Dream interpretation death: This is what lies behind the dream motif

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Dreams fascinate many people, but why is that? It's probably the seemingly unlimited one, which is released when we sleep, which can scare us or excite us.

Even though some people may not be able to remember their dreams in the morning, one thing is certain: everyone dreams in their sleep. You can have up to six dreams during the night, spending a total of 1.5 hours a night dreaming.

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In this short time you often process what you have experienced. But sometimes dreams confuse you, especially when they involve death.

If an important person or yourself dies in a dream, this dream can be very memorable and scares you. But it doesn't have to be that way. To understand this, it is first worth understanding what dreams actually are.

Dream researcher explains: Why do we dream?

According to the dream researcherMichael SchredlThe following definition applies: “Dreaming can be defined as psychological activity during sleep. Dreaming itself is not accessible to research, but only the recalled report: the dream.”

Dreaming involves nerve activity in the brain that is difficult to control. According to scientists, when you dream, since the brain needs a clean-up action, i.e. a memory consolidation, this creates space for creativity.

At night, the brain processes important information, events and thoughts that have accompanied us over the last few days. Dreaming helps us to better classify or even understand the things we experience. The saying “sleep on it another night” is no coincidence.

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Dreams can also reflect our own inner situation, i.e. everything that is currently occupying our subconscious. A dream shows us our unconscious thoughts, problems and processes. It can therefore be helpful to analyze your own dreams in order to understand yourself better.

How to: This is how you can understand your dreams

Dream interpretation works particularly well when you can remember the dream exactly and in detail.

To train your memory of your own dreams, it helps to use a dream diary. If you regularly write down your dreams after waking up, you can see more clearly what seems to be bothering you over a longer period of time.

Tip: You can find a beautiful one on Amazon hereOrder a dream diary.*

Freud and Jung: Dream Interpretation in Psychology

In psychology, dreams are often seen as a bridge to our subconscious. The psychologists Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung in particular created important foundations for dream interpretation.

According to Sigmund FreudUnconscious desires are brought to light in dreams through sleep. The systematic decoding of dreams therefore leads to self-knowledge in depth psychology.

Carl Gustav Jungon the other hand, he paid attention to the individual symbols in the dream. These then have to be analyzed in context, which means that symbols cannot be universally applied to all dreams. You can find a popular book on the subject of dream interpretation with further explanations of dream symbolshere on Amazon*.

This is what lies behind death as a dream symbol

Dreaming about death can be very scary, but the message behind it can actually be uplifting. Often the dream of death has a much deeper meaning that actually has little to do with dying itself and is more positive than you think.

Even if death dreams leave a lot of room for interpretation, death is understood as a dream symbol for change, fear or change. Of course it can also be about death itself, i.e. the transience of life. Or it's about something that you might want, but haven't realized that wish yet.

When you, as a dreamer, die in your dream

If you dream of your own death, the interpretation of the dreamed death depends on the mood you feel in your dream.

Death as a dream symbol for new beginnings

In general, death in a dream can mean that you have to let something go so that something new can begin. Your own death can be understood here as a new beginning. Because first the old has to go so that something new can emerge.

In order to find out in which area of ​​life this new beginning should take place, it helps to look at the setting of the dream. What did you do before? How did you get into this situation? And what happens to someone after death? You can also pay attention to what emotions you felt shortly before and after death.

Death as a dream symbol for the fear of change

If you were afraid of dying or panicked about being dead in the dream, it can mean, on the one hand, that you feel helpless in the current life situation. So that something big is coming up that scares you because it brings with it change.

Your own death can be interpreted as a dream symbol for the fear of a big decision, a separation, a job loss or a fear of change. Even more broadly, death can mean that you let go of your own attitudes and feel that you are giving up something of yourself, in a positive or negative sense.

The fear of your own death

On the other hand, it may also be that death does not function as a dream symbol, but that the person actually feels fear of death.

Dream Interpretation Death: When a close person dies

Dreamers often fear that the dream of the death of a loved one could possibly be a dark prophecy. But you shouldn't let this fear deter you, because here too, death is seen as a dream symbol for general changes.

Death as a dream symbol for changes in relationships

If the dying person is your partner, death can be a sign that the current situation in the relationship is changing.

For love, this can possibly mean that the dreamer's feelings have changed. For example, this can be a sign that you are distancing yourself from your loved ones or even that a separation is imminent.

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Death as a sign of fear of loss

If, on the other hand, you dream of the death of someone close to you and feel deep sadness, the death may symbolize fear of loss. The fear of no longer being able to spend your life with one person is so great that you can feel the pain of loss very realistically.

Tipp:In general, it can be helpful to ask yourself why you dreamed about the death of a particular person and what that says about your relationship with that person.

You often dream about your own mother, father, best friend or best friend, which makes you newly aware of how you relate to the most important people in your life.

Dreaming about death can therefore be interpreted as a sign of an important change or fears. Sometimes interpreting a dream is very challenging.

However, it is important to know that you should not interpret a dream as a foreshadowing of an event. Rather, it is worthwhile to decipher the hidden message in the dream.

Sources:

“Dream Interpretation – An Introduction”by Evelyn Schneider-Mark (order here on Amazon*)
Psychology Today