I had a dream that I was losing my hair. I didn't actually see it fall out; there were just these empty spaces on my scalp. I was trying to figure out a way to make it grow back or to hide the spaces.

My father was in the dream. He died four years ago and I have not dreamed about him since that time. I didn't actually see him but I know he was there. He indicated to me that there was nothing I could do about the loss of hair.

— Anonymous, age 62, female, divorced

Hi Anonymous—

I bet you checked your hair in the mirror when you awoke from this dream!

Dreams of losing hair actually are fairly common. In some dreams (like yours) we stand in front of a mirror and notice new bald spots on our heads. In others we may be pulling our hair out in clumps as we brush or wash it in a shower. Do we need to stretch our imaginations too far to guess the origin of these (nearly always) disturbing dreams? Like dreams of finding gray hairs on our heads or bodies, dreams of hair loss typically are linked to concerns about aging and death.

You do not indicate any recent health concern that may have prompted this dream. And, at age 62, death hardly is knocking at your door. Nevertheless, your dream references death by including a conversation with your father, who died four years ago, and whom you have not dreamed of for many years. Regarding your hair loss (the aging process), your father gives the advice of a veteran: There is no way to turn back the clock of time.

Like "teeth falling out" dreams, your dream also may reflect concerns about beauty and appearance. If you are dating now (after your divorce), it is natural that you would pay extra attention to your looks, and be conscious of your age.

Freud said the death of our parents is the single most traumatic event any of us ever will experience. The reason is that when we watch our parents die, illusions of our own immortality (at least in this world) are dashed.

For better or worse, your father's advice in the dream is true. No one can stop the march of time. The wisdom we all gain from looking in the mirror, though, and noticing time passing by, is that we learn to live each day fully. Curiously, awareness of mortality teaches us to value even more our hours in the sunshine of the living.