Everyone experiences the heartbreak of losing someone they love—but sometimes, the loss hits harder than we expect. Have you ever woken up from a vivid dream about someone who has passed and wondered why they appeared? That experience is more common—and meaningful—than many realize.
Grief manifests differently for everyone. Some cry openly, others retreat into silence. Some act as if nothing happened, pushing the pain aside. Yet, one shared experience among the grieving is seeing the deceased in dreams—sometimes comforting, sometimes startling.
So, can the dead really communicate with us through our dreams?
According to Patrick McNamara, associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at Boston University, the answer lies in what researchers call “visitation dreams.” These are dreams where the deceased appear vividly alive, often conveying a sense of presence or even messages. McNamara, who blogs under the name Dream Catcher on Psychology Today, says these dreams have profound meaning for those who experience them.
He explains that visitation dreams aren’t just random images—they often help us process loss and heal from emotional trauma. McNamara even recounts his own experience: after losing his parents, he had dreams where he felt he truly communicated with them. “If I, someone trained in skeptical scientific thinking, couldn’t shake the feeling I’d spoken with my parents, imagine how powerful that conviction is for others,” he writes.
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