Eventually, everyone experiences the loss of someone they care about – it’s just a sad reality of life. But losing certain people we love can hit us harder than we ever thought it would.
Have you ever dreamed about someone who has passed away? The reason they show up in your dreams might be something you never expected.
Losing someone you care about is really tough, and everyone deals with their sadness in their own way. Some people cry a lot, while others might not say much and prefer to be alone for a while.
Some people choose to ignore the topic or act like it doesn’t bother them. However, there’s one thing that a lot of us share – dreaming about those we’ve lost. When we sleep, our subconscious takes over, and if you’ve ever had a dream about someone who has died, it could mean something special.
So, can dreams carry messages from loved ones who have died?
Patrick McNamara, who is an associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at Boston University, talks about a special kind of dreams called visitation dreams. These dreams happen when someone who has passed away seems to visit you while you’re dreaming. McNamara describes them as “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 writes a blog for Psychology Today using the name Dream Catcher. Throughout the years, McNamara has shared his ideas and discoveries about dreams and what they mean. He believes that visitation dreams usually have a reasonable explanation.
They help you cope with your grief, loss, and sorrow.
In a blog post, he shares a dream he experienced after his parents died. He describes it as a visitation dream, and this led McNamara to believe that these kinds of dreams might be proof of life after death.
McNamara says that if someone like him, who looks at dreams with a scientific and doubtful attitude, feels sure that he just talked to his deceased parents, then imagine how much more convinced someone who believes in dreams would be!
Patrick McNamara isn’t the only person curious about these dreams; many studies have explored this interesting topic further.
In 2014, a study was published in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care that looked into how grief dreams affect people. The researchers discovered that dreams about those who have passed away happen often, can be very significant, and help with the healing process after a loss.
The dreams had themes like remembering old times or experiences, seeing loved ones who have passed away without any sickness, recalling how they were during their illness or when they died, imagining them in the afterlife looking healthy, happy, and peaceful, and even having them send a message.
In 2016, a group of Canadian scientists studied the dreams of 76 middle-aged people who had lost loved ones. The research showed that 67.1% of these people felt that dreaming about those who had passed away made them more convinced of an afterlife. About 70% described their dreams of the deceased as “visitations,” and 71% said that these dreams helped them feel closer to their loved ones.
Jennifer E. Shorter, a psychologist affiliated with the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, California, has conducted research focused on the workings of our brains and the nature of our dreams.
In her research titled “Visitation Dreams in Grieving Individuals: A Phenomenological Inquiry into the Relationship Between Dreams and the Grieving,” she notes that the number of individuals experiencing visitation dreams remains uncertain.
However, such occurrences may take place shortly before or long after an individual’s passing. In her study, she has determined that four key factors define a visitation dream.
1. The people in your visitation dream look like they did when they were alive, although often healthier or younger.
2. The deceased often says something about how they are now, for example, that they are fine.
3. The message in the dream is experienced more telepathically than in the form of physical presence.
4. The dream is often calm and organized, almost harmonious.
1. Have you ever experienced a dream involving a deceased loved one? What significance did it hold for you? We invite you to share your experiences in the comments section below. Additionally, if you believe that dreams may carry meaning, please consider sharing this article on Facebook.