What does it mean when a deceased person appears in your dream?

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Who hasn’t dreamed of a loved one who’s passed away during a particularly emotional night? A dream so real that you’d swear you’d had a conversation, a contact, a smile exchanged. What if it wasn’t just our imagination? What if these dreams told us more than we think? This fairly common phenomenon is as intriguing as it is soothing. Here’s a look at a subject that affects us all, at one time or another.

When our deceased “come back” in our dreams

According to Patrick McNamara, a professor of neurology and psychiatry at Boston University, there’s a very specific name for these dreams: “visitation dreams.” A name that says it all. He believes this type of dream occurs when grieving people dream of a deceased loved one, who is alive and well in their dreams, sometimes even in better shape than before.

These “visits” are not supernatural, according to neuroscience. They are, in fact, a way for our brain to cope with a significant loss, digest grief, and find a path to inner peace.

A bridge between grief and healing

McNamara, a scientist by training, says he himself experienced a dream of a visit after his parents’ death. A dream  so vivid  that it shook his skepticism.  “Even as a rational person, I had this strange feeling that I had actually communicated with them ,” he says.

And he’s not alone. A study published by  the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care  in 2014 reveals that these dreams are frequent, intense, and, above all, beneficial to the grieving process. They can soothe pain, create a sense of ongoing connection with the deceased, and sometimes strengthen belief in life after death.

Signs of a Visitation Dream

But how can you tell a visitation dream from a simple dream? Psychologist Jennifer E. Shorter has identified four key elements:

  • The person appears healthy, sometimes younger or radiant.
  • She often reassures by saying that she  is “fine”  or  “at peace” .
  • The message is perceived as telepathic, without necessarily using words.
  • The atmosphere of the dream is peaceful, orderly, sometimes almost luminous.

What if it was a message of love beyond words?

While these dreams don’t prove anything supernatural, they do bear witness to one essential thing: our deep attachment. Seeing a deceased loved one in a dream can be a healing mechanism, a way for our unconscious to rewrite the bond, to close a conversation that has been left unresolved.

And perhaps, who knows, these dreams are also the reflection of a discreet presence, but always there, somewhere, watching over us like an invisible breath.

Dreams are sometimes more than just a nighttime scenario. They are a precious link between our hearts and those we have loved.

 

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