Dreams in obsessive-compulsive disorder - An analysis of semantic and emotional content compared to controls

Objective: We sought to investigate the content of the dreams of obsessive- compulsive outpatients in the light of the following postulate: if dreams p lay a role in the processing of information and mental storage of events of the day, the dream recollections of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) pa tients should present evidence of diurnal obsessive or ritual themes. Metho d: On seven successive mornings, immediately after awakening in their home environment, 10 nondepressed OCD patients and 11 controls recorded their re collections of the night's dreams on an audiotape. After randomization of d reams, two judges were asked to carry out a blind evaluation of the emotion al characteristics perceptible in these dreams and the presence of obsessiv e or ritual themes. Results: 47 dreams were collected in the OCD group and 55 in the control group. No differences were found between the two groups r egarding anxiety, sadness, the theme of failure, or the presence of obsessi ve or ritual themes. About 60% of OCD patients and 73% of the control group recounted dreams expressing anxiety, sadness, or failure. Most surprisingl y, in the control group as well as in the OCD group, about one-third of sub jects presented obsessive or ritual themes in their dreams. Conclusion: The se data suggest that there is no evident link between diurnal mental activi ty and the morning recollection of nocturnal dreams regarding anxiety, fail ure, sadness, and obsessive-compulsive themes. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science In c. All rights reserved.