What Does It Mean If I Dream Of An Old Friend? (10 Scenarios Explored)

Dreams can be a great portal into issues and topics that your waking mind doesn’t explore all that often.

There are as many types of dreams as there are people on planet earth, often colored with their own personal experiences, fears, worries, and hopes. But that’s not to say there aren’t patterns that we can see with dreams.

People often experience vastly similar topics, motifs, scenarios, and symbols within their dreams. Because of this, we have begun to understand some of these and what they could mean for a person’s life.

One common scenario is meeting an old friend again. It could be a person you haven’t seen in years, or perhaps a person who is no longer living.

Either way, this person who was once important to you reappearing can be comforting, troubling, or even deeply upsetting.

If you’ve found yourself dreaming of an old friend – perhaps as a recurring dream you’ve been experiencing over the past days, months, or even years – then you probably have some questions about what it means.

Is this a person I should re-connect with in my waking life? Are there some unresolved issues around them I haven’t addressed yet?

Whatever the thoughts are, we’re here to help you! In this comprehensive guide, we’re going to be taking you through 10 different scenarios that you might encounter in your dreams.

We’ll break these down by whether or not they’re likely to be positive or negative, and explain to you how you can interpret them.

Often, dreams are lessons that you can apply to your own life, and by examining them we can make positive changes to make ourselves happier or more content.

10 Dream Scenarios For Meeting An Old Friend

Positive Dreams

We’re going to start off with positive dreams. These are scenarios where connecting with an old friend as you sleep can mean positive things in your life.

Perhaps they’re telling you that an old friend still values you, or that you’ll be able to connect with somebody you once thought impossible to reach. Keep a close eye on the details of each dream to see if any of them are close to what you’re experiencing.

1. Meeting An Old Friend At A Party

Scenario: This dream involves meeting somebody who you haven’t seen in a long time at a party.

Perhaps it is in a more modern setting of your life, and in this dream you see the person interacting with your new friends, family, and people that they might otherwise not know.

You’ll probably find that they’re having a good time interacting with them, and they are happy to see you again.

Perhaps the two of you get into a deep discussion about past events, or otherwise just reminisce about the time you were together and happy in each other’s company.

Maybe you’re having fun with them, and even though they’ve changed you can appreciate that this is just the normal flow of time.

Interpretation: In order to interpret this dream, we’ll need to consider the friend in question. Consider how long ago you last saw them?

Are they somebody you’re still on good terms with, or somebody that you (for whatever reason) are unable to have in your life at this current time?

Whatever the context, this dream can generally be seen as positive. It means that you value that person and that you wish they were in your current life.

To go a little deeper into the symbolic value of a dream. A party is usually a place of celebration that has all manner of positive connotations.

That said, you might want to pay close attention to the setting – is it a happy party? Is it a party that is celebrating something positive?

If you find the setting to be darker and more like a nightmare, then this dream could have a whole other meaning. If this is the case, keep reading for our negative version of this story in the next section.

2. Playing With Old Friends In Childhood

Scenario: Some of our best memories come from childhood. It is a time when friendship is much more simple than when you’re an adult.

Because of this, childhood friendships are often something people long to go back to. In this dream, you might be playing with old friends that you were once close to as a child.

Perhaps you’re at a place that the two of you used to enjoy, such as a park, theme park, or family home.

The setting is likely to be a familiar place, and you will probably imagine both yourself and your friend as much younger than you are now.

This can be either comforting or a little disconcerting, depending on how worried you are about aging, but if the general experience of this dream is positive then it will most likely be a positive experience for you.

Interpretation: This dream is probably a celebration of your childhood and the bonds you made during that time. Because of this, it’s most likely to be a positive experience for you to go through.

Childhood is a time that can be difficult to remember because of the cognitive changes that our mind goes through by the time we reach adulthood.

By traveling back to the past, your subconscious mind is exploring positive times when you experienced the joys of friendship and made a close bond with somebody.

The setting here can be equally important. If it’s somewhere you used to go and remember fondly, then the dream is also likely to be a celebration of this place as much it is of your friend.

The location of the dream can be seen as the physical manifestation of the bond you have with that person – which is a nice thing to think about as you remember them.

If it’s a friend you haven’t seen for a long time, it might be worth getting in touch with them, even if it’s just to reminisce for a while.

The one negative connotation of this dream is the idea that your mind might be pining for the purity of youth.

This is something that we all experience from time to time, but if you have this dream frequently then you might want to look at your current circumstances and see if you can find ways to improve them.

Looking constantly back into the past can cause turmoil in the present.

3. Hanging Out With An Old Friend

Scenario: Similar to the last, but with the difference between adulthood vs childhood, this scenario sees you hanging out with an old friend that you haven’t seen for a long time.

It will likely differ in scenario and time period and could be a prophecy of something yet to come. There could be all kinds of things that the two of you are doing together, but no matter what it is, the connotations will likely be positive.

Keep a close eye for possible symbols that you might find in this scenario – is there something that you experience that could be representative of the bond you and this old friend share?

Common symbols range from animals to physical objects that might only have value to you personally.

Interpretation: This dream is all about longing to be with a friend that you no longer get to see so much. It’s both a celebration and a longing of the times you once had, and how you no longer have those same experiences.

You can find this dream both positive and negative, depending on your relationship with the person in question.

The most important thing here is trying to figure out why you are having this dream at a certain time in your life.

Have you been thinking about this friend a lot recently? Or perhaps you haven’t thought about them in a long time and you’re just remembering all the good times you had together.

Either way, it may be important to reconnect with them if you can, and this dream could be the starting point for a future where they are in your life once again.

4. Old Friends VS New Friends

Scenario: Like the party dream we outlined earlier, this is a dream all to do with joining both the old and the new together.

In this scenario, you might find people from your past and present interacting with one another.

You’ll find them getting along, and having a lot of good times together. This could involve your old friend interacting with new friends or family memories.

Some of the most vital variants to consider here are where you are and what you are doing in your dream.

The personal relationships interacting are an easy thing to analyze, but what is more difficult to understand is where the dream has placed you.

The things that will be relative to you personally include place, time, weather, and any other symbols and scenarios you might see within the dream.

Whilst this would be more of a negative dream, imagine that your old friend is protecting you or saving you from physical harm – in this scenario your subconscious is celebrating the bond you once had and perhaps suggesting to you that it has not faded, even with time.

Interpretation: This dream is all about joining the old and new together. Sometimes your mind will yearn for harmony that crosses through time and will allow you to make peace with the passage of time.

If you find yourself having this dream, it might be a sign that you will need to find more ways to interact with your old friends.

It can be a great way for you to begin bringing those you once cared for deeply back into your life. What would happen if your old friends met your new ones?

This could be a great addition to your life, and the real lesson of this dream is the idea that you can still have the things you once valued in your modern life, providing you put the time in to make it happen.

5. An Old Friend Comforting You

Scenario: For the last of our positive dreams, we have the scenario of an old friend comforting you, perhaps during a time of great emotional or physical distress.

Let’s say you’ve recently lost somebody close to you, and in your dream, your old friend appears to help you get through it. This is a common scenario and is one of the ways that our minds can help us deal with grief.

Like the others above, the symbolic nature of this dream is important to consider – but the symbols in question might be deceptive.

Take rain, for example, this is a weather pattern that we always associate with negative emotions such as sadness or depression.

Let’s say in this dream your friend is comforting you, and you look outside to see a thick veil of rain. The rain in this instance refers more to your general headspace rather than the fact that your friend is present.

Interpretation: This dream won’t always be to do with grief in your real life, but it’s a clear indication that your mind is searching for a moment of comfort from your past to help you in your waking life.

By finding an old friend to comfort you, your subconscious is looking for something that will make you happy. In this case, this dream can only be seen as a positive thing.

That said, you may want to ask yourself how authentic this emotion is. Are they a friend that you haven’t seen for a long time, but wish you had?

Perhaps the lesson this dream is trying to teach you is that you should reconnect with the person you once had a close relationship.

Negative Dreams

This is a broader kind of dream and the more common type that people often seek help with.

Negative dreams can range from something that gives you a small amount of emotional distress/confusion, all the way up to real nightmares that can have bad connotations for your waking life.

Often, a negative dream is important to analyze, and a real symptom of emotional distress or dissonance within your mind.

We’re going to break down five of the most common scenarios involving an old friend that can be seen as negative and something you may want to address.

6. Arguing With An Old Friend

Scenario: This is one of the most common negative dream scenarios involving an old friend and one that you’ll want to consider deeply when you wake up in the morning.

This dream involves having an intense disagreement with an old friend. It could be about anything and is most likely to be something that is personal to you; a past experience that you have struggled with.

In this scenario, you and your friend are arguing, and there’s nothing you can do to make them see your point of view.

There is going to be great tension between the two of you, and since it’s in a dream you are bound to be less measured than you would be in real life, and unable to find any type of resolution or compromise.

Interpretation: The first thing you need to consider when interpreting this dream, is the relationship you have with that old friend in question. Are they a person with that you had a lot of arguments?

Perhaps that is why they are now an old friend, instead of a current ones. If this is the case, then it’s very easy to see where this dream scenario stems from.

There are likely to be unresolved issues with them that you haven’t made peace with, and this could be a calling for you to try and fix it.

Of course, this isn’t always possible, but there is always a chance for you to repair how you see the events that transpired, perhaps painting them in a more positive light.

Dreams can be strange and there are often great changes in the person, especially during moments of distress.

Take note of what your old friend looked like – if there are any noticeable physical changes (perhaps inflated age or something scary about their appearance) this can mean a lot of different things depending on the change in question.

The symbolic value of changes like these is important to consider when trying to work out what exactly this dream meant.

7. Physical Fight With A Friend

Scenario: This is a slight variation from the scenario we just outlined, but often far more distressing and problematic. It could be that in your dream, your old friend attacks you. Or perhaps you attack them.

Thankfully this is all just a dream, but the threat of physical violence can be disconcerting and stressful once you wake up in the morning.

It’s likely that the friend (especially if you never got into any kind of physical altercation with them in reality) is acting much differently than they would in real life.

Or more than this, it could be that you are acting much more violent or stubborn than you are as well.

Either way, this is a dream that will outline the worst-case scenario for your relationship with them and can mean a lot of different things depending on your specific situation.

Interpretation: The first thing to mention about this dream scenario is that you have to keep in mind that it is not real and did not happen.

Unless it was based on a memory, this dream is an over-exaggeration of your relationship with that person, and therefore overblown. But that’s not to say there isn’t something important within it.

A dream like this is likely to come as a result of intense emotional distress around your past with that person.

You will want to analyze this dream closely to see if there are things that the two of you have not fixed about your relationship. You’re going to want to try and make peace with these to stop dreams like this from happening in the future.

More than this, you want to keep a close eye on how the two of you behave to make sure that this doesn’t happen in the future.

It can also be a sign that the relationship the two of you had was toxic, and that you shouldn’t pursue it further in the future.

8. Trying To Find An Old Friend

Scenario: This is a very common negative dream involving an old friend, and the scenario is usually comprised of you searching for your old friend somewhere foreign.

It could be a place you both know, but if not it could be somewhere uncharted that you can’t make sense of. Some of the most common versions of this dream include trying to find your friend in a forest, big house, or labyrinth.

The most likely end point or conclusion of this dream is that no matter how hard you look, you are unable to find that friend.

It will often end with you waking up in the morning or in the middle of the night, confused and bewildered and feeling sad about having lost that person.

There is also a variation of this dream where you are trying to catch up with them, but find yourself unable to stop them from running away, or slipping out of sight.

Interpretation: This is a common dream and one that we have a pretty good explanation for.

If you are trying to find an old friend that you don’t see anymore, it means that your mind is longing for them, but no matter how hard you try you are unable to find them.

If your friend has passed away, then this dream is a sign that you need to find ways to make peace with that fact.

If your friend is still living, then there are some things you need to do in your waking life to try and get them back.

The symbol of a labyrinth, forest, or big house are all common motifs for something that is unknown.

In the field of cognitive psychology, the image of a forest can mean a lot of different things when appearing in a human mind. It represents uncertainty, difficulty, and problems to overcome.

Forests have had this connotation through years of our evolution, whereupon they were seen as dangerous places.

You can also find this in a variety of different traditional stories such as Hansel and Gretal and Little Red Riding Hood.

To find your friend you must make your way through the woods – and all the troubles that come along with such a place.

9. Losing An Old Friend

Scenario: Dreams of somebody you love or once loved passing away are one of the most common dreams humans have.

According to the theory of ‘threat simulation,’ dreams exist to prepare you for negative experiences that might happen in real life.

In this scenario, we see your old friend passing away and you being left to deal with the aftermath.

The details of this scenario are going to be the most important thing to note. You may want to pay close attention to how that friend has passed away, and whether or not you get to see them again before they go.

If they die suddenly, and you find yourself left with a huge amount of negative emotions and grief, this might give you some good indication as to what this dream means to you in your waking life.

Interpretation: This dream is all about the fear of losing someone. If you haven’t seen a friend for a long time, it could feel like they have passed away even if they are living happily.

Because of this, the dream can be interpreted as a warning for you – to take steps to reconnect before you are no longer able to.

If your friend has passed away suddenly, this could be representative of a fear you have of sudden death and the way your mind would deal with it.

You may want to consider things like this as possible in the real world, and find ways to mitigate this should they happen.

This dream can also symbolize how losing contact with your friend can feel as if they have passed away – and this too can be remedied either by reconnecting with them, or finding a way to make peace with the friendship you once had.

10. Being Ignored By An Old Friend

Scenario: Let’s say you’re at a party, but unlike the previous party we discussed in our first section, it is a party filled with people you used to know but who are no longer talking to you.

It could include one old friend in question, who now all of a sudden wants nothing to do with you.

Dreams can often create scenarios that wouldn’t happen, and as unlikely as this is, it is a common dream that people have; one that has a lot to do with superficial relationships and your inner feelings regarding them.

Other variations of this dream include being at the party but nobody can see you or trying to speak to your friends but not being able to make any sound.

Both of these can suggest vastly different things, so it’s important to consider the finer details of the dream you are analyzing.

Interpretation: The party here represents something much darker than the last time we encountered it.

A party should be a place for celebration – a happy, fun time. But being at a party where your old friend won’t speak to you has a lot of connotations for your waking life.

Maybe you feel as if you are unable to reconnect with others that you once cared for, and this party is a manifestation of the fun life they’re having without you.

You need to consider this dream as a warning that is outlining to you unresolved feelings you have regarding your old friends. Do you feel left out? What is the reason that you no longer speak with them?

You’ll want to think about this and find out if there is a way to fix this situation. This dream often manifests itself because of two reasons – either you have pushed this old friend away, or they have pushed you away.

If they pushed you away, the best thing to do is to make peace with this situation. But if you pushed them away, this dream should be a good indication that you need to find a way to reconnect with them so that you don’t feel left out or lonely.

Common Themes, Symbols, And Motifs

In this section, we’re going to expand on our earlier scenarios by giving you some of the most common themes, symbols, and motifs that often come alongside these kinds of dreams.

Keep a close eye on them to see if any represent what you are currently experiencing in your dreams.

1. Weariness And Exhaustion

Dreaming of an old person that you have a lot of history with can be a symptom of how tired you feel in your modern life.

Sometimes when we are experiencing issues in the present, our mind can reach back to the past to try and find some comfort.

Scenarios such as the ones we outlined, like hanging out with an old friend from childhood, may suggest that you are not happy with your current life and need to make some changes.

Friendships during childhood are remarkably simple. If you are an adult and have to deal with the constant turmoil of work, family, and raising children, then it’s only natural that your might will long to reach back into the past and find a time when it was much more comfortable.

2. Accomplishment And Happiness

As a counterpoint to our last example of a negative connotation, a dream involving an old friend can represent feelings of accomplishment and happiness. Humans are in essence social creatures, and we often feel happier when with others.

Having dreams of good times with an old friend can mean that your mind is content and fulfilled in having created these memories.

Often, dreams of this nature will be slight variations of past events. They can show you how much you’ve grown throughout the years and give you some great insight into what you value in people, friendships, and relationships in general.

3. Animal Symbols

Animals are some of the most common symbols that occur in dreams. Humans have since the dawn of our species used animals to represent certain emotions and scenarios within life.

So if you find yourself dreaming about an old friend with some kind of animal present, you’ll want to keep a close eye on what the animal is and what it could mean.

Common animals have certain characteristics that can easily be associated with themes and emotions.

For example, a fox is often seen as a tricky, deceptive animal, whilst a lion is often associated with emotions of pride and accomplishment.

Crows and ravens are most commonly associated with death or grief, and have been used throughout history as motifs within stories and poems.

An example of this would be Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem ‘The Raven,’ in which the raven represents deep feelings of guilt and grief.

That’s not to say an animal in your dream will always represent something so intense, but it’s worth considering what the animal in question could represent, as well as how it interacts with your old friend in your dream.

4. Regression

Regression is when your mental state or physical body goes back to what it once was. This can be both a positive or a negative depending on the context of your life and the dream in question.

Firstly, let’s say you have recently had a sudden change of heart, and feel happier in a way you used to.

In this case, meeting an old friend in a dream could be a symbol of how your mental state has changed for the better. In this case, the dream would be an accomplishment and a sign that things are going right.

But if you’re in a bad mental state, it could be your mind pining to regress and experience the past, instead of living with the present.

In this way, it would be negative, because it means you can’t get over what you had, and that you are unable to function in your waking life.

This is where you will want to do some mental work to try and make peace with this idea, and/or change your lifestyle for the better.

5. You’re Missing Your Friend

This is a simple one, and probably the easiest explanation of why you’re dreaming of an old friend.

Whether the dream is positive or negative, there’s a fair chance that you are dreaming about them because you miss them.

It could be that you miss a specific thing about them, all the way down to the time that you met them and the feelings associated with that time.

If this is the case, then there is a simple solution. If possible, you can find some way to reconnect with them.

Even a simple text message or phone call could be enough to help soothe your subconscious yearning for them, so we would suggest trying to do something – especially if your dream is recurring and/or bothering you.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it! There were 10 of the most common dreams involving meeting an old friend again.

One thing that is important to note is that dreams can often be very confusing and difficult to understand, and your first interpretation isn’t always going to be right.

It’s important not to take dreams too seriously, because if you do they can sometimes give you problems in your waking life.

It’s best to consider them to be warning signs or positive affirmations of things that are happening to you in the present.

Meeting an old friend in a dream can be both positive and negative depending on the context of your situation and friendship.

Most of the time, it at least in part suggests that you are missing that old friend – and if you think this might be the case then there is only one thing to do! Try and get back in touch with them.

Most people are more than happy to hear from an old friend, so it’s likely to be a positive experience.

We hope that this article has given you some insight into this common dream pattern and why it might be happening to you.

If you still have some questions, keep reading for our short FAQ section below, which has been written in an attempt to help answer some of the most common questions around this issue.

We wish you the best of luck in understanding your dreams, and hope that they bring some positive effects to your life!

Frequently Asked Questions

How Can I Reach Out To An Old Friend?

The most important thing when reaching out to an old friend is to keep the door open and temper your expectations.

People change, so there is a chance that they won’t want to hear from you, especially if your relationship ended on difficult or bad terms.

We would recommend sending them a text message or giving them a small phone call so that they have the option to speak to you on their terms.

The worst thing you can do is to show up at their house unannounced, as this can cause problems in terms of

Why Do I Feel Bad About My Old Friend

The first thing to note is that losing an old friend is something that is common. People change all the time, and friendships that last an entire lifetime are rare.

More than this, feeling bad about the situation is very natural and not something you should beat yourself up about. It’s best to accept the feeling and learn to make peace with it.

When Do Humans Dream?

Dreams happen at any time during a regular sleep cycle, and it is likely that a lot of your dreams happen without you knowing or remembering them.

The most common time for vivid dreams that you will remember comes during REM, otherwise known as rapid eye movement sleep.

This is when your brain is most active and you are most likely to have dreams that you will be puzzling over once morning comes.

Why Do Humans Dream?

This is a million-dollar question that might not have any real answer. Scientists have tried to work out the exact reason why humans dream for a long time now, but still, the mystery remains.

Depending on who you are as a person, dreams may mean different things to you.

For example, if you are a very spiritual or religious person, you might think that dreams are a direct connection to the spirit world or to a specific deity.

Scientists often believe dreams to be an evolutionary process that has come as a result of humans preparing themselves for real-life situations whilst we sleep.

Another reason could be that dreams are simply our mind overreacting with many different images from our lives as we rest.