Skip to main content

Losing someone you love is the most difficult thing in the entire world. No matter how much time passes, the pain does not ever go away, and it truly does make you wonder, is this person still with me in some way?

I tend to believe that our loved ones do stay in our life, in many ways. Clinical psychologist Jennifer Shorter says that visitation dreams are “striking emotionally intense dreams in which a recently deceased loved one returns to provide guidance, reassurance and/or warning.”

There are two schools of thought when visitation dreams come up: one says that we are trying to cope with the loss through our dreams, and another says they truly are visiting with us to give us warnings or messages. I feel like both parts of this can be right, and the difference between the two lies in several signs. Pay attention to the dreams you have with your passed loved one, so you can determine what the dream means and which of those two it is.

1. They come with a message/warning.

If you have a dream about a deceased loved one, and they come with a specific message, you are likely talking to the spirit of your loved one. Pay heed to their warning/message and take some time to contemplate its meaning.

2. They tell you something only they could know.

During a dream visitation, your loved one may come to you, and it’s likely that when they do, they will talk with you. Pay attention to the words they use and the things they say- their words will tell you if you are experiencing a genuine visit or your subconscious.

3. They look like themselves, but healthier and happier.

After passing, our loved ones’ spirit will appear as their highest self would. They won’t come to you as they were during life, they will be almost the same, but the difference is that they will be much happier and healthier. They will seem radiant compared to when they were alive.

4. They appear in a different way than usual.

When a loved one visits you, they may give you clues about a situation they are trying to help you through. To do this, they may come to you in a way that seems strange or different (wearing certain colors, using certain phrases, or using code phrases.)

5. The dream is vivid.

A visitation dream will be vivid. You will remember almost every aspect of it because it will be so real. Most subconscious-created dreams will be hazy and confusing, but a visitation dream is far clearer.

6. You wake up with a feeling that you’ve been watched while you were asleep.

While your loved ones will appear in your dream, they will likely be present near you as well. Because of this, after the dream, you may feel as though you have been watched.

7. They give you the information you didn’t have before.

A clear giveaway that you’ve had a real visitation dream is when your loved one gives you a message that includes information you didn’t know. An example of this is if you are pregnant, but don’t know it. Your loved one visits you and tells you to take a pregnancy test.

8. You wake up feeling intense emotion.

An encounter with a spiritual entity, especially a loved one is going to rattle your emotions. This is because you haven’t seen them in so long and also because the experience was genuine.

9. They predict something that happens.

When a deceased loved one comes to you and predicts something that hasn’t happened at the time of the dream, but later does happen, it’s because you talked to the spirit of your loved one. Listen to the predictions given by a loved one’s visitation, it is likely given to you for a reason.