Dreams about Dying

Many people refer to death as the great unknown, so it is only natural that we dream about dying. Our minds are constantly trying to work out scenarios of situations, but death is the one thing we cannot truly understand until we experience it. For that reason, many people fear death. Quite often, when we fear something, our subconscious uses dreams to try to understand that which we fear.

Dreams of dying can be scary, but it is important to remember that they can be helpful as well. Sometimes we may dream not only about our own deaths, but also of ones we love – our parents, spouse, or children. It is usually horrifying to dream of someone we cherish so dearly dying, but in this case, death may not always represent physical death.

Death of Others

It is not uncommon for parents to dream their children are dying. They usually awake sickened at this prospect, wondering if this dream is truly an omen of things to come. More than likely, this dream is not a premonition but rather your psyche’s way of dealing with current events.

Our children continuously grow and develop through the years. As they grow, they become less and less dependent upon us as parents. Dreams of your child dying can come at important milestones – attending school for the first time, attending their senior school and leaving for college. A dream of death at times such as this is symbolic of the death of an era.

When your child first starts attending school, you may not spend as much time with them. You may be hurt when they come home telling your how wonderful their teacher is, when you were the most wonderful person in their life before. Suddenly, you may not know every detail of their lives and the “baby” that once needed you is, in essence, dying and growing into a young adult.

Once your child gets ready to go to college and leaves the house, they are truly making one of the last breaks of dependence. So if you dream of the death of your child, look at what is currently going on. Is the child pushing you away for some reason? Is he or she becoming more independent? Do you feel like your children no longer “need” you? Understanding these changes can help ease your mind and will probably eliminate the dreams of death.

Death of Yourself

As we grow older, most people think more about death. After all, at some point, we will all eventually die. If you have avoided death before a certain age – say 60 – you may start to seriously think about it. This can be due to many things. Health issues, the age your parents or grandparents were when they died, and having family or friends close to your age die can make you begin to think about death.

When you dream of dying, you first need to ask yourself how your physical health is. Is there a medical problem that has been bothering you, but you have been avoiding the doctor out of fear of bad news? Did your father have a heart attack and die at the age of 60 and now you are worried that that might be your fate as well? Visit your doctor to have a check up. Avoiding medical issues is never the answer.

You may dream of dying if a close friend or family member dies. This is only natural as you age that you will lose friends and family to death. The dream will be a way of your trying to understand the death and loss. While is this sad to lose someone you care about, remember to remain active and get involved in activities that will help create new bonds. If you lose a spouse or parent, check to see if there are any grief counselling classes in your neighbourhood to help you deal with your emotions.

The most important thing to remember when you have a dream about dying, it is meant to be helpful to you in order to teach you to deal with death and loss. Dreams of death usually happen during a time of change, whether it is your children growing older or someone close to your dying. A dream of death is just your mind’s natural response to a scary or upsetting situation. This dream can be a signal that you need to learn to deal with changes, seeking counselling if necessary.