At some point in their lives, everyone feels the anguish of losing a loved one.
However, we may not realize the full extent of the impact that the death of a certain loved one might have on us.
For example, have you ever had a dream about a deceased person? It’s possible that you didn’t consider the significance of their dream presence.
Everybody’s grieving process after losing a loved one is unique. Many people sob uncontrollably, while others keep quiet and turn inside.
Some choose to ignore the situation or pretend it never happened. Still, a lot of people have the habit of having nightmares in which they see deceased loved ones.
What we dream about at night is determined by our subconscious, and if you have ever dreamed about a deceased person, it may be a hint to something.
So, is it possible for the deceased to speak to us in our dreams?
Associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at the Boston University School Patrick McNamara describes visitation dreams as what people experience when they see the departed.
According to McNamara, “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 frequently writes for Psychology Today under the pen name Dream Catcher.
McNamara is a prolific writer on the subject of dream interpretation. And he thinks that visitation dreams typically have a logical reason.
They support the process of recovering from psychological trauma.
He writes about a dream he experienced following his parents’ passing. After seeing one himself, McNamara maintained that this kind of dream, referred to as a “visitation dream,” was proof of survival after physical death.
“Now that I, a person who studies dreams with a skeptical scientific cast of mind, could not dispel my belief that I had just spoken with my parents who have passed away, how much more powerful must be the conviction of someone who approaches dreams less skeptically than I did?” McNamara asks.
Many studies have been done to find out more about these kinds of dreams, as they have piqued the interest of others other than Patrick McNamara.
The American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care released a study in 2014 that examined the impact of grieving dreams.
The study came to the conclusion that “dreams of the deceased occur frequently, can be highly meaningful, and further heal from a loss.”
Themes from the dreams included “past experiences or memories, the deceased not being ill, memories of the deceased’s illness or passing, the deceased appearing well, at peace, and in good health in the afterlife, as well as the deceased communicating a message.”
A team of Canadian researchers looked into the dreams of seventy-six middle-aged individuals who had just suffered a big loss in 2016.
