Jump to content

Effects of near-death experiences

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Shlomi Hillel (talk | contribs) at 22:24, 13 October 2007. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Near-death experiences often have far-reaching effects, both for those who have them, their friends and families, and medical workers.

Kenneth Ring found that a typical set of changes in values and beliefs often occur after a near-death experience. Among these are changes in personality and outlook on life such as a greater appreciation for life, higher self-esteem, greater compassion for others, a heightened sense of purpose and self-understanding, desire to learn, elevated spirituality, greater ecological sensitivity and planetary concern, a feeling of being more intuitive (sometimes psychic), increased physical sensitivity, diminished tolerance to light, alcohol and drugs, a feeling that the brain has been "altered" to encompass "more", and a feeling that one is now using the "whole brain" rather than just a small part.[1]

Spiritual and psychological after-effects

NDE subjects often report long-term after-effects, and changes in worldview, such as increased interest in spirituality, greater appreciation for life, increased interest in the meaning of life, increased empathic understanding, decrease in fear of death, higher self-esteem, greater compassion for others, heightened sense of purpose and self-understanding, desire to learn, greater ecological sensitivity and planetary concern, a feeling of being more intuitive or psychic.[2] Near-death experience researcher Bruce Greyson (2003) notes that Near-death experiences are associated with enhanced purpose in life, appreciation of life and with reduced fear of death, but also with adverse effects, such as posttraumatic stress symptoms. Some subjects also report internal feelings of bodily energy and/or altered states of consciousness similar to those associated with the yogic concept of kundalini.[3]

Greyson (1983) developed The Near-Death Experience Scale in order to measure the after-effects of a near-death experience. Researchers have pointed out that the aftermath of the experience can be associated with both positive and healthy outcomes related to personality and appreciation for life, but also a spectrum of clinical problems in situations where the person has had difficulties with the experience (Orne, 1995). These difficulties are usually connected to the interpretation of the experience and the integration of it into everyday life. The near-death experience as a focus of clinical attention, and the inclusion of a new diagnostic category in the DSM-IV called "Religious or spiritual problem" (American Psychiatric Association, 1994 - Code V62.89), is discussed more closely by Greyson (1997) and Lukoff, Lu & Turner (1998).

Simpson (2001) notes that the number of people that have experienced an NDE might be higher than the number of cases that are actually reported. It is not unusual for near-death experiencers to feel profound insecurity related to how they are going to explain something that the surrounding culture perceives as a strange, paranormal incident.

Clinical implications

Near-death experiences have many clinical implications for health professionals, for the experiencer, and for family and friends.

Implications for health care professionals

Some believe that health care professionals may often need to analyze their own spiritual beliefs and feelings about death. Dismissing a patient’s vision of the afterlife as “hallucinations” can reflect the caretaker's own beliefs and values. It might also be important to recognize that most death-related events are not dramatic visions of an afterlife, but might be simple feelings and intuitions. Patients are often troubled if they don’t have a dramatic vision of another life. It might also be suitable to encourage discussion among family and friends. Often death-related visions and their significance only become evident when several family members report having the same experience at the same time. A professional, being willing to validate the experience as normal and natural, can often give the family permission to trust their instincts and beliefs. Family members often perceive comatose patients as “stuck in the tunnel”. Others want to know why their child or spouse did not “choose” to return to them. These issues must be addressed in an individual manner.[4]

Implications for the dying patient

The near-death experience can restore control and dignity to the process of dying. The implication that the process of dying is not painful or scary, but spiritual and wonderful, can be comforting. Comatose patients often are able to hear and see what is going on around them and can emotionally process conversations. Often they subjectively perceive themselves to be floating on the ceiling and perceive themselves to have a bird's-eye view of their own deathbed or resuscitation. If the dying patient has had spiritual visions, these can be used to interpret the process of dying for them. For patients who have not had death-related visions, guided imagery or fantasy can often serve the same purpose. Knowledge of near-death experiences can reverse the isolation and neglect of the dying. People might want to visit to hear about pre-death visions or to work with guided imagery with the dying. The old-fashioned deathbed scene crowded with friends and relatives who may be resurrected.[5]

Implications for family and friends

Research on near-death experiences validates a variety of death-related visions. The knowledge that NDEs are being studied as "real" phenomena can bring new meaning to a peaceful smile before death, a faraway look in the eyes, or simple and brief statements such as “The Light, the Light” that might otherwise be missed by observers. Frequently, friends and family members have post-death visions and intuitions that can be properly interpreted in the context of this new research. For example, Dr. Therese Rando states that 75% of grieving parents have post death visions of their deceased children. Simply stating that parents may see their child again after death, without using a medical term such as “hallucinations,” can bring comfort. Death related visions can serve to restore to the grieving a sense of control and order, which is particularly important in dealing with untimely deaths or the death of a child. Such visions can also promote healthy grieving and decrease the incidence of pathological grief, by decreasing guilt and a sense of personal responsibility that can interfere with normal grieving. Also, death-related visions generate a sense of meaning for death, even if that meaning is elusive. For example, a pre-death vision of a child’s accidental death can allow parents to feel there is some meaning to the death. This can convert a senseless tragedy to a “senseful” one, which is helpful in preventing pathological grief. Family and friends can find comfort in knowledge that those last moments of life may be serene and peaceful. Knowledge that it is now scientifically possible to entertain the survival hypothesis can give hope for eventually being reunited with the dying. Death-related visions can give survivors the confidence to trust their own spiritual intuitions and reaffirm their religious faith.[6]

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Mauro, 1992
  2. ^ Mauro, 1992; van Lommel et.al, 2001
  3. ^ Greyson, 2000
  4. ^ Morse, 1991; Morse & Perry, 1992
  5. ^ Morse, 1991; Morse & Perry, 1992
  6. ^ Morse, 1991; Morse & Perry, 1992

NDE as an afterlife experience

Video

Audio

Neutral

Skeptical

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Effects_of_near-death_experiences&oldid=164374489"