Experts Explain What It Means When Someone Who Died Is Alive In Your Dream

Dreaming of someone being alive after they've died can stir up a range of emotions—and they're not uncommon dreams to have. From feeling comforted by the sight of them, to reliving the grief all over again once you wake up, what do these dreams mean?

According to therapist and dream expert Leslie Ellis, Ph.D., dreams following the death of a loved one, be it a pet or a person, are quite common. "They are not always comforting, but they do seem to move the grief process forward," she says.

And typically, grief is exactly what these dreams are all about. In fact, one study by dream researcher Joshua Black, Ph.D. on dreaming about deceased loved ones showed these dreams can actually help us process the trauma of a loss, serving as a way to maintain connection with the deceased, and/or help regulate emotions.

These are essential components of grieving, Ellis explains, adding, "One of the most interesting things is, when we lose a loved one or pet, the vast majority of the dreams we have about them are comforting."

As professional dream analyst Lauri Loewenberg previously told mindbodygreen, her clients often feel comforted when a deceased loved one appears in a dream, and these dreams help with the grieving process. This echoes Ellis' and Black's idea that dreaming of someone who's passed is a natural part of the grieving process.

Now, if the person in the dream is angry with you—don't worry. It's likely not a negative visitation dream about some grudge before they died. According to Loewenberg, rather, dreaming that someone who died is angry, upset, or disappointed in you are most likely projections of your own feelings.

In some cases, you might dream that a person who died is alive again and attacking you. In this instance, Loewenberg notes, this likely represents a self-sabotaging part of yourself that's exhibiting patterns or behaviors similar to those of this person when they were alive.

According to both Ellis and Loewenberg, many of the dreams we have about people who have died are pleasant and can assist in the grieving process as we work through our emotions around the person's death.

These dreams can be related to the grief you're still processing, but can also act almost like a fulfillment of your wishes—the wish being to see this person again.

According to clairvoyant and medium Catharine Allan, "If the person is happy and at peace in the dream, maybe talking to you or showing you something, and you wake up feeling calm, it could have been a visitation from them. And those are the best dreams of all."

In the case of a visitation dream, there's nothing to necessarily do besides take comfort in the fact that you feel your loved one reached out to your through the dreamworld. Loewenberg says you could also write it down in a dream journal and keep it in a safe place to treasure it going forward.

In other cases, she says, "it's definitely a call from your subconscious to try to come to terms with what's going on." Whether it's a feeling of unfinished business or not being able to accept they've passed, it's important to find a way to accept whatever it is.

One great practice for this, she says, is to write them a letter telling them everything you never got the chance to say when they were alive. You can also do your best to look for a lesson if you feel there were things unsaid, and "moving forward in your life, to never let things get to that point again with anyone you care about," she adds.