The sense of humiliation that comes with failing in real life when transferred into the dreamscape, often comes with intensified emotion. Dreams always offer a playground to explore and process anxiety. You may have anxiety about succeeding in something you are working on, and dreaming about failing is a way of lessening or releasing unproductive worry and tension. If the issue is from long ago or not related to a current event, the dream may be exploring self-defeating thoughts. In real life, you may hold back your emotions and some incident can ‘set you off’ with more emotion than the situation warranted. In the same way, the psyche takes a similar opportunity, by using ‘short range’ or passing situations to work through ‘longer range’ issues that can lead to wellness and balance. Dreams about failing that have nothing to do with the present should be explored to understand how the symbolism might represent misplaced self-worth.