What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone Dying?

Maybe your like

HealthlineSubscribe

Mental Well-Being

What Do Dreams About Someone Dying Mean?

Medically reviewed by Lori Lawrenz, PsyD — Written by Ann Pietrangelo — Updated on April 25, 2024

Interpretations and meaning
Can dreams predict death?
Dreaming of someone falling
Types of death dreams
How to stop them
Dream psychology
Summary

Dreaming about someone’s death can mean you are worried about them. But in dream interpretation, death can also mean a change or transition.

You call out to your best friend, but there’s no response. You shake them and gently nudge their shoulder before it dawns on you that they’re not sleeping. They’re lifeless. Dead. You reach for them again, but the distance between you grows until they become one with the fog.

You wake up with a profound sense of loss yet feel strangely unburdened. You’ve had a common dream about someone dying — but in all likelihood, it has nothing to do with your friend or literal death.

Read on as we take a closer look at dreams about dying, what they mean, and if there’s reason for concern.

What can dreaming about death mean for you?

It’s not uncommon for terminally ill people to dream about loved ones who have died, according to a small 2016 study done in India. And an older survey from 2013 found that it’s not unusual to dream of someone you’ve recently lost.

Most people reported these dreams to be pleasant or both pleasant and disturbing. A few respondents said they were purely disturbing.

Such dreams may be part of the mourning process or a reflection of the fact that you miss someone who’s no longer in your life. People grieving the death of a romantic partner may feel a continuing bond with their loved one when they dream about them, according to a 2023 study.

However, if you aren’t terminally ill or mourning a loved one, your dream may not really be about death at all. Instead, death may represent change or a period of transition.

When trying to interpret a dream, it helps to focus less on specific details and more on the way it made you feel. Consider how these feelings relate to what’s going on in your life.

For example, if you woke up feeling scared and anxious, you might consider whether you’re stressed out about changes in your life or fearing the unknown.

If you woke up feeling good, perhaps you’re accepting that something in your life is ending and you’re embracing a new beginning.

Can you predict a tragedy in your dream?

While it can be upsetting to dream about death, remember that dreams aren’t predictions, and you should not take them at face value.

Things we dream about are often symbols for other things. So, dreaming about death could be part of the bereavement process or a representation of great change in your life.

What do dreams of someone falling to their death mean?

Dreams about falling are fairly common and may represent:

insecurity or lack of self-confidence
feeling out of control
letting go or setting yourself free

The symbolism of falling may go hand in hand with the symbolism of dying — both can represent an ending, a beginning, or both.

Types of dreams about death

Death can show up in many types of dreams. Whether it’s your own death or someone else’s, there’s a good chance your dream is really about unresolved issues.

Dreams about parents or family members dying

A 2018 study on nightmares found that common themes include:

death
injury
threats to family members, such as a parent, child, or sibling

When you dream about a loved one dying, it might be due to changes — whether perceived or actual — to your relationships.

Dreams about you dying

Dreaming about yourself dying could mean that you’re in a major life transition.

It might be a symbolic goodbye to a relationship, a job, or a home. It could represent a part of you that is dying or something you’d like to escape.

It could also be that you’ve been putting your own needs on the back burner in favor of everyone else. Part of you feels neglected and is vying for attention.

Dreams about celebrities dying

When a celebrity dies in your dream, it’s probably not about the celebrity. The meaning may lie in who or what that particular celebrity represents to you.

Dreams about pets dying

You may dream about your pet dying if they’re old or sick and you’re genuinely concerned about them.

But your pet may symbolize something else, such as:

comfort
security
companionship

And dreaming of your pet dying might symbolize your fear of loss of these three qualities.

Dreams about friends dying

Dreaming about the death of a friend could signify concern for that person. It could also mean that your friendship is undergoing change or that you’d prefer to be free of this person.

Keep in mind the meaning behind the dream may not have anything to do with that friend at all. Instead, it might relate to what that friend represents in your life.

Dreams about deceased loved ones

The aforementioned small 2016 study found that end-of-life dreams are common. Terminally ill people reported dreaming about loved ones who’ve already passed on.

These dreams tended to be nonthreatening, and the people in the dreams were seen as they were in the prime of their health. This could be a coping mechanism.

Dreams about dead bodies

Seeing a dead body in a dream might be unexpected, but it’s not as uncommon as you may think.

This kind of dream imagery can sometimes feel threatening or upsetting. But if you can brush the feeling off and move on with your day, it’s probably just a passing occurrence.

If the images in your dreams are causing ongoing stress or upset, talk with a doctor or a licensed mental health professional.

Can you avoid or prevent dreams involving death?

“The goal ultimately may not be to avoid having such dreams, but rather approach them with curiosity to better understand them,” Dr. Alex Dimitriu, of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California, told Healthline.

Recurring dreams about death can be the result of ongoing stress and unresolved issues. Try to identify the cause of stress in your waking life. Confronting the issue may help stop the dreams.

You can also ease into a more peaceful sleep by scheduling wind-down time before you go to bed. Make sure your bedroom is free of glowing electronics and other sources of light.

If you wake up in the night, use deep breathing or other relaxation exercises to get back to sleep. If that doesn’t work, get up and do something relaxing until you’re sleepy again.

If you’re having a hard time dealing with recurring dreams or ongoing stress, talk with a doctor or licensed mental health professional.

Anxiety dreams

People with anxiety seem to be more likely to experience upsetting dreams.

A 2018 study looked at connections between people’s emotions during the day and the kinds of dreams they have at night.

In the study, people who felt more anxious also had more unpleasant dreams. This trend was only associated with anxiety symptoms, not other negative emotions like depression.

If you’re having anxiety dreams, a qualified therapist can help you work through them.

After a traumatic experience

People who have lived through traumatic events may be more likely to have nightmares.

In a 2020 study of children affected by war, about 45% of the participants described having nightmares in which someone was seriously injured or killed.

Frequent nightmares are one of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If you’re experiencing symptoms of PTSD, talk with a doctor. PTSD symptoms can improve with treatment.

How dreams work

Dreaming is a natural function of our sleeping brains. In fact, nearly everyone dreams, even if they don’t remember what they dreamt about.

Dimitriu, who’s double board certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine, says dream content can be:

leftover remnants of the day’s thoughts and events
an ongoing subconscious theme or feeling
just random

“In my work, after thoroughly exploring conscious and subconscious explanations of dream content, sometimes we are left with no clear answer,” Dimitriu said.

He noted the importance of letting the person experiencing the dream draw conclusions rather than planting ideas in their mind. It’s a process that can take time.

“In the case of dreams with intense content, such as dying, it is worth noting there is a lot of emotional energy to such a dream,” Dimitriu said.

“Lastly, sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar, and some dreams are truly random,” he added.

Takeaway

Dreams of someone dying can be unsettling, but you should not take them literally. Death in a dream may symbolize the end of something and the beginning of something new.

Dreams provoke emotions — and those emotions can help you connect a dream to events in your life. But dreams can’t always be deciphered.

If you’re troubled by frequent stress-related dreams, it may help to talk things out with a licensed therapist.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Black J, et al. (2021). Comforting versus distressing dreams of the deceased: Relations to grief, trauma, attachment, continuing bonds, and post-dream reactions [Abstract]. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32036745/
Dam AK. (2016). Significance of end-of-life dreams and visions experienced by the terminally ill in rural and urban India. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4843550/
Dimitriu A. (2020). Personal interview.
Edwards S. (n.d.). Nightmares and the brain. https://neuro.hms.harvard.edu/harvard-mahoney-neuroscience-institute/brain-newsletter/and-brain/nightmares-and-brain
Galbraith N, et al. (2023). The impact of continuing bonds following bereavement: A systematic review. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07481187.2023.2223593
Harb GC, et al. (2020). The nature of posttraumatic nightmares and school functioning in war-affected youth. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7688112/
Schredl M, et al. (2018). Nightmare themes: An online study of most recent nightmares and childhood nightmares. https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.7002
Sikka P, et al. (2018). Peace of mind and anxiety in the waking state are related to the affective content of dreams. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6109051/
Solomonova E, et al. (2021). Stuck in a lockdown: Dreams, bad dreams, nightmares, and their relationship to stress, depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8612516/
Weinstein N, et al. (2017). Linking psychological need experiences to daily and recurring dreams. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11031-017-9656-0
Wright ST, et al. (2013). The impact of dreams of the deceased on bereavement: A survey of hospice caregivers.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235756432_The_Impact_of_Dreams_of_the_Deceased_on_Bereavement_A_Survey_of_Hospice_Caregivers

Share this article

Medically reviewed by Lori Lawrenz, PsyD — Written by Ann Pietrangelo — Updated on April 25, 2024

Health Conditions

Condition Spotlight

Wellness Topics

Product Reviews

Featured Programs

Featured

Lessons

Newsletters

Lifestyle Quizzes

Health News

This Just In

Top Reads

Video Series

Find Your Bezzy Community

Follow us on social media