Jung, Hadfield and several other dream researchers believe the dream process is linked with homeostasis or self regulation. See Man and His Symbols, Jung – Dreams and Nightmares, Hadfield – Mind and Movement, Crisp. This means that the process underlying dream production helps keep psychological balance, just as homeostasis keeps body functions balanced. Put bluntly, dreams are said to compensate for conscious attitudes and personality traits. So the coldly intellectual man would have dreams expressive of feelings and the irrational as part of a compensatory process. The ascetic might dream of sensuous pleasures, and the lonely unloved child dream of affection and comfort.
