The Dream: I don't remember the specific dream, but I do remember the feeling: anxiety.
Interpretation: The dream was triggered by attending a presentation given by a friend. While she did a fine job, her work was not well received by the audience. I was on the calendar to give a talk to this same group in a month or so, and no doubt my friend's experience made me uneasy on my own account as well as hers.
Over the years I've found that entering a dream into a journal and then attempting to illustrate the dream, or the feeling that dream has engendered, is a very helpful way to cope with the difficult emotions that are a part of life.
Studies have also shown the having anxiety dreams prior to the waking life events can diminish one's anxiety in the actual situation. For example, students who have dreams of anxiety prior to a test, do better on the test. My own anecdote was a day or two before I was to make an art presentation to a corporation, I had an anxious dream of forgetting my portfolio and being late for the interview. When the actual interview came about, it was one of the best "interviews" I've had and it resulted in a rather decent sale of my artwork. I wish you well on your talk and am sorry to hear the audience was not as appreciative of her work as they could have been.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this interesting information, Emily! This should make all of us feel better if we have an anxiety dream the night before an important event.
ReplyDelete