Do you have anxiety dreams? My most common “go-to” dream when I’m under stress is to do with teaching. I dream I’ve walked into a classroom – late – with no idea of what I’m supposed to teach.
Sometimes the class has been going for several months and I’ve just forgotten that it was on my timetable.
Recently I wanted to write my name on the whiteboard but I couldn’t find a whiteboard marker that worked.
So why do I have this dream? Yes, I used to be a teacher, but I last taught in 1987. That’s nearly thirty years ago and it still gives me bad dreams.
And yet I never “forgot” to go to a class. And if I was under prepared I was pretty good at winging it, and mostly the whiteboard markers worked.
I now know that if I have this dream, it just means there’s some general all-purpose anxiety going on in my life, not something specifically related to teaching.
Recently I did another stand-up gig and my theme was anxiety dreams.
I did the gig – in front of a room full of (mostly) strangers – wearing my dressing gown and odd shoes.
We’ve all been there. (No? Just me then?)
Maybe there’ll be a video some time soon.
See Beth Jump 