Visitation dreams etc…

[PolkaDooka]

I lost someone I love deeply but hadn’t seen for a long time. I cried my heart out for weeks then had a dream that felt so real, if I didn’t know better I’d swear he was really there. It was an extremely vivid but short dream like no other I’ve ever had, he appeared and we hugged, I cried and told him I loved him, I could feel and smell him. It didn’t last long, he didn’t say anything but seemed to radiate love, the next day the worst part of the grief had gone…

This was a year ago and it hasn’t happened since. I’m a GP so consider myself fairly scientific and intelligent but am trying to keep an open mind. Any experiences welcome.

Just to add, I’d never heard of ‘visitation dreams’ before this.

So sorry for your loss. I had a visitation dream shortly after my Grandad died. He was happy and healthy and hugged me and told me he loved me. It was SO vivid and felt very real. It wasn't like a dream

That sounds lovely OP and such a comfort. Not sure this qualifies as a visitation dream, but I did dream of my late mother, urging me to see my Dr. It was cancer . ( 5 years ago - I am fine). I felt her hand guiding me, and to be honest guiding me to the right GP, who instantly recognised it for what it was, and set me on the right road. Never seen that GP since, but I did get to talk to her and express my gratitude.

I believe these are real and it happened to me , it was the night before we interred my fathers ashes and i was completely dreading it.
In the dream my dad walked by me and i held his sleeve to stop him ,he was much younger and glowed with good health , he too radiated love.
We sat and spoke but it was not a 'spoken with a voice conversation' it was mind to mind ,sounds weird i know.
It was a short dream and i felt elated and woke up because i was so excited and emotional,i calmed down and went back to sleep but didn't see him again.
The following day felt like a weight had been lifted.

My grandmother had a similar when she lost her father she was devastated then had a very vivid dream of her father reading all the cards from his funeral and laughing what people had written and it made her feel much better and able to function again.

I am certain I had a visitation dream from my aunt (mums sister) who I (and my mum especially) were very close to. In my dream my aunt called me and I heard her voice clear as day. She asked how I was and then started asking after my mother and told me she was worried that my mum was ill and that I needed to tell her. The following evening my mum was admitted to hospital with an infection that had come on so suddenly, however, she is type 1 diabetic so her sugar levels were making her very ill indeed. I truly believe my aunt was warning us and find such comfort in that

Oh wow, such amazing experiences.

I have had two of these now from my lovely Nan. I actually read somewhere that if you wake from the dream and have huge emotions e.g wake up crying then this is a visitation. If it's just a lovely dream then it's just that.

Both times with my Nan I was aware it wasn't a dream and I woke up sobbing but felt comforted afterwards.

Not had a visitation visit as such but have had very many and varied night/sleep 'experiences'. Some terrifying, some thrilling, some bizarre but with understanding and acceptance I feel they have enhanced my life (I'm not a particularly spiritual person)

I was going through an extremely difficulty time, I wasn't sleeping, my mind was constantly turning things over, didn't know what to do for the best.

I was having yet another sleepless night, and I started to cry. I said (don't know if it was out loud or not) "help me" but not really sure who I was saying it to.

Then the room turned a fuzzy gold colour, a nice male face appeared and smiled at me.

Next thing I knew, I was waking up, it was morning, I had had the best sleep for a long time and that churning anxiousness had gone and I knew what I needed to do.

I have no idea what the heck happened, was it a dream? a visitation? but whatever it was, it definitely did happen.

My dad passed some years ago, and I was very close to him and was devastated when he went. I was only in my late 30s. (Got on with my mum but was a daddy's girl.) We'd had his funeral, and I was trying to look after mum, and trying to look after my kids/do my job etc.

So about 5 weeks after he died, (and 3 weeks after his funeral,) I was half asleep/half awake/partially in slumber, and I 'FELT' my dad next to me. I could hear him, I could feel him, I could smell him (soft smell of roll-up tobacco, his aftershave, his brylcreem,) and I said 'I miss you dad, I wish you hadn't gone.'

Then I started telling him his sister is OK. His sister was 10 years younger and had a heart attack 2 weeks after he died, and she was recovering in hospital and doing OK.

Some would say this was a dream, an illusion, a fantasy, maladaptive daydreaming etc, but to me, he was there. His spirit was there, his energy was there. I couldn't see him, or hear him speak but he was there. I could feel a weird buzzing and tingling in my hands and face, and I felt warm. As God is my witness, to this day I swear he was there for those few minutes.

Something similar happened a week later, but not as intense, and it never happened again. Mum died less than a year later. Never happened with her.

@PolkaDooka I do feel you, I do relate, and I do believe you.

My grandad died 17 years ago. I was very close with him when he was alive, he was my first really big loss.
I've dreamed about him several times. It's always the same. In the dream I know he's come back to life but he's going to die again and I just dream this sense of absolute happiness and relief he's there. It's always been the same theme though. Liek I said, just a handful of times over 17 years. It's strange how it's always the same. But I guess he can't stay can he.

I often dream about my sweet Nanna too. I was so very close to her, she was part of my heart furniture, and always will be! Again I haven't dreamt of her much but when I do she always plays the same role and she doesn't talk but her being there is just so very comforting.

I absolutely love dreaming about them. Whatever the reason why, it really is just so wonderful and I hope they come back soon ♥️

A few dreams come to mind but not relatives. One was I fell asleep in my sons room and dreamt a smiling woman was bending over me. I feel like she lived here before me and was welcoming but I don't believe in ghosts. I also dreamt an old man visited me the night before the Ukraine war. I also had a dream of like a superimposed head with a trustworthy male face.

Ive had 2 recently.

I was sat in a bungalow that was full of people walking around i didnt know and i was sat at the table with my great gran who was talking to me about me being a mum now and we were just talking.

The second one was this week, a family members son tragically died last year and i didnt see him but i was looking for him. i saw his mum in my dream and i told her he was angry hed died and he didnt want to speak to her or be found, to which she looked sad and said "he told me he was ready to go". i really hope isnt true or right he feels that way.

This has happened to me.
After my dad died, I dreamt I was in his hospital room (I don't remember the full conversation any more), but I said to him: But, Daddy. You're dead. And he looked totally shocked then said, Jesus Christ honey, don't tell anyone. 🤣 Weird, I know. However, he died from a widow-maker. Completely unexpectedly (obviously to him, too!)
I've had periodic dreams with him present, but not speaking. ie I'm in the house I grew up in and he's there. After my dad died I went for grief counselling. I was incredibly distraught in my grief. As I was walking to the office a stranger, a woman, walking toward me suddenly said, You have gorgeous hair. Sorry, I had to tell you. That was something my dad said to me.
Two nights ago I dreamt I was driving, he was my passenger and I was pointing out changes since he's been "away." And he was amazed by how things had changed. Last, several years ago I suddenly smelled the scent of our family dog from when I was a kid. Dog long dead. If you have a dog you know it's scent. Dog never left my dad's side. Ever. Then I "felt" my dad's presence.
All weird, I know. 🤷‍♀️

I had a similar experience after my brothers death.
I didn't get to say goodbye and his death was sudden.
I like you am pretty scientific so don't have any excessive religious or spiritual explanation.

My thoughts behind this experience was my mind needing some kind of closure so created this experience for me, within me In the form of a dream.

Again like your experience it was so real, I felt his body heat, his smell. He lay next to me and just hugged me for a while. Then he left and it was like my mind and my heart accepted his departure and it brought some comfort.

tears

I had a dream where I was hugging my mum and could smell and feel her- lovely.

I have had these... I sometimes wake up crying. But they can't be visitation dreams as the person is still alive. So, I don't know.