DREAM ABOUT EXAMS
Have you recently had a dream about exams or schoolwork? Although it is not a completely universal experience, more than 60% of the world will receive some formal education in their lives, and therefore taking exams and doing school work is something quite common in most of our stories.
It’s no wonder this experience pops up in our dreams from time to time, especially if you’ve had the privilege of going to school for 12 years or more, which is no small part of your life! According to Psychology Today, dreams about school are very common among adults of all ages, and it’s in the top 5 most common dreams.
What it means to dream about exams and school work
Preparation
Dreaming of a test or exam may indicate that you feel “tested” at some point in your life, or that you feel scrutinized in some way. These dreams are rarely pleasant, and the most common test dreams are those in which you feel stressed or unprepared.
Are you going through an experience where you are really being tested or evaluated in some way, maybe at your job, in a relationship, or if you are currently in school? Is there something going on that makes you feel like “someone is testing you”?
Sometimes we can have periods in our lives where difficult situations keep coming up one after another and it feels like the universe, God… is “testing us”. Your dreams may just be a sign of stress in your life, but maybe there is something you can do to be more prepared. When we are in school we ideally study and prepare before a big exam, or spend a lot of time and research before writing a paper or doing homework. Is there anything you can do to make it easier for you to handle the tests life is throwing at you?
Confidence + Self-esteem
Getting a good grade on a test or homework assignment can be truly amazing. Passing or doing well can affirm our self-esteem. But failing a test or getting a bad grade on a school assignment doesn’t make you feel so good. It can make you feel like you’re not good enough, and that can destroy your confidence and self-esteem. A dream about doing poorly in these situations could be a sign that you don’t feel so good about yourself , or some aspect of yourself.
Do you feel like you’re not good enough in some area of your life, or just in general? Do you find yourself talking harshly to yourself throughout the day? What can you do to recover? Here are some easy suggestions on how to build your self-esteem if you think it’s an issue you’re dealing with.
- Avoid negative complacency.
- Try using positive affirmations, affirming your self-esteem.
- Stop comparing yourself to others.
- Praise yourself for your efforts, even if it doesn’t always work out.
- Practice gratitude often.
- Learn a new skill, hobby, or master one you’re already proficient at.
- And most importantly, be kind to yourself.
Achieve goals and overcome challenges
Just as passing or failing a test or assignment can represent feeling good or bad about ourselves and our performance, it can also symbolize the goals we’d like to achieve, and the challenges in our lives, particularly how we feel we’re doing. doing in terms of overcoming them, reaching them.
Did you do well on your test or homework in your dream? Perhaps you are close to reaching a goal in your life or nearing the end of a difficult period. You did it wrong? This dream may be telling you that you do not feel close to accomplishing your goal at all or that you are not meeting the challenges that are set before you. Didn’t you show up to take the exam or to turn in your schoolwork?
This dream could suggest that you are hiding, avoiding conflicts in your life. Maybe if you don’t recognize them, they’ll just go away? Of course, this is rarely the case. You may be in denial that you have a problem that you have to deal with, and this dream could be your wake-up call to recognize what you have to take care of. “Sometimes I lie awake at night and ask, ‘Is life a multiple choice test or is it a true or false test?’ .
Types of tests or school work that you can find in your dreams
- General school subject tests
- Mathematics, English, History, Science, History of Art, Sociology…
- essays
- Research documents
- book reports
- homework assignments
- Surprise tests..
- IQ test
- Professional certification tests
- psychological tests
- cognitive test
- Job knowledge test
- physical ability test
- Strength test
- skills test
…among others! This list is by no means exhaustive, and it is quite possible that you experienced a different type of test or schoolwork in your dream.
Common Dream Scenarios With Tests and Exams
Now that we’ve covered some common topics and types of tests or schoolwork you might be seeing in your dreams, let’s take a look at some scenarios related to tests and schoolwork.
you passed a test successfully
Passing an exam, or getting a good grade can be an illustration of how you feel about yourself. You feel confident and prepared to face any challenge you may have in life. This dream could also be an indication that positive changes are happening in your life. We often take trials as a barrier to progressing in some way, perhaps you are leveling off in some area of your life.
You failed an exam
If you discover that you did not do well, or that you failed a test in your dreams, this could mean that you feel unable to handle something in your life. You may be dealing with challenges right now that you don’t feel ready for, or you may even have recently experienced failure or loss. This dream can also represent the anxiety you feel regarding an upcoming challenge, or the fear of failure.
You haven’t done an assignment or an exam
If you totally skipped a test or turned in an assignment, this dream could be about avoiding the struggles in your life, and even being in denial about your problems. This dream could also be about feeling unprepared, or unsure about how to deal with something in your life.
You worry about taking a test or doing a job
Sometimes you can dream that you get lost on the way or that you are late for a test or homework. If you dream that you cannot find your way to your exam or class, it may be that you feel strongly that you want to prove yourself in some way but are not sure how to go about it. It may also be that you feel unprepared in some way.
cheating on a test or assignment
Cheating at your job in your dream could suggest that you feel guilty about cheating, or taking many shortcuts in your waking life. Maybe you know you’re doing something unscrupulous, but feel that as long as you can get away with it, it’s okay to continue. Your subconscious may be trying to tell you to drop something.
If you are caught cheating in your dream, you may not necessarily be doing anything “wrong” in your waking hours, but this dream may be a representation of the shame or guilt you are holding on to. To better understand the meaning of your dream, ask yourself these questions: