Near-death experiences (NDEs), profound subjective experiences occurring during a close brush with death and containing transcendental or mystical elements, have been reported to reduce suicidal ideation, despite their "romanticization" of death. Among 61 consecutive hospital admissions for attempted suicide, 16 patients (26.2%) reported NDEs precipitated by the attempt. NDEs were not...
Attempted suicide is correlated with an increase subsequent risk of committed suicide. However, preliminary data and psychodynamic hypotheses suggest that serious suicide attempts followed by transcendental near-death experiences (NDEs) may decrease rather than increase subsequent overt suicide risk, despite the NDEs' apparent "romanticization" of death. Studies of NDEs and of their influence...