MacPsych (@macpsych.social.lol.ap.brid.gy)

Anxiety innovation ### I don’t often remember my dreams. But I do know when I’ve had a classic ‘anxiety dream’, which usually involves me losing something important, being late for something important, or making an arse of myself in front of someone important. I wake up in a mess, wondering which parts actually happened, and take an age to get back to sleep. (Interestingly, I never seem to have any of those classic ‘naked in public’ dreams, which I can only put down to being a naturist. It’s a scenario that contains absolutely no anxiety for me.) Last night, I had what can only be described as a new departure - an innovation, if you will - in my anxiety dream schedule. Picture this: I was tasked with writing a birthday card for Stephen Sondheim (I know, bear with me) and had to do so with a very old, leaking fountain pen. I had a nagging feeling that I was making big mistake in writing the card, but couldn’t verbalise it to the very demanding (faceless) people requiring me to write it. We had several attempts, in which I spilled ink, signed the wrong name, wrote the wrong date and even managed to puncture the card with the pen. Which seemed to get bigger, heavier and less pen-like with each iteration. I woke up in a sweaty mess, well aware it had been a dream, but still able to notice the thumping in my chest. So, not for the first time, I say: thanks, brain 🧠. https://www.macpsych.blog/posts/anxiety-innovation