Eventually, everyone experiences the loss of someone dear to them – it’s an inevitable part of life.
Some losses, however, can impact us more deeply than we ever expected. For instance, have you ever dreamt of a loved one who has passed away?
The reason they appear in your dreams might be more significant than you think…
Losing someone close is incredibly difficult, and everyone grieves in their own way. Some people cry a lot, while others might become quiet and withdrawn.
Some try to avoid the topic altogether, while others might seem unaffected. Yet, a common experience for many is dreaming of those who have passed away. Our subconscious takes charge when we dream, and if you’ve ever seen a deceased loved one in your dreams, it could hold meaning.
Can dreams carry messages from those who have died?
Patrick McNamara, an Associate Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at Boston University, explains that there is a specific term for dreams about the deceased – visitation dreams. This means the person who has passed away is visiting you in your dream, appearing very much alive.
McNamara, a 67-year-old neuroscientist who blogs as Dream Catcher on Psychology Today, frequently shares his insights on dreams and their meanings. He believes that visitation dreams can help us cope with grief, loss, and sorrow.
In one of his blog posts, McNamara recounts a visitation dream he had after his parents died. This dream led him to believe that such dreams could be a sign of life after death.
“Even as someone who studied dreams with a skeptical scientific mindset, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had just communicated with my dead parents. Imagine how much stronger this conviction must be for someone less skeptical than me,” McNamara writes.
McNamara is not alone in his interest in these dreams. Several studies have explored this phenomenon further.
In 2014, the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care published a study on the impact of grief dreams. It found that “dreams of the deceased occur frequently, can be highly meaningful, and help in the healing process after a loss.”
Themes in these dreams included “past memories, the deceased free of illness, memories of the deceased’s illness or death, the deceased appearing healthy and at peace in the afterlife, and the deceased communicating a message.”
In 2016, Canadian researchers analyzed dreams from 76 bereaved middle-aged individuals. They discovered that 67.1% of the participants felt their dreams of the deceased made them believe more in an afterlife. About 70% described their dreams as “visitations,” and 71% felt these dreams helped them feel more connected to the deceased.
Psychologist Jennifer E. Shorter from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, CA, has also researched our dreams and brains. In her study, “Visitation Dreams in Grieving Individuals: A Phenomenological Inquiry into the Relationship Between Dreams and the Grieving,” she notes that it’s unclear how many people experience visitation dreams. However, these dreams can occur shortly after or long after the person has died.
Shorter identified four characteristics of visitation dreams:
- The deceased appear as they did when they were alive, often looking healthier or younger.
- The deceased often convey that they are fine.
- The message in the dream is usually experienced more telepathically than through spoken words.
- The dream tends to be calm and harmonious.
Have you ever dreamt of a loved one who has passed away? What did it mean to you?
Share your experience in the comments, and if you believe dreams can hold meaning, share this article on Facebook!
