Understanding Grief Dreams - with Dr. Joshua Black

In this episode, co-hosts Julie and Red sit down with Dr. Joshua Black, a leading researcher on grief dreams, to explore the powerful ways our minds process loss while we sleep. Dr. Black explains what grief dreams are, why they’re so common after losing someone we love, and how these dreams can range from deeply comforting to emotionally unsettling.

We discuss the emotional meaning people often attach to dreams and why dreaming of loved ones who have passed can feel incredibly real. Dreams can support healing, create ongoing bonds with the deceased, and challenge our cultural understanding of grief itself. On a personal note, Julie, Red and Joshua all share grief dreams they have experienced as well.

Whether you’ve experienced vivid dreams after loss or are simply curious about how grief shows up in the subconscious, this conversation offers insight, validation, and a deeper understanding of how love and loss continue—sometimes, even while we sleep.

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