Panic!
I was in a terrible panic this morning. I needed to be out of the house in a matter of minutes, but could only find casual clothes, not the sort suitable for the day ahead. In addition, the house door into the garage was ajar, and the garage door itself was open, so I didn’t immediately know whether the cats were in or out. They don’t go into the front garden because it’s not safe for them. Luckily, I saw them sauntering into the kitchen, so that worry was set aside.
I managed to find some clothes, though they were far from smart, but now I was dreadfully worried that I was going to be late. Barry was flapping around in the background, wanting to help but not knowing how.
Then I woke up.
What a relief. It took me a few minutes to realise I had been dreaming and that I wasn’t having to get to work.
It took me about twenty years to stop having bad dreams about exams I had to pass. How long will it be before nightmares about getting to work on time cease to trouble my slumbers?
Weeell - sorry to tell you but I’ve been retired from teaching for 15 years and I still have dreams about not being able to find my classroom.
ReplyDeleteIt's a horrible feeling, isn't it?
DeleteI can relate so very completely. I still have nightmares about somehow not having finished my courses to graduate law school (when, in fact, I had more than enough credits by far since I just liked courses)...and then, yes, the work terrors. Glad I'm not alone LOL.
ReplyDeleteIt's surprisingly common, I've discovered. What a mess our brains must be in.
DeleteI've experienced those dreams as well even though I've been retired for many years. Funny the things our mind does to us, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteIt is strange, and there's usually no knowing what triggered the dream.
DeleteI have been retired for 25 but still have back to school dreams.
ReplyDeleteWonderful, isn't it?
DeleteI did not see that twist coming. Well done.
ReplyDelete😷
DeletePhew! That must have been such a relief. Did you actually ever arrive late for work, or not pass an important exam?
ReplyDeleteFor many years, I dreamt about work the last night after a holiday before returning to work. Not this year, I am pleased to report :-)
(The dreams were never about being late, more about actual tasks at work that were impossible or very complex/absurd/bizarre.)
Frequently I got to work by the skin of my teeth, but I always worked on well after 'close of play.'
DeleteIf I dream I never remember them, I do on occasions wake up unsettled, which always passes.
ReplyDeleteI think we all dream but don't often remember them - probably just as well!
DeleteI still dream about my old boss sometimes. I last worked for him 32 years ago. He wasn't a bad boss, but I always have a feeling of dread when I wake up. It's really weird.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the underlying reasons are. I suppose we'll never know.
DeleteI have dreamed about many things. Finding clothes has never been one of them!
ReplyDelete😷
DeleteI suspect that you would benefit from hypnotherapy. You have troublesome imps in your inner psyche that need to be dispelled like garden slugs. Co-incidentally, I am a qualified hypnotherapist and I am willing to have a private session with you for a nominal fee with travel and accommodation costs added of course. It will be like an exorcism.
ReplyDeleteYou could well be right. I shall investigate your qualifications and get back to you. 😷
DeleteThank goodness that was only a dream.
ReplyDeleteQuite so.
DeleteLiving out one's fears in a dream is a cleansing act of the brain I suppose. I have had a monster Samurai soldier lurking in the corner of the bedroom for years.
ReplyDeleteWow! Sounds impressive.
DeleteAs bad dreams go, that one was not too frightening.
ReplyDeleteYou should see some of mine !! 😱
Ooh, JayCee, do tell!
DeleteI'm like you, I think it took me about 20 years to quit having nightmares about work. Now I just have goofy nightmares that sometimes I have no idea where they even originated. Always glad when we wake up aren't we.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a relief to realise it's all not true!
DeleteA Greek drama lol. Good it was only a nightmare
ReplyDelete😀
DeleteWhew!
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't even that exciting, though . . .
DeleteThe brain is a strange thing. It files things in a topsy turvy way and then spews them out in our dreams.
ReplyDeleteVery true.
DeleteIt always fascinates me that I have friends appearing in my dreams from different periods of my life and yet in my dreams they all seem to know each other although they have never met.
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting. Maybe it's a subconscious wish for all the people you like to meet. (Cod psychology!)
DeleteI think never.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right.
DeleteDreams can be so strange - I’m fascinated by them
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
Some people lay great store by their dreams.
DeleteI don't know if it's because I am rarely if ever late but I never have those kinds of dreams.
ReplyDeleteNow, dreams of being at work and overwhelmed because I have no idea how to do anything? Check!
Those, too!
DeleteGreat post. I think we have all been there!!! Anxiety dreams!!
ReplyDeleteIt's comforting to know that no-one is free of such dreams occasionally.
DeleteBless your heart...I have had dreams like this and how thankful I was to wake up and realize that I was only dreaming... Now you can rest with ease for the rest of the day in knowing you are not late for work..
ReplyDeleteIt is a relief to know it's not real!
DeleteHa! The other night I dreamt I was having a long political conversation with a former governor of the state of Maryland. I guess it was an old work related dream as I was a legislative aide and met him several times--way back in 1988-1992. Bizarre.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you were telling him the things he needed to know . . .
DeleteI still have dreams that I haven't shown up at work for a while and now have to explain where I've been. I'm always greeted by a chilling silence. It's an immense relief to be awake and remember I'm "retired."
ReplyDeleteThe relief is palpable.
DeleteAh, you wrote so realistically I thought itwasreally happening. Whew, glad it was onlu a dream. Sometimes the dreams are SO real, aren't they? I think I always realize I am in a dream, but it doesn't stop the panic Some of my worst dreams involve lost dogs and searching for them to no avail. After I wake up, it IS hard to sleep again.
ReplyDeleteSome bad dreams leave a residual uneasiness that lasts for hours.
DeleteYou know, even when I was working, I never had anxiety dreams about getting to work. I'm not sure what this says about me. Maybe I didn't take the job seriously enough!
ReplyDeleteNo, it just means you're well balanced and doing a good job.
DeleteNightmares are the worst!-Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDelete. . . especially the ones where you're trapped and can't get away.
DeletePhew. Happy to hear it was just a dream. Hopefully they will pass soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Hena.
Deletemy word - was work that stressful? I wonder if there is a way to reprogram dreaming sequences....
ReplyDeleteSelf-imposed stress as much as anything, I think.
DeleteI can't recall any dreams about work but then it's been a very long time since I retired (for disability reasons, long before "normal" old age retirement). I hope you won't continue to be haunted by stress dreams!
ReplyDeleteIt could be a lot, lot worse. 😉
DeleteI've been out of college over 50 years and I still have dreams where I have finals, I haven't attended class so I know I will fail and I have to find my classroom but I can't remember where it is.
ReplyDeleteThe panic o f knowing it's too late to catch up and do what you should have . . .
DeleteOh yes! I retired from teaching in 2011, but still dream that I have to take a class, but I don't know which one or which room it's in, and I have no teaching materials with me. I'm going up the stairs in the tower block that was our college, trying to find the class...
ReplyDeleteArriving late to find someone's taking your class - is it better to apologise or slip away and pretend you were never there . . .
DeleteWhew! Some dreams can be so real!
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Indeed they can.
DeleteTeachers have teacher dreams where things go wrong at school. I had them years after I retired.
ReplyDeleteSnap!
DeleteThe only work-related dream I ever had was bumping into several work friends at a beach festival and spending the rest of the day with them there. Not a nightmare at all, I very rarely have those and only remember one from 1985, which wasn't work related at all.
ReplyDeleteIf you can remember the year of your dream it must have made a terrific impact on you.
DeleteI'm hearing you! I used to have dreams about exams until only a couple of years ago! xxx
ReplyDeleteThey're horribly real, aren't they?
DeleteI have been returned for more years than I can recall and thankfully not once did I ever have a nightmare about going to work 🙂
ReplyDeleteThat's good to hear. 😊
DeleteDreams can be very uncomfortable and unnerving. I don't usually remember my dreams. On a rare occasion I might wake up feeling uncomfortable. I remember a childhood dream that must have terrified me as I still remember it to this day. I'm glad yours was only a dream.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been a terrifying dream for you to have remembered it so many years later.
DeleteThose panicky dreams when you're chasing around and you can't work out what's going on or find what you need are awful. Sending hugsx
ReplyDeleteIt's not the best start to the day when your mind is still caught up in dreamland!
DeleteNot had that particular nightmare. it must have been quite unsettling for you. I hope it doesnt become a recurring theme.
ReplyDelete