The brain is a wonderful, funny organ. It does so much for our bodies without any conscious effort! But sometimes, I wish it would find a different way to handle stress.
When I’m really stressed, my dreams can get really weird. I have a few recurring dreams that pop up when the pressure’s on.
- The school dream. Usually, it’s the end of my senior year of high school and I realize that I’ve been skipping out on one class for the whole year. Maybe I’m scrambling to finish an extra credit project; maybe I’m so worried about other classes that I just let that one go.
- The naked in public dream. Usually, I’m looking for a ladies’ room because I really need to go. But when I finally sit down, there’s no door on the stall and there’s too many people around for me to be able to do my business. I’m desperate for a moment to myself so I can have some privacy, but I never get it.
- The theater dream. I’m performing in some show, but I can’t find my costume. I’ve looked everywhere, and the show is about to start — so I’m frantic.
- The chase dream. Some mysterious figure is pursuing me. Maybe I’m in an office building; maybe I’m running the streets of the town where I grew up. But I absolutely can’t stop running — I can’t hide — because they’ll catch me.
I think the emotions of the dreams are more important than the stories my brain makes up. I’m scrambling to finish work and worried in the school dream. I’m desperate for a moment to myself in the bathroom dream. I’m frantic and under a deadline (the start of the show) in the theater dream. I’m afraid to stop moving in the chase dream. All of those emotions sound like variations on stress to me!
Taking care of the source of stress usually sends the anxiety dreams packing. But my brain’s nighttime adventures can be a signal that I’m not managing my stress as well as I could be.
What kind of crazy stress or anxiety dreams does your brain come up with? Even now that she’s retired, my mom still has stress dreams that center around the first day of school.