuals have no emotional function.
There seems to be more than one type of ‘functional’ dream. The present study shows that there is a strong link between our socio-cultural life and the function of dreams.”
Final thoughts
As environmental psychologists continue to study dreams in hunter-gatherer societies, they may provide valuable insights into how our ancestors might have used dreams to manage threats and anxieties, a function that might parallel how modern anxiety disorders play out behind our awareness.
Are we looking at this wrong? What if by understanding these connections, we can better appreciate the diverse roles that dreams play in our emotional lives, because we have a better understanding of the significance of cultural context in anxiety disorders?
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
RESEARCH:
Samson, D. R., Clerget, A., Abbas, N., Senese, J., Sarma, M. S., Mabulla, I. A., Mabulla, A. Z., Miegakanda, V., Borghese, F., Henckaerts, P., Schwartz, S., Sterpenich, V., Gettler, L. T., Boyette, A., Crittenden, A. N., & Perogamvros, L. (2023). Evidence for an emotional adaptive function of dreams: A cross-cultural study. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-43319-z
