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Subject: Social Psychology
Course: PSYCHOLOGY 234
THE WOMAN WHO DREAMS OF STRESS
Arlene Amarosi, a working mother, has been under a lot of stress this
year. She has been having difficulty getting to sleep and often lies in bed
staring at the ceiling while worrying about her problems. As a result,
she’s often tired throughout her workday and relies on coffee and
caffeinated energy drinks to keep her going.
Lately Arlene’s sleep has been disturbed even more often than usual.
Several times over the past week she has been awakened by disturbing
dreams. In these dreams she is always at work, struggling to keep up
with an impossible workload. She is struggling with the new software
that her company recently trained her to use, but no matter how fast she
goes, she can’t keep up with the workflow. The dream ends when Arlene
wakes up in a panic. It often takes Arlene hours to get back to sleep, and
she has been feeling even more tired than usual during work.
1. Arlene is worried that her recent dream experiences indicate that
something is wrong with her. If you were Arlene’s friend and
wanted to reassure her, discuss how you would help her to understand the
normal experience of sleep and dreams.
2. Discuss the theory of dreaming that best explain Arlene’s
disturbing dreams and the reasons.
3. Discuss whether meditation might help Arlene.
4. If you were Arlene’s health care provider, discuss how you would advise
her to overcome her insomnia.
5. Discuss some effects on Arlene of her high caffeine intake and what
would happen if she just suddenly stopped drinking coffee and
energy drinks. Discuss how you would advise her to modify her caffeine instead.
