Yael Spyer
Herbs and Dreaming: The role of dreams in herbal diagnosis and treatment
Abstract
The aim of this study was to review the phenomenon of herbs which cause dreams through their use. This opens into the wider arena of their specific action; which herbs conversely are used in the 'treatment' of dreams; and how often these situations arise within the clinical setting.
Several Humoral/Energetic medical philosophies were examined to find out how dreams are regarded in terms of their cause and their use in diagnosis of illness. A wider review of cultural dreamologies were also undertaken.
A questionnaire was sent to practising herbalists to try and determine how much of these doctrines and philosophies infiltrated into the treatment of presenting complaints involving dreams, and dreams brought up in context to the case story in general.
Energetically the Heart and Liver featured especially in traditional medical dreaming theories, both in those which did not have 'nerves', but also in concepts of disease processes used in contemporary Western Herbal practice. Ie. Herbalists were not just prescribing 'nervines' for presenting complaints involving dreams, but were addressing the 'heart' and 'liver' as well. Herbs that caused dream reactions could also be interpreted as more than nervines.
93% of respondents to the questionnaire had experienced dreams being mentioned in connection to the case story at some point in the treatment (occasionally dreams referring to the resolution of the presenting complaint were expressed) - the majority of herbalists followed these up; excessive/strange dreaming and nightmares were presented as part of the presenting complaint more often than the main presenting complaint;71% of respondents had experienced repeated and/or unexpected dream reports from specific herbs given in medication; some herbalists and patients dreamed of herbs that were useful for the given complaint - although for the majority this was not very frequently. All herbs used for dreaming situations had some traditional or folk use in this area, or could be backed up by their actions.
