Dr. Dave Rabin

Well, I actually became interested in consciousness and dreams from a very, very young age. It was probably When I was between maybe four and seven years old, I started to have very vivid dreams that I couldn't really explain, but felt very real to me. And they felt as real as my regular waking life. And I found myself referencing those dreams when I was interacting with my brothers or friends.

Well, I actually became interested in consciousness and dreams from a very, very young age. It was probably When I was between maybe four and seven years old, I started to have very vivid dreams that I couldn't really explain, but felt very real to me. And they felt as real as my regular waking life. And I found myself referencing those dreams when I was interacting with my brothers or friends.

And they would have no idea what I was talking about. And then I would instantly remember that this is something I dreamed about. It wasn't something that happened in our regular lives. And that just started to make me interested in what these dream things we have are.

And they would have no idea what I was talking about. And then I would instantly remember that this is something I dreamed about. It wasn't something that happened in our regular lives. And that just started to make me interested in what these dream things we have are.

And so I think as I got older and started school, I went to my parents and I said, hey, as I started to have more scary dreams, I was like, what are dreams? What's going on when we're sleeping? And they just kind of gave me the answer that all kids get from their parents pretty much, which is, don't worry about dreams.

And so I think as I got older and started school, I went to my parents and I said, hey, as I started to have more scary dreams, I was like, what are dreams? What's going on when we're sleeping? And they just kind of gave me the answer that all kids get from their parents pretty much, which is, don't worry about dreams.

They can't hurt you because our parents want to make sure that we don't become afraid of sleep. And that was fine for the time being, but it didn't really satisfy my curiosity because I kept having vivid dreams that seemed real. And it started to make me question, you know, what is the word real really mean?

They can't hurt you because our parents want to make sure that we don't become afraid of sleep. And that was fine for the time being, but it didn't really satisfy my curiosity because I kept having vivid dreams that seemed real. And it started to make me question, you know, what is the word real really mean?

And, and maybe the, uh, adults don't know the answer to that question because these dreams feel real and regular waking life feels real. So maybe there's more to it. Um, and then from there, I, you know, went and started reading, you know, as I got older into high school and things like that, I started reading science fiction that my vivid dreams kind of like faded. I didn't have them as often. Um,

And, and maybe the, uh, adults don't know the answer to that question because these dreams feel real and regular waking life feels real. So maybe there's more to it. Um, and then from there, I, you know, went and started reading, you know, as I got older into high school and things like that, I started reading science fiction that my vivid dreams kind of like faded. I didn't have them as often. Um,

And then when I got into medical training, I became very interested through my science fiction days in neuroscience and brain science, how the brain works. And some very great mentors that I had along the way kind of advised me that just studying dreams is very hard and that it's hard to build a career doing that. And so I would be better off

And then when I got into medical training, I became very interested through my science fiction days in neuroscience and brain science, how the brain works. And some very great mentors that I had along the way kind of advised me that just studying dreams is very hard and that it's hard to build a career doing that. And so I would be better off

to become a doctor and be able to actually treat people and work with people and learn from people, which as doctors learning from our patients is like one of the best possible ways that you can learn anything. And so our patients are often our best teachers.

to become a doctor and be able to actually treat people and work with people and learn from people, which as doctors learning from our patients is like one of the best possible ways that you can learn anything. And so our patients are often our best teachers.

And so I started working in medical school and doing neuroscience research on the side and starting in college and really became interested in chronic stress.

And so I started working in medical school and doing neuroscience research on the side and starting in college and really became interested in chronic stress.

and the because stress in particular impacts our dreams right like if you have if you watch a scary movie that's just as you have before bed your dreams will take on that content and if you have a really hard day your dreams can take on that content and stress changes the way we make meaning in the world and meaningfulness in the world during our waking life seems to have some impact on what material pops up during our dreams so that became interesting and then

and the because stress in particular impacts our dreams right like if you have if you watch a scary movie that's just as you have before bed your dreams will take on that content and if you have a really hard day your dreams can take on that content and stress changes the way we make meaning in the world and meaningfulness in the world during our waking life seems to have some impact on what material pops up during our dreams so that became interesting and then

As I was treating patients in 2012 timeframe, 2013, I started to be treating more people who had severe PTSD and trauma-related disorders and being a learned fear, learned stress disorder, and realized that most of our Western standard of care treatments were not working very well. We're taught to use a lot of medications for PTSD, and the medications only work really in about

As I was treating patients in 2012 timeframe, 2013, I started to be treating more people who had severe PTSD and trauma-related disorders and being a learned fear, learned stress disorder, and realized that most of our Western standard of care treatments were not working very well. We're taught to use a lot of medications for PTSD, and the medications only work really in about