A 54-year-old otherwise healthy man presented with altered mental status. On admission, the patient was confused and agitated, with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 11, suggesting moderate brain injury. He was sedated, placed on a ventilator, and started on tobramycin and ceftazidime for presumed bacterial meningitis, but switched to ceftriaxone once cultures returned as Escherichia coli....
Posttraumatic growth denotes positive psychological change after a traumatic experience that is an improvement over the state before the trauma. Inasmuch as it involves existential reevaluation, posttraumatic growth overlaps with spiritual change, although it also encompasses other domains of positive outcome. This study investigated posttraumatic growth and presence and depth of near-death...
People who have near-death experiences (NDEs) often report a subsequently increased sense of spirituality and a connection with their inner self and the world around them. In this study, we examined daily spiritual experiences, using Underwood and Teresi’s (2002) Daily Spiritual Experience Scale, among 229 persons who had come close to death. Frequency of daily spiritual experiences before the...
Traumatic events may lead to dramatic changes in spirituality. The objective of this study was to explore whether posttraumatic spiritual transformation results not just from the traumatic event, but from spiritual experience during the crisis. The hypothesis tested was that survivors of a brush with death who had spiritual “near-death experiences” have greater spiritual growth and lesser...
This paper reviews the philosophical origins, current scientific evidence, and clinical promise of yoga and mindfulness as complementary therapies for addiction. Historically, there are eight elements of yoga that, together, comprise ethical principles and practices for living a meaningful, purposeful, moral and self-disciplined life. Traditional yoga practices, including postures and...
People who have near-death experiences often report a subsequently increased sense of spirituality and a connection with their inner self and the world around them. In this study, we examined spiritual well-being, using Paloutzian and Ellison's Spiritual Well-Being Scale, among 224 persons who had come close to death. Participants who reported having near-death experiences reported greater...