Surveys show that quite a number of people have actually dreamt up ailing an exam. One of the surveys shows that about 45% of respondents shared that they’d dreamt about failing an examination. A more comprehensive breakdown shows that compared to men, women are considered to be more likely to have such dreams. Meaning that oppression of the patriarchy is likely to haunt us in sleeping thoughts.
Dr. Kelly Bulkely, a dream researcher and visitor scholar at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California shared more narratives behind dreams with a couple of findings whilst providing short analysis which we captured.
Attack or Pursuit
Because of the weirdness of some dreams, people at times begin to wonder whether or not do dreams come true. Dreams about being attacked are prevalent in both men and women with equal degrees of variation. Such dreams form the basis of recurrent childhood nightmares people remember all through their lives. Such dreams tend to portend an inner fear that has been repressed by the waking ego; or a person or situation in the external world that poses a threat to the dreamer; or instinctual echoes of primordial ancestors who were accustomed to defending themselves from attacks by big marauders.
Schools, Teachers, and Studying
Since the learning process is usually an intensive and takes place over a specified number of years, more people who exposed to formal education are likely to keep having experiences about the school, years after they stopped learning in those centers of study. For some reason, women are more likely to vividly remember dreams about the school setup. Incidentally, dreams about the school environment are not a modern happening. In ancient times, the Chinese used to have dreams and nightmares about taking civil service examinations that had an impact on one’s professional route in life.
Falling
When compared to dreams about flying, we are more likely to dream about falling. This could have something to do with how it’s harder to defy gravity than to simply obey the universal law. Typically, such dreams tend to occur when there is a sudden movement of brain neurotransmitters from one sleep stage to the next one. At times, such dreams are inspired by a physiological instigator, during such situations, dreams about falling tend to take a number of symbolic meanings when it comes to reflection about loss/trauma, sudden change, and disruption. At times, dreams about falling tend to take a wholly dissimilar approach and can lead to scenes of overall entropic calamity like the apocalypse is finally upon us.
Attempting to Continually Perform Certain Actions
During lucid dream sessions, the mind can get lost in loops of half-dreaming and half-repeating actions. Generally, such actions revolve around stressful circumstances ranging from waking life to intense feelings of frustration, fear, and powerlessness. At times, this may have a physiological component that involves atonia, which is the general muscular paralysis that occurs during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep.
Incidentally, this also depicts deep human anxiety. This belief stretches back to the time of the Greek myth of Sisyphus who became imprisoned in an endless cycle of futility. Jobs and relationships can lead one to perceive the world in that kind of light. When such dreams occur, they may signify an imminent shadow of existential dread.