Dreams of the Dying Patient: An Exploration of Content

Abstract

This study examined the dreams of eight individuals admitted to the Palliative Care Unit of the Elisabeth Bruyere Health Centre, Ottawa, Canada. Content analysis of the dream reports in this sample supports the hypothesis that a continuity exists between dreaming and waking experience [1]. Results do not indicate that themes of death and aggression, negative emotion, or infant and child characters are more prevalent among the dying. Discrepancies between the findings of this and previous studies are reinterpreted with regard to individual difference variables, such as phase of illness, age, premorbid interests, and medication. It is suggested that these variables, among others, comprise essential components of waking reality and should be considered in explorations of the dream content of dying individuals.