What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone?

Last Updated on January 16, 2021 by Sloane Marie

At night, your mind opens up to an entirely new realm of possibilities. It can seem confusing at times. While you know why you dream about your crush or a recent problem at work, there are other occurrences that are less straightforward. Is the universe trying to send you a message? Are the people in your dreams a sign of your subconscious mind? What does it mean when you dream about someone? Does dreaming about someone mean that they are thinking about you, or does it only reflect your own thoughts?

Start learning more about dreams and how to interpret your dreams about relationships.

What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone?

There are a number of reasons why you might dream about someone. Some research studies show dreaming about someone is a part of your memories from previous days becoming connected to discrete, past experiences. When you go through an experience, you are likely to have a dream that incorporates it into your memories. Before you can even start to figure out the real meaning, you have to figure out what that person means to you and what happens in the dream.

Sometimes, a particular person may represent a feeling that you want to have in your life. If your grandmother was always someone you felt comfortable around, you may dream about her when you need to feel accepted and comfortable. If the neighbor next door always made you upset or agitated, the appearance of that neighbor in your dream may show that you feel agitated or upset in real life.

One of the most common reasons for dreaming about someone is that you think about them a lot. If you frequently think about a crush or an ex-boyfriend, it is unsurprising that they would find their way into your dreams. Even if you haven't thought about that ex for years, they could still end up in your dreams because you once had strong feelings for them. The memories of those feelings still exist, so their memory may be brought up in your dreams from time to time.

Sometimes, the dreams represent what you would like out of your relationship with someone else. If you dream about your crush spending time with your family, it demonstrates that you want that level of closeness and you want your crush to be accepted by your family.

What It Means When You Dream About Someone

Dreams tend to be extremely specific to the dreamer. You are the best person to interpret your dreams because you already know what is going on in your life and what each person signifies in your real life. If you dream about someone, there are some common interpretations that you can use to help you decide the dream's real meaning.

1. Dreaming About Someone You Love

When you are in love with someone, you think about them all the time. They play an outsized role in your life, so it makes sense that they would sometimes appear in your dream.

When you dream about someone you love, it is important to look at the details. These details will often show you how much you love them and how your relationship is going. If there are only arguments in the dream, it could represent that there are problems with your relationship in the real world. You may not even realize that you resent or are upset about something, but your subconscious mind does realize it.

If your dream self is happy and blissfully in love, then it shows that you are passionate about your partner and completely in love. Sometimes, you will dream about someone having an argument with you because you recently bickered with them in real life.

If you dream about someone that you used to love, it could mean that you still have feelings for them. More likely, it shows that you would like to have that type of love or romance in your current life.

In some cases, these dreams are just random memories from the past. They generally don't mean that you should make a move to be with your ex again though, so be very careful to separate your dream feelings from your real feelings in life. Focus on the root cause of your dream before you decide to do anything in the real world.

2. Dreaming About Someone Who Died

Losing a loved one is an extremely traumatic experience. In Western societies, doctors and psychologists focus on helping people live instead of helping them adjust to the idea of death. We aren't taught how to die well, which means many people are excessively worried and obsessed with death. This makes dreaming about it more likely.

Sometimes, people will dream about someone who passed away for years or decades after they died. Often, this type of dream just represents a desire to have them in your life and the fact that you miss them. If you are going through a difficult time, your subconscious may give you dreams of someone important from your past to bolster your spirit through the hard times.

In other cases, you dream about someone who died talking to you or providing you with closure. Many people regret not solving an argument or telling a family member they loved them before they passed away. Your subconscious mind sometimes gives you a chance to get this closure in your dreams.

Some people believe that deceased loved ones return to you in your dreams to share insights about their death or to say something important. While there is no proof that this is actually the case, it can be a reassuring thing to dream that someone you loved is happy and has moved on to a better place.

One common dream is when you dream that you told a deceased loved one about your life such as a marriage or having children. This kind of dream typically means you want your loved one to be proud of you and everything you have accomplished in life, which is an entirely natural desire.

3. Dreaming About Someone Famous

There are many reasons why you may dream about someone famous. At the most basic level, this type of dream represents a desire to achieve fame, wealth or respect in your own life. If you have a crush on the famous person in question, you may have these dreams because you want to be with them and have them like you back.

In other cases, when you dream about someone famous, it is a way for you to overcome disappointments and problems in your own life. If you have recently suffered a setback, your subconscious mind may have you dream about someone famous as a way to bolster your hope for the future and show you that success can be possible.

4. Dreaming About Someone Sexually

Almost everyone has had a dream about someone sexually at some point. The most common reason for these dreams is because of your own desires. The human body is wired to seek out social and sexual relationships. If you are unable to exercise these desires in real life, your subconscious mind provides you with an outlet in your dream.

While it is possible that you are sexually attracted to the person in your dreams, it is just as likely that they were chosen as just a placeholder. Sometimes, your subconscious mind can't find someone to play your love interest, or you may not feel like your crush likes you back in real life. When this happens, your subconscious picks someone at random to play the role of the love interest.

It is very easy to confuse dream feelings with real feelings though, so it is important to make sure that you actually like the person from your dreams before you try to make a move in real life. The dreams could mean you like them, but they could also just be a way for your mind to relieve sexual tension from normal life.

5. Dreaming About Someone You Like

One of the most common types of dreams to have is about a crush. You think about this person all the time when you are awake, so it makes sense that they will work their way into your dream. To figure out any deeper meaning, look at what happens in the dream. If your crush acts romantically toward you, it shows that you feel confident that they could like you back if they really gave you a fair chance.

If they don't talk to you in your dream or just act as a friend, then it shows that you aren't confident about how he or she feels in the real world. If your crush appears around your family and friends, it may show that you want your crush to be a part of your life and accepted by the people that you love.

Your dreams (unfortunately) don't mean that your crush likes you back or is thinking of you. The old superstition that dreaming about someone means that they are dreaming about you is just a superstition. With that said, there is no harm in making a move to see how your crush responds. After all, you will never be able to find out for sure if they like you or not unless you make a move in the real world and see what happens.

6. Alternative Reasons for Dreaming About Someone

There are always going to be times when you dream about someone randomly. Even if you haven't thought of them for years and were never close, they still exist in your subconscious mind as a memory.

While you are more likely to dream about people who are actually important to you, memories of other people can still pop up from time to time. They could be random, or the person could symbolize something that you want or feel in your current life.

Before you assume that a dream about someone means something about that person, think through everything that happened in your dream. These dreams often show a feeling or desire that you have in the real world. The person may also represent a problem that you are trying to get over in real life.

To learn more about different dream meanings, check out our article on what it means when you dream about your crush. You can also leave a comment on this article with your favorite or most unusual dream about someone.