Dreaming about death...

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Specializes in ICU.

Hello everyone,

I am a new nurse in the ICU. Lately I have been dreaming about death a lot lately. Of course I know where this is coming from and I'm sure it's just my psyche's way of trying to reconcile what I see at work now. I am not upset by the dreams, since I know their purpose, but it is just about every night I dream about it. Has anyone else had the same thing? Should I worry, or will I "grow out of it"?

Thanks,

Mochamonster

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Specializes in Peri-op/Sub-Acute ANP.

From personal experience, the dreams will stop. Pretty much everyone I've ever spoken to has dreams about work when they are new. It's a lot of stress and like you said, your brain is trying to process. Once you have a few months under your belt your brain will settle down.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I used to work with a highly experienced devoutly Catholic ICU nurse... she told me about a recurring dream in which she showed up to be admitted to heaven, and was instead sent to purgatory for the same amount of time that she had delayed others from dying. She told me that this dream usually happened after she had participated in a code. I am sure most of us have unresolved subconscious issues around death and dying - which affects our dreams. Certainly doesn't mean our cheeze is slipping off the cracker.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma.

I've a different take on dreams. I tend to have dreams involving people, places, and events in a situation. In reality the people, places and events never were in proximity time and/or geographically.

Since the dream is impossible, I back away a bit and look for the overall emotion being acted out in the dream. Almost always I can sum up the dream as a feeling, sometimes of helplessness, joy, frustration with being only human, lonliness, so on and so on. Works for me, hope it helps.

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