Reoccuring Daydream/Nightmare? (anxiety, college, unconsciously, people)

[Bjarki]

I'm a Senior in high school.... It started when I was just starting my senior year... i had this dream that my math teacher got mad at me and told me to never come back. I only need 5 credits to graduate, so i have a lot of pressure to pass all of my five courses.

I don't have THAT dream anymore, but when I woke up, it was so vivid I thought I had actually 'missed' my entire senior year and that was really scary.

Now, I have different alternative dreams about failing other classes.. Yet, I'm a good student... The dreams get more intense and more vivid as the graduation date gets closer and closer.


Any help?

There are also some strange 'coincidences' that people say and or do that I dream of when the nightmare strikes.

Thanks.

[In2itive_1]

Just to say, that the occurrences in dreams are not literal, but usually symbolic of something else. It appears you are feeling such pressure to succeed and are doubting yourself, when you are likely doing better than you think and is just insecurity. Actions in dreams can be the opposite of what is going on in real life.

Not to be confused with a precognitive dream or feeling hesitancy about a place, person or situation, which can happen. I do not think that what you describe is precognitive, just dealing with stress to achieve. I know that we can subliminally absorb something in a day and wake the following morning to think "Why would I dream of ______ or _______, when the day before, occurrences or images will unconsciously make an impact, that can surface in dreams.

There are books on "Dream Analysis", that give explanations for images, objects and events in dreams and probably can find something online. Good luck with finishing up - you must have concerns for different reasons, but I imagine you will be fine.

[John7777]

Every once in a while I'll have a dream about some class that I signed up for and then forgot... Until the week of the final. I don't dare go back because they'll wonder who I am. So I go to take the final, which, in my dream, doesn't work out so well. Then I wake up and realize that I already graduated a long time ago.

The funny thing is, maybe it's not a dream. Maybe I really did sign up for some class I forgot about?? Entirely possible.

I could tell you other stories about school, hangovers, and final exams.

[In2itive_1]

Originally Posted by John7777

Every once in a while I'll have a dream about some class that I signed up for and then forgot... Until the week of the final. I don't dare go back because they'll wonder who I am. So I go to take the final, which, in my dream, doesn't work out so well. Then I wake up and realize that I already graduated a long time ago.

The funny thing is, maybe it's not a dream. Maybe I really did sign up for some class I forgot about?? Entirely possible.

I could tell you other stories about school, hangovers, and final exams.

Believe me, it is not literal. It really has to do with the way you felt at the time, maybe stress, maybe due to something unresolved or unfinished. Or there is some sort of comfort in returning to that class, though in reality, have moved on since graduation. Maybe that by "not passing the test", you are able to not have taken the direction you took.... I don't know.

I used to dream about an apartment I lived in - how I "was still there" or "had moved back into my old apartment" after having not lived there a while. I would wonder why I would have wanted to go back? I analyzed it, feeling I had "wanted to return to a time that contained less stress" (as it was while living there), having experienced changes or upheavals in the time afterward. (After a point, I did not dream of this again).

I like to, upon awakening and if having good recall, reflect upon dreams - people, places, events, props - pondering their meaning. I bought some "dream analysis" books years ago, which though sometimes have meanings that are sort of simplified, can be helpful or revealing.

[Tracysherm]

I can relate, OP. It's pretty normal to have those kind of dreams. Like you I was always a conscientious A-student. I'm now 46 and I STILL have these dreams at least once a week, and the theme is always this:


I'm back in school (either high school, college, or graduate school).
I suddenly remember or am reminded that there is a class I have not been attending. I panic, wondering how I forgot, and what I need to do to catch up, and if it's even possible to catch up.
I try to find my way to this forgotten class, and if I do get there, I learn that there's an exam or a big paper due. I'm in a panic about failing.


It's a basic anxiety dream. Some people have anxiety dreams about spiders or monsters or falling or other scary things. For someone like me, failing something academic or being irresponsible and forgetting something important are my worst fears. With your graduation approaching and your tendency to be a good student, this is probably a big fear for you, so it's naturally going to be a theme in your dreams.


I'm not saying you'll still be having these dreams in your 40s But if you end up like me, you get used to them, and just take them as a signal that you're under some added stress that maybe you're not giving enough attention to.

[Bjarki]

I had a feeling it was probably a basic stress/anxiety thing, but i just wanted to make sure that that is all it was.

Thanks a lot