Following the death of a loved one, survivors seek meaning through mourning and struggle to construct a new reality in which their view of themselves is forever changed. According to the model of meaning reconstruction, the death of a loved one calls on survivors to reconstruct meaning in response to loss via: meaning making, benefit finding, and identity change. Continuing a bond with deceased loved ones can be a healthy part of the survivor’s ongoing life. Continuing bond theory places value on the relationship, with the focus on holding the relationship from a new perspective rather than severing the connection with the deceased loved one. Using a Dionysian logic for understanding dreams, the goal of the present qualitative study was to provide an enriched understanding of how the imaginal space of dreams plays a role in an individual’s adaptation to bereavement and how dreams serve a role in the development of continuing bonds with the deceased.
Five participants were interviewed and performative writing texts were co-constructed based on conversations had with participants about their grieving processes. Reflexive analyses and the researcher’s story are presented. This collection of stories suggests that cognitive processing of grief only takes individuals so far in their grieving processes. Embodied knowing, which can be enhanced through various dream experiences, is crucial for moving an individual’s grieving process forward. For these participants, the imaginal space of dreams seemed to be functioning in at least one of four ways: Serving a catalytic function, bringing about dramatic change for the survivor; mitigating against denial and numbness, keeping the grieving process alive; providing nostalgic seasoning to the survivor’s grieving experience; and/or nurturing continuing bonds with deceased loved ones. From the perspective of a Dionysian logic for understanding dreams, a discussion is provided on: the role of dreams in an individual’s adaptation to bereavement and in the development of a continuing bond with the deceased; the unique ability of performative writing to compellingly present the role of dreams in the adaptation to bereavement; and the implications of attending or not attending to our dreams following the death of a loved one.