Have you ever died in your dreams?

Posted byMicahPosted inDiscussion, Experiences, LifeTags:, , , , , , , , ,

I often wonder why we dream. Is it our subconscious? Memories? Repressions? What about desires? Do we dream only as a side effect of the electric impulses in our brains? It is altogether a fascinating subject. Markus has read a book on why we sleep, but why do we dream?

It gets more interesting when we talk about bad dreams. Nightmares. Sometimes I can have five nightmares on the same evening and remember them all. Talk about an adventure.

My saving grace is my occasional lucid dreaming. In the middle of running from zombies or while facing a tsunami, I would remember that, “Oh, I am just dreaming and there is nothing to worry about.”

This awareness also allows me to suddenly perform parkour in my dreams to hasten an escape or have super powers to fight any bad guys. I just think, “Well, I could do this since I can dream my dream.”

However, there are times when things go, well, wrong. Along the lines of I-am-literally-dead wrong. As in real life, the times I died from my dreams came from surprises, a consequence of the unexpected.

Like that time I died in my dream while riding a bus and a mass shooter just identified himself like the reveal from a Masked Singer episode, except no one was clapping and we all got smoked (I died from two bullets on the side of my body, hitting my right lung, and yes, I felt the pressure on my side body in my dream before I blacked out).

Another time, which was fairly recent, I was hanging out with my Swede bestie and a bunch of people somewhere tropical and this rocket piece from China was coming straight for us, clearly visible from the sky (I did not feel anything, things just went dark). 

I do not know where these dreams come from or why. Have you ever died in your dreams? I often wonder what if the me in these dreams is me in other universes and I just watched myself die in that reality. Crazy, isn’t it?  

86 thoughts on “Have you ever died in your dreams?”

  1. Oh noo, I have never died in my dreams and it sounds so scary!! I usually never really have nightmares actually, so I feel pretty lucky…! I would love to be able to have “lucid dreams” though, and apparently is something that you can “train”…. how did you manage?

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  2. I’ve read the comments and they were all fascinating!
    I have not died in my dreams (couldn’t recall any instance)…
    I however have urinated in my dreams many times!
    When I was younger, I wasn’t able to control my urination in dreams; I’d dream of going to the toilet to pee — there & then, I’d wet the bed!
    As an adult, I have learned to wake myself up and go to the actual toilet.

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    1. Curious you mentioned this. Recently, I dreamt I went to the toilet to pee but I woke up in my dream and thought this is not right and I shook my head many times until I woke up for real and really need the toilet. Haha! What will you do if you pee in your bed? Haha.

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      1. Oh Micah, I have peed on my bed so many times when I was younger… so it was like a normal phenomenon for me hahaha…. peed on my bed once in college… I remember it clearly because it was the last… around thesis time and I was beat. I didn’t have strength to fight my bladder problems in dreams. I saw a doctor for that enuresis problem because my mom felt bothered by the fact that I always had to run for the toilet… so she had me checked and our good old doctor said, “she just have to pee on time”… haha. Like how? What is on time?
        You have such lucid dreams Micah. I wish I get to control my actions on dreams too…imagine, knowing that it’s not right…. I wonder why others are lucid and why other’s aren’t

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        1. Haha. What is on time? With me, I pee all the time because I drink lots of water. I do not know why I lucid dream. Sometimes I do not but many times I do. There are times when I am talking to people in my dream and I would tell them I have to go because I need to wake up now and then I wake up. Maybe tell yourself to wake up in your dream before you sleep? I wish I had tips how to lucid dream!

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          1. I drink a lot of water too and that’s def. the reason why, but I cannot do a semi-pee like force it on schedule… either I don’t need to or I extremely need to go w/c oftentimes requires running…

            My husband has violent dreams, I don’t know if he ever dies in sleep, but it’s often a battle… I would ask him what he’s dreamt about that involved too much movement, he said that oftentimes, it’s like he’s inside a video game — he and Brook also often laugh while asleep for such long durations… odd dudes!

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            1. If only pee on schedule is possible. What I find hard is when I have to pee and I am already in bed ready to sleep and having to pee too early in the morning and I cannot fall back into sleep. They laugh in their sleep? That is so cool though!

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              1. For long periods…. haha… I enjoy how peaceful they are and how solid their laughter were…
                Our mid sister talks a lot in her sleep & answers back when you tried conversing with her 😀 😀 😀
                ODD people!

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                  1. Like if she chuckles like she’s chewing on something, I will ask her what is she eating… she’d say, bread… i’d ask from where… she’d say, “there”… even gesturing towards a direction that totally doesn’t make sense like to a wall or something…
                    Or if she’s fighting with someone, I’d ask with whom is she fighting… she’d say, Fae… I’d ask what did Fae do, she’d say, she’s noisy…. hahaha… until you get tired of talking yourself…
                    According to her husband, she still does it…

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  3. When I was young I had nightmares regularly, and a recurring one even up until 12 years ago. Mostly, my dreams reflect what is going on in my life. The only time that I perhaps did die is when I passed out during a military parade. I was the right marker, so the troops were required to line up against my position. I remember marching out into position then looking forward and seeing many people in the crowd watching. There were bright lights and then I am in a car with my mum driving. She then veered off the road down an embankment. The next thing I know, I open my eyes and I am literally having stitches put in my chin, with no other recollection of what happened, including passing out 😂

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    1. Wow, crazy dream. What is your recurring dream? Mine used to be falling in some body of water but never hitting the water. I eventually hit the water after years and years of dreaming it and I never had it since.

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      1. Mine was being pursued by Cybermen. They live in the shadows (in their original form) and are ruthless, with no emotions. They harvest humans to make more of themselves. I have never experienced the falling dream. I did study dreams and brain activity when I completed a unit of psychology as an undergraduate.

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  4. I can’t remember ever being the one to die in a dream but I have had horrible nightmares of others dying. Which makes me believe that if I ever faced a bogart (from Harry Potter 😝) it’d turn into my loved ones dead, like Molly Weasley.

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    1. That sounds really sad. Sorry about your bad dreams. I only dreamt of a loved one dying once and I did not like that at all. It happened in India during my yoga teacher training course. I would prefer my dreams of me dying.

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      1. You’re mostwelcme. You know, i used to but not really anymore. Now I wake up with brain word inspriation or brain freeze. Less night screen time is helping free some space for some nice dreaming.💖💖

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  6. Dreams are fascinating. I do my best to remember and write mine down. I have had several premonition dreams, so I try to stay aware of my dreams and what they might be telling me. Your “death” dreams sound terrifying! 😱 It has been awhile, but I have had dreams where I died, in ways not as dramatic as yours.

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      1. Thanks for asking about my premonition dreams. I have written about two such dreams in previous posts. They are longer posts, but if you are interested in learning more… here you go:
        https://myinspiredlife.org/2020/12/12/dreamy-visit-surprising-gifts/
        https://myinspiredlife.org/2020/07/25/dreams-do-come-true/
        As for “death” dreams, I remember having one many years ago… I went off a cliff, while a passenger in a car, and then I went to heaven. That was weird. It wasn’t my time, so they sent me back to earth. ✨

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          1. Well, technically I did not make it into heaven, since I was sent back to the living. I was in an office environment, in the waiting room, waiting my turn to talk to someone before making it into heaven. I was around 10 when I had that dream, but I have never forgotten it. Too funny! Now, don’t go analyzing me. 😂

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  7. Like you, I often have lucid dreams where, when I realize things are either (a) going south or (b) incredibly silly and unbelievable, I wake myself up to stop the dream. So I’ve never (as best as I can recall) died in a dream; I always stop the dream short of that. Your experiences with dreams where you’ve been killed sound traumatic!

    The themes of most of my dreams vanish within moments of waking up, instantly forgotten. But some are remarkably vivid and easily remembered. Those usually have to do with grief and loss (e.g. my father; two of my dogs). Other, frivolous dreams are so much fun I try to return to them after awakening in the middle of the night, but that never seems to work!

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    1. That is smart! Just wake yourself up before anything bad happens. Why did I not think of that? Haha! I just always tried to go along and follow the lines of my dreams and cope as well as I could. Isn’t that very Alice in Wonderland-ish? Sorry to hear about your grief dreams. That is not cool. I do not think I have dreams like that but I relate with continuing a dream and have succeeded in doing that before. I think the last time was when I dreamt I washanging out with a favorite UFC fighter. That was nice.

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  8. I’ve never died in my dreans but I have definitely had weird lucud dreams, especially when I was on certain medication in the past. They were so vivid abd real. I could recall every detail after waking up. I find dreams fascinating and would love to know the reason behind them too.

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    1. It is really fascinating, isn’t it? Interesting that you get weird lucid dreams with medications before. Wow. What are some of your weird dreams? We need to find a really good book or a sleep spcialist so we can learn more!

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      1. Some of my weird dreams include me tumbling down the stairs in my house but it’s more like a gymnastics routine not an accidental fall. I was never hurt in those dreams just tumbling like a gymnast. Another dream was me driving an old big blue school bus randomly around the highway. I have also repeatedly dreamt that I show up to doctor appointments missing some piece of clithing. Sometimes it’s a shoe, or a shirt, or pants. Never the same article of clothing. 😄

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        1. You have cool dreams. I wish I can do gymnastics in my dreams, too. Do you think the missing items in your dreams point to some anxiety before or after visting the doctor’s office?

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          1. I don’t consciously feel anxious about visiting my doctors. I have a great relationship with them and they know my medical history well. But I suppose it’s possible that there could be some subconscious anxiety related to my health.

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  9. I have such vivid dreams too, so much intricate detail that it’s quite tiring. I often think as I’m about to fall or climb some huge structure that I hope it’s a dream, but I have no control over them, I wish I did. I do dream in colour as well.

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    1. It is fun, isn’t it? Or well, how do you feel about it? When you are climbing or doing physical things, can you feel your heavy limbs, too? I read this is the body preventing us from acting out our dreams, which I suppose does not happen with people who sleep walk.

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    1. Aha! Thank you for saying that. Really curious if other people die in their dreams, too. And you also feel the after-effects. Very interesting. Do you know others who die in their dreams, too?

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  11. I have never died in my dreams and I didn’t know that could happen. It’s kind of scary to think about that, yet you share it here. Wonder what it all means. Fascinating.

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  12. I have a lot of dreams I could create a book, a dream collection instead of a short story collection. But never died in any of my dreams, so far.

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      1. I could not say my dreams are crazy , they are more like scenes in novels haha. Most are melancholic. But I remember one dream where I was in a night market and I knew that vampires were lurking around. That’s crazy scary.

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  13. Your dreams are really clear. I never died in a dream, but once I was in an enclosed space, such as a car. I could feel a force approaching that was going to pull me out unless I had help. I prayed, and then I woke up. I knew the only power that could save me was God. I was very pleased that even in my dreams, I trusted God and turned to him.

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    1. Yes, I have vivid dreams. Sometimes I take walks with people in my dreams and tell them I have to go because I need to wake up now and I wake up. And thanks for sharing your one dream! I am happy you found comfort and that you were okay! When I was younger, I have seen God in my dreams, too. Once I dreamt of seeing him descend from a red sky on the apocalypse. Until now, I can still remember the scene and the sound of the wind. Other times I see his feet like he is a giant and I am a child.

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  16. I’ve heard that dreams are how we process whatever is bothering us from (anxiety) during the day. I’ve been chased by someone wanting to kill me in my dreams, and actually been stabbed in my dream, but then I woke up. Thankfully. Mona

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    1. Hi, Mona! Stabbed in a dream does not sound fun. Did you feel anything on that body part when you woke up? And yes, I could see how dreams can be a way to process the day. Oh, I had an interesting thought – how often do you dream about hurting other people compared to dreams where you receive the negative action? I find I rarely dream about beating others. Usually, I am awake when this happens. Haha!

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      1. It wasn’t fun. Thankfully, I wasn’t hurt when I woke up either. However, I did wake up hitting myself the other morning. I dreamed I had a water bug (think giant cock roach that flies) crawling on me. Worst nightmare ever! Thankfully, there were no bugs on me, my bed or my surroundings when I woke up. If I’d found one…well, I have pest control on speed dial! Not really, but it could happen…It’s been awhile and I’m not really sure about hurting other people when I dream, but I think I may have kicked someone’s ass in a dream once. Oh, wait…that’s not it. I think I killed someone. Yes, I think I wrote about it. I never saw the person’s face, but I think they were trying to kill me and I got them first. *shiver* Also, I know this is hard to believe after what I’ve written, but I don’t think I have many violent dreams. Maybe I should start writing them down when I wake up, though…when I actually remember them. 🙂

        So, you beat others when you’re awake? GULP!

        Mona

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        1. Yes, I agree, the bug crawling dream is a problem. Haha. I am glad there was nothing. I suspect you were worried about the person you murdered in your dream when you woke up. Now I cannot remember if I ever killed anyone in my dreams. I practiced muay thai so it is okay to spar with other fighters. Not to worry. Haha.

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  17. Do you think your space junk death dream was spurred by the news, for several days, of the China space junk falling to earth with no one knowing where it would land?

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  18. Thanks for debunking the myth that if you die in your dream then you die IRL too.
    I’ve never lucid dreamed, nor died.
    I’ve had nightmares where I knew I was about to die but woke up before it happened.
    One involved being a land casualty from a plane crash… an engine bouncing at me as,I crouched behind a flimsy folding table. The other was a massive train derailment as I was the front car at a train crossing. I got quite paranoid of both trains and planes for a looong while. It wasn’t fun living and working near airports, with planes very low, and having to cross train tracks every day!!

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    1. Oh, crazy dreams and I get it why you can get paranoid over them. I am still alive and have no issues with my dreams, good or bad. They are just streams in my head when I am asleep. But yes, the China rocket dream is about the news. Sucks that I died from that in my one dream though. Haha.

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      1. Since I’ve literally never heard of another person dying in their dreams, it’s kinda cool. Plus the lucid dreaming!!

        I always heard that people only dream in b/w but I dream in color.

        I have recurring dreams involving water. Usually rain, ocean, pool, and shower all in the same dream. Then there’s a nightmare version which usually involves knee deep murky water, amusement parks rides which involve traveling, without anything surrounding me (like a car or something), weaving through intricate twists and turns – often up/down folds, till I get stuck.

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        1. I found another who also do! Check the comments. German blog friends. And wow, people dream in black and white? Never heard of this but I dream in color and sometimes see myself as a separate character, apart from me who sees everything. Does that happen to you? Whenever I died in my dream it is like this. I just watch me die. And about the water, are you able to associate its occurence with anything in your life? I used to have a recurring dream of falling towards the water but never hitting the water. Then after years of having this dream, I finally fell and was okay. I never had this dream again since.

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          1. I have never figured out a trigger or meaning for 4 waters dreams. I’m always in one of the waters and looking at the other 3. Or sometimes in 2 waters… outdoor shower in the rain, next to a pool, at the beach. Once I ended up in a fast moving stream that took me through a narrow valley and dumped me at a party.

            I only debunked the b/w myth a few years ago, after distinctly remembering yellow in a dream.

            I’m not sure if I sometimes dream in 3rd person. I think that I do.

            I know I stress dream a LOT. When I was an admin assistant, I routinely typed in my sleep (once literally… I fell asleep at work but continued doing data entries). One of my funniest memories was my alarm clock going off and, still asleep, moving my arm around in an attempt to turn it off via an imagined computer mouse!

            It’s fascinating to me not everyone grew up with the “written in stone” myths that I did! This has turned into an amazing convo!!

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            1. Stress dream does not sound fun. Isn’t it that we sleep to give our minds a break? Stress dreaming sounds counterproductive. I am glad you are no longer typing in your sleep because of that job. And yes, it is surprising to learn about things we thought were universal, or the opposite sometimes, when we think we are the only ones who did that. I remember being so excited when I found out my Swede bestie also ate mangoes with rice – I thought it was just my family who did that!

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          2. I find a great mix of humor and annoyance in the fact that my sex dreams never reach fruition. I didn’t even know women could have orgasms in dreams till my late 40s!! Quite disappointed in my brain!!

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  19. As a child, I used to have nightmares, and it was usually my mother who rescued me, literally! However, I don’t recall ever having died in a dream; frightened, threatened, yes, and often lost but always safe in the end! I’m sure that things in our conscious lives trigger dreams. Then, when we sleep our subconscious sorts them into a big library or database. Our subconscious is one massive storage depot, a bit like a hard drive, that is difficult to access unless you practice deep meditation. I read that the mind is like an iceberg with the small conscious mind above the surface of the water whilst the huge subconscious mind lies below the water level. Bruce Lipton in his book [The Biology of Belief] says that in the ‘blink of an eye’ the conscious mind can process 40 environmental stimuli per second whilst the subconscious mind will process 20 million environmental stimuli per second. Amazing!

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    1. Wow, that is incredible. There is so much to discover with the mind and consciousness. I imagine people with a deep meditation practice looking at all of us mortals like they have this big secret treasure up for grabs! And I am glad your mother had always rescued you from nightmares. I am really curious if it is a common experience to die in your own dream. It seems pretty crazy cool.

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