AS THE PANDEMIC begins to bite in March 2020, many people report exceptionally vivid dreams, recurring nightmares. The phenomenon is widespread enough to feature in news bulletins. Experts are interviewed.

I am pleased that dreams have become newsworthy, but I see no cause for surprise. We are all facing new terrors – what’s more, we’re all doing it at the same time. These dreams are just a collective coping mechanism, a pressure valve for fears so deep our waking selves cannot face them, at least not yet. Perhaps they augur well for the resilience of those who can remember what they dream.