The dying dream of the dead to be at peace with life

Florence experiences a vivid, calm dream at her kitchen table with her husband and daughter, who have been dead for years. She feels no fear and a certainty of reunion, then dies five days later. Many people report similar end-of-life dreams and visions, occurring during sleep or while awake, and often feeling more real than ordinary dreams. Historically, medicine dismissed these experiences as delirium or medication side effects. Research by a neurobiologist and hospice physician interviewed more than 1,400 hospice patients who were cognitively intact and not experiencing delirium, finding that about 90% reported at least one such dream or vision. The experiences are described as heightened awareness rather than confusion.

"Florence sits at the kitchen table. Her husband is there, her daughter, too. They laugh together, share a meal just as they used to. But there is one difference: both her husband and daughter have been dead for years. "As if we have never been separated," she says. Florence has never experienced dreams with such intensity before. She feels no fear instead, a deep sense of calm, a certainty that she will see her loved ones again. Five days later, Florence dies."

"Known as EndofLife Dreams and Visions (ELDVs), they often occur as dreams during sleep, and sometimes as visions while a person is awake. For those experiencing them, they can feel more vivid and real than ordinary dreams and for those observing them from the outside, it can be unsettling. Medicine long dismissed ELDVs as episodes of sudden confusion (delirium) or as side-effects of medication. But today, the thinking is shifting."

"Over a period of roughly ten years, Kerr and his team interviewed more than 1,400 hospice patients up until their death provided they were cognitively intact and not experiencing delirium. They found that about 90% of the patients reported at least one such dream or vision. Kerr does not describe these people as confused quite the opposite. "These are clearly patients with heightened acuity and heightened awareness," he told DW."

"Psychologist Elisa Rabitti, lead author of an Italian study on ELDVs, emphasized a similar point in an email to DW: "EndofLife Dreams typical""

Read at www.dw.com