It happens at least once a week; I’m back in school, doing my Leaving Cert (the Irish equivalent of A-levels) exam year all over again.

Except this time, I’m in my 20s. I have not read a single textbook in years. I don’t remember quadratic equations or the Krebs cycle. All I know is that I’m about to fail the most important test of my life ― the inexplicable logic says my degree will be revoked, my bosses will banish me, and my life will be over.

We’ve already asked a dream interpreter, psychologist and sexologist what it really means when you dream about someone.

So, I thought I’d seek the wisdom of psychologist and founder of Clarity Therapy NYC, Dr Logan Jones; astrologer and psychic Ivana Naskova from spiritual guidance site Nebula; and psychotherapist and dream expert Brooke Sprowl, founder of My LA Therapy, about what it means when you dream of exams in adulthood.

All three experts say the panic-inducing scenario sounds like a typical stress dream – but Dr Jones says it might not be as straightforward as that.

“We make dreams by pulling from powerful memories and our conscious and unconscious emotions, fears, and stressors,” he explained.

“A neurological take would be that your hippocampus, which stores memories, especially stressful ones, recalls school as being a hard-wired memory symbolic of high-pressure times.”

Naskova was on a similar page, telling HuffPost UK: “If you are long out of college then a dream like this might point out that you have been going through a stressful period and have a subconscious fear of failure.”

She explains that this could come from a fear of displeasing other people, or an upcoming stressful event.

Sprowl, meanwhile, says that exams mean different things to different people. She stresses there’s “no one universal way to interpret dreams about resitting exams, nor any dream for that matter”.

“Most people may associate sitting exams with feeling unprepared for and anxious about an important task, but perhaps for a small few who relished examinations, a dream about resitting exams may bring them back to a time when they felt life’s challenges were surmountable and predictable,” she adds.

Dr Jones says that though it can be hard to figure out exactly why dreams like these happen, “the good news is that these types of dreams about exams are common and it helps to see that they aren’t random”.

And while stressful, it’s better to approach the dream ― especially if it’s recurring ― with curiosity, rather than panic.

The psychologist says it helps to be reminded that the dream isn’t literally about an exam. But it can inspire helpful questions and affirmations.

One we’re totally on board with is: “I don’t need to prove anything because I know I’m worthy and lovable just as I am.”