What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone Dying?

Last Updated on June 1, 2020 by Cassandra Nostredame

They say that the only things certain in life are death and taxes, and this might be true. Death is one of those things that everyone ultimately experiences. At some point in your life, you may experience the death of a loved one like a spouse, parent or friend. You may dream about someone dying before it happens, or you may just dream about someone dying because of your fears.

Everyone has dreams each night, and dreams about death are extremely common. While these dreams may occur because you fear that a loved one will pass away, they can also occur for a variety of other, more harmless reasons. Death dreams are rarely interpreted as being actually about death. Instead, they tend to show the thoughts, feelings, fears, and desires that are running through your mind.

If you want to understand the deeper meaning in your dreams, learn how to interpret any dreams you may have about death or dying.

What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone Dying?

When you have a dream about someone dying, you may wake up in a panic. These dreams can be intense, and it can take several moments before you realize that the dream didn't actually happen. For several minutes afterward, your heart pounds because you fear that your loved one will pass away.

While this is an extremely stressful experience, it is rarely a sign of anything that you should worry about. There are a number of possible reasons why you may dream about someone dying.

1. Death Represents Transformation

Death is the ultimate transformation. Through death, you go from your human form to the spirit world. Because of this, one of the most common reasons why you dream about death is due to a transformation.

Some great changes may be approaching in your life. You may be up for a promotion at work or about to graduate from college. Perhaps you are about to take the next step in your relationship.

Like the phoenix that dies in flames to be reborn anew, you are about to undergo a transformation. You will rise from the ashes of your past for a new change in your real life.

2. Your Dreams Reflect a Real-Life Pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of the ultimate transformations in life. In many ways, it is the complete opposite of death. Through pregnancy, a new life comes into being. For some reason, many women tend to have dreams about death when they are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. In some cases, women have these dreams before they even realize that they actually are pregnant.

3. You Feel Guilty About Something

Even when you made the best choice possible, you may still feel guilty later. Sometimes, the best option is still not a good option. Even if you weren't involved in the situation, you may regret that you couldn't help.

Guilt can cause you to have a dream about someone dying. This may be from guilt for not helping them during life or guilt from not telling them how you really felt before they left the world. If you feel guilty, you may also dream that you finally tell the person how you feel and reach closure.

4. You Are Seeking Freedom

Many people have a domineering influence in their lives. This could be a parent, a lover or a friend. When they are around, you feel like you can't truly be yourself. They squeeze out any vibrancy or optimism from your life and leave you feeling claustrophobic.

Your subconscious may create a dream about them dying as a way for you to escape. This doesn't mean that you wish that they would die. It only means that your subconscious feels like they must be removed from your life for you to truly be free from their control.

5. Your Death Dream Represents Your Fears

One of the most normal reasons to have a dream about death is because of your fears. If you love someone deeply, it is natural to be afraid of losing them. When you have dreams about death, it indicates that you love that person greatly and are afraid of losing them.

If you dream about your own death, it may indicate that you are afraid of something and want to escape life. It could also represent a fear of water, heights or whatever manner that you died in the dream. Your subconscious is just pulling from your fears to create these dreams, and the dream doesn't mean that the same fear will be revisited in real life.

Other than a more generalized fear, you may also have a fear of loss. Life is in constant flux. You can't stop change from happening, but it is normal to be stressed out or afraid of it. You naturally like your work, your family and your friends. Because of this, you may fear losing them or having those relationships change, so you dreamed about dying.

6. You Feel Betrayed

One possible reason you dream about someone dying is a betrayal. If someone betrayed you in real life, you may dream that they have died. This is a sign that you are upset and want to get revenge on that person for their actions.

7. You Feel Like You Lack Potential

If you feel like you are a failure or aren't truly living up to your potential, you may dream that you or someone else dies in the dream.

8. Your Dream Represents a Psychological Change

A psychological disturbance could be the cause of your dreams. The human mind isn't supposed to be in a state of constant stress. Unfortunately, modern life basically makes your mind constantly on alert. If you are psychologically disturbed through stress or something else, it can result in vivid, dark dreams. Your stress is basically transforming into dark dreams as an outlet for your subconscious mind.

9. You Are Getting Closure

Many people lose a loved one at some point in their life. Unfortunately, you can never know for sure when someone will pass away, so you may not get to share a last “I love you” or apologize for something that you did wrong.

When this happens, you will often have dreams about the loved one who has passed on. You will get a chance to talk to them in the dream and get the closure that you were never able to achieve in real life.

10. You Have Finally Healed

If you dream about a loved one who died a long time ago, it may show that you are finally starting to heal. At first, the pain was too much for you to think about it or address it. As you start to heal, your subconscious is able to work through those feelings again. Because of this, you may start to have dreams about a loved one who died months or years after they actually died.

When you dream about someone dying who has already died, it may also just mean that you miss them. This is especially common around anniversaries or holidays. If you are about to have a child or a major change in your life, you may dream about them because a part of you wishes that your loved one was there to see it.

In some cases, a dream about death could symbolize that you miss someone. For example, you may dream about a dead parent or sibling because you miss being around them. You are afraid that they will move on in life without you, or you may fear that they will become completely disconnected from you. Because of this fear, you may dream about them dying.

What Does Someone's Death in a Dream Mean?

If you dream about someone dying, it most likely represents a deeper meaning. Thankfully, the individual in the dream is probably not going to die in your real life (at least, not in the near future). Instead, your dream about death most likely represents one of the following things.

Someone dying in your dreams may mean:

1. Transformation.
2. Pregnancy.
3. Guilt.
4. Freedom.
5. Fear.
6. Betrayal.
7. Lack of potential.
8. Psychological change.
9. Closure.
10. Healing.

What Does It Mean When You Dream About the Death of a Friend?

On a basic level, this kind of dream could show the fear you feel about your friend becoming injured, ill or dying. You may also sense that your friend is transforming in some way. For example, if you are both graduating high school and moving on to college, the dream about the death of a friend may indicate your friend or the relationship with your friend is undergoing some kind of transformation.

What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone Dying Who's Already Dead?

Often, this kind of dream occurs because your mind is trying to process the death. Once your subconscious is able to portray the deceased loved one as dead in your dream, it generally indicates that your conscious mind is starting to understand that your loved one is truly gone. Healing takes time, so these dreams can keep happening for a long time after you lose someone.

What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone Dying During Childbirth?

Birth and death are the ultimate transformations in life. If you see someone die in a dream as they give birth, it shows that major changes are underway. You can look at other details that occurred in the dream to determine if these are positive or negative changes.

What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone Dying in Your Family?

When you love someone, it is only natural that you'd be afraid of losing them. When you dream about someone dying in your family, it is most likely a sign of how close you feel to them. You are only afraid of losing someone if you truly care about them.

You may also have this kind of dream if there is a reason to worry about the family member. For example, they may be hanging out with negative influences or going through a difficult experience. You may also just sense that a transformation is approaching your friend, so the death symbolizes that transformation.

What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone Dying?

When you dream about someone dying, it can mean a number of different things. Look at what happens in your dream and the situation that unfolds. How do you feel? Who is in the dream? What is going on in your current life?

While a dream about someone dying can be terrifying, it is rarely a sign that someone will actually die. More often, it represents a different subconscious thought, fear or desire that is going on with you. To figure out what your dream means, you have to analyze everything that happens in it and see how it connects to your current life or feelings.