People in palliative care and approaching death often experience vivid dreams involving deceased loved ones and symbols of transition. Doctors and healthcare professionals note that such dreams usually bring patients peace and reduce their fear of death. This is reported by New Scientist, writes UNN.
These dreams "provide psychological relief and meaning to people facing the end of life.
– writes Elisa Rabitti from the palliative care network in Reggio Emilia (Italy).
Rabitti led a study that surveyed 239 local doctors, nurses, psychologists, and other specialists about the dreams reported to them by terminally ill patients.
The most common were dreams and visions (sometimes even while awake) related to encounters with deceased relatives or pets. For example, one woman dreamed of her deceased husband, who told her, "I am waiting for you." Such dreams created a sense of inner peace and helped accept death, researchers note.
Other people saw doors, stairs, or light. One patient described a dream in which he climbed barefoot to an open door filled with white light. The study authors believe this may be a psychological mechanism that helps make sense of the transition from life to death.
Most often, these dreams evoked feelings of "calm" and "comfort." Only about 10% of them were disturbing — for example, one patient saw a monster with his mother's face pulling him down.
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Christopher Kerr from a hospice in New York State also conducted research showing that dreams of deceased loved ones are very common among people with terminal conditions and become more frequent as death approaches. "Interestingly, these are not random people — it's always those who loved and supported you," he notes.
His research also shows that dreams of "preparing for departure" are common. For example, "patients often talk about dreams where they are packing things or getting on a bus," says Kerr.
Such dreams and visions can "bring a person together," he adds. For example, he observed a 70-year-old woman, a mother of four adult children, moving her hands as if holding a baby, seeing her first son, who was stillborn. She could not talk about this loss, but his "return" at the end of her life brought her peace. "We also have many veterans, and their traumas or burdens are often reflected in such dreams," adds Kerr.
The frequency of such dreams and visions increases as death approaches, because, according to Kerr, "dying is a gradual sleep." People constantly transition between sleep and wakefulness, so their dreams become more vivid and realistic — so much so that they often say it's not a dream, but something real.
We often consider the end of life sad and scary, because "our nature has a threat response built in," notes Kerr. However, the last weeks of life can be filled with love and meaning, and patients "eventually come to some acceptance." "One of the most striking things is the absence of fear," he concludes.
