Sooner or later, everyone loses someone close to them — it’s unfortunately a part of life. However, the passing of certain loved ones can affect us more deeply than we ever imagined.
For example, have you ever had someone who has passed away appear in your dreams? The meaning behind their appearance might be something you never expected…
Losing a loved one is incredibly hard, and how each person processes grief is unique. Some cry endlessly, while others grow quiet and retreat inward.
Some try to avoid the subject entirely or act outwardly unaffected. But one experience many people share is dreaming about loved ones who have passed away. When it comes to what we dream at night, our subconscious takes over — and if you’ve ever dreamed of someone who has died, it may carry meaning.
So, can dreams carry messages from loved ones who have died?
According to Patrick McNamara, associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at Boston University School, there is a specific term for dreams about the dead — visitation dreams.
It means the deceased person is visiting you in your dream, or as McNamara explains: “Dreams of the bereaved where the dead appear to the bereaved in dreams and look to be very much alive.”
The 67-year-old neuroscientist is an active blogger for Psychology Today under the alias Dream Catcher. Over the years, McNamara has shared many thoughts and findings about dreams and their meaning. And according to him, visitation dreams usually have a logical explanation.
They help you cope with grief, loss, and sorrow.
In one of his blog posts, he describes a dream he had after his parents passed away. The dream was a visitation dream, and afterward, McNamara began to argue that these dreams could be a sign of life after death. “Now if I, an individual who studied dreams with a skeptical scientific cast of mind, could not shake the conviction that I had just communicated with my dead parents, how much stronger must be the conviction of someone with a less skeptical approach to dreams than me?” McNamara writes.
Patrick McNamara isn’t the only one interested in these dreams. Several studies have explored this phenomenon.
In 2014, the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care published a study examining the impact of grief dreams. The study found that “dreams of the deceased occur frequently, can be highly meaningful and further healing from a loss.”
Themes included “past memories or experiences, the deceased free of illness, memories of the deceased’s illness or time of death, the deceased in the afterlife appearing healthy, comfortable and at peace, as well as the deceased communicating a message.”
In 2016, a team of Canadian researchers analyzed the dreams of 76 bereaved middle-aged individuals. According to the study, 67.1% said their dreams of the deceased strengthened their belief in an afterlife. Around 70% described their dreams as “visitations,” and 71% said 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 studied how the brain processes dreams.
In her study, “Visitation Dreams in Grieving Individuals: A Phenomenological Inquiry into the Relationship Between Dreams and the Grieving,” she writes that it’s unknown how many people experience visitation dreams.
But they can occur shortly after a person dies or many years later. In her research, she concluded that four factors typically characterize a visitation dream:
- The people in the dream appear as they did when alive, often healthier or younger.
- The deceased often communicates something about their current state, such as saying they are fine.
- The message is experienced more telepathically than through physical interaction.
- The dream is usually calm, organized, and almost harmonious.
Have you ever dreamed of a loved one who died? What did it mean to you? Feel free to share your experience in the comments, and make sure to share this article on Facebook if you believe dreams can carry meaning!
