According to a study conducted in 1950, the most common dreams were listed among 55 dream themes and it was revealed that dreams about school were in the first place.
In one of the studies conducted on this subject, university students were asked about the dreams they saw most, and school dreams were ranked 4th after the themes of being followed, sexual content, and falling from a height. Let’s take a look at why we have nightmares before we move on to the views on the reason for this.
Why do we have nightmares?
There are various opinions about why we have nightmares. According to the most common views, nightmares can occur during times of stress or anxiety, during sleep-disturbed nights, or as post-traumatic stress disorder. On the other hand, factors such as exposure to too much horror-themed content or drug/drug use can cause us to have nightmares.
According to the “Continuity Hypothesis”, emotionality in our lives can trigger school dreams.
This hypothesis is called “continuity” because our dreams are seen as a continuation of real life. Starting from here; We shape the anxiety we experience in our daily lives as a school nightmare in our dreams.
According to Michael Schredl, head of the central laboratory of the German Institute of Mental Health; Going to school and taking exams reflect our brain’s anxieties in daily life.
It can be caused by post-traumatic stress disorder.
Most of us accumulate traumas during our developmental years. While our brain is developing, homework and exams related to school create the first major stress factor in our lives and leave a trace in our subconscious.
Also, since we all experience our school years in much the same way, these nightmares are common to many of us in the future.
If we connect it to Freud here…
Punishment, according to psychoanalysis, is associated with the fear of punishment about something that we can overcome but still worry about and that makes us feel bad from time to time.
During our developmental years, we see our parents and teachers as authorities, and accordingly, we equate them with punishment. When we are adults, we may have school-themed dreams while experiencing periodic worries in our daily lives, since there are no such authorities.
If you have such dreams, let’s meet in the comments.
- Sources: Dream Science, The Atlantic, Daily Hive