you would think that now that my psychology exams are over, the nightmares would stop too.. but if anything they are getting worse.. in the cramming period and while they were underway i did have a number of very vivid dreams of the usual symbolism.. not getting to the hall in time, not being able to read or understand the questions or having a pen that doesn’t work.. even had the ‘double-bluff’ dream where you dream you have woken up in time and are getting ready to go to the exam, only to realise some way into these calm preparations that it is a dream, that you are still asleep and hence you might actually be late. that caught me once, leaping out my skin and my duvet in a cold cold sweat reaching for the nearest clock.. but not believing that and hunting for confirmation that it was really five am.
that’s all part of the fun of exams.
but the post-exam pre-results journeys into the subconscious have been more disturbing. for one thing i’ve had some where i write much better answers than the ones i handed in, often directly contradicting myself & worryingly i usually have a point. then I’ve had a couple where I am arguing with the person marking my essays who is completely missing my brilliant insights
worst of all are the ones where the department denies all knowledge of my papers & want me to do it all over again.