Everyone loses someone close to them eventually; it’s just a fact of life. But the death of a particular loved one may have a greater impact on us than we could have predicted.
Have you ever had, for instance, a deceased person show up in your dreams? You may not have considered the significance of their appearance in your dreams.
It is tremendously difficult to lose a loved one, and each person’s grieving process is unique. While some people cry a lot, others stop talking and withdraw within.
Others attempt to sidestep the topic or act indifferently on the outside. However, many people have the trait of dreaming about their departed loved ones. Our subconscious controls our nighttime dreams, and if you’ve ever had a dream about a departed person, it might have significance.
Can deceased loved ones leave messages in dreams?
Dreams regarding deceased persons are known as visitation dreams, according to Patrick McNamara, an associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at Boston University School. In McNamara’s words, “dreams of the bereaved where the dead appear to the bereaved in dreams and look to be very much alive,” it indicates that the departed is paying you a visit in your dream.
The 67-year-old researcher, who goes by the pseudonym Dream Catcher, is a frequent blogger at Psychology Today. McNamara has frequently discussed his ideas and research on dreams and their significance over the years. Additionally, he claims that visitation dreams typically have a rational reason.
They assist you in managing your sadness, loss, and grief.
He discusses a dream he had after his parents died in one of his blog entries. After claiming that the experience was a “visitation dream,” McNamara started to make the case that these dreams were an indication of life after death.
“Now, how much stronger must be the conviction of someone with a less skeptical approach to dreams than me, 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?” asks McNamara.
These dreams have piqued the curiosity of others than Patrick McNamara, and other research have examined this phenomenon in further detail.
A 2014 study that looked at the effects of mourning dreams was published in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care. “Dreams of the deceased occur frequently, can be highly meaningful, and further heal from a loss,” according to the study.
“Past memories or experiences, the deceased free of illness, memories of the deceased’s illness or time of death, the deceased appeared healthy, comfortable, and at peace in the afterlife, as well as the deceased communicating a message” were among the themes in the dreams.
A group of Canadian academics analyzed the dreams of seventy-six middle-aged people who had experienced a loss in 2016. The study found that 67.1% of the sample of grieving people indicated that having dreams about the deceased increased their belief in a hereafter. 71% of respondents said that having dreams about the deceased made them feel closer to the departed, and almost 70% described their dreams of the deceased as “visitations.”
Research on our brains and dreams has also been conducted by psychologist Jennifer E. Shorter of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, California.
The number of persons who experience visitation dreams is unknown, according to her study, “Visitation Dreams in Grieving Individuals: A Phenomenological Inquiry into the Relationship Between Dreams and the Grieving.”
However, it might occur shortly before or long after a person’s death. According to her research, a visitation dream is characterized by four factors:
1. The individuals in your visitation dream appear to be younger or healthier than they were in real life.
2. The deceased frequently expresses how they are presently, such as that they are doing well.
3. More than through bodily presence, the dream’s message is experienced telepathically.
4. The dream is frequently serene, well-structured, and nearly harmonic.
Have you ever had a dream about a deceased loved one? For you, what did it mean? If you believe that dreams can have meaning, please share your story in our comments section and remember to share this post on Facebook!
