Recognizing the Death Motif in the Near-Death Experience.
OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying September 19, 2023 DOI: 10.1177/00302228231203357 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Keywords | Afterlife Danger Death motif Spirituality Stress Threat |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key points | Proposes that the death motif in NDE reports indicates a purposeful psychological function to heighten awareness of a threat to life through symbolism that boosts the desire and resilience to live and survive. |
Abstract
The typical near-death experience (NDE) is generally understood as an altered state of consciousness in which the experient has the impression of existing as an extrapersonal self out of and/or away from their physical body during real or presumed life-threatening and/or near-death circumstances. This presumed extrapersonal self can sometimes have a perception of being located within the proximity of the physical body whereas at other times it is under the assumption of having ventured to a transcendental location such as an otherworldly realm. The ego, while in this presumed disembodied state, often has the impression of encountering NDE personages such as deceased people, otherworldly spirits, and/or divine beings, especially during transcendental NDEs. However, this paper suggests that all of these noted features are part of a broader recognizable death motif in NDE reports, and provides qualitative examples of different types of this death symbolism for examination and exploration. It then discusses how the death motif in NDE reports possibly indicates a purposeful psychological function to heighten awareness of a threat to life though death symbolism that is meant to boost the desire and resilience to live and survive.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otherworld Journeys: Accounts of Near-Death Experience in Medieval and Modern Times | 1987 | Historical analysis | |
| Neuroscience and the Near-Death Experience: Roles for the NMSA-PCP receptor, the sigma receptor and the endopsychosins | 1990 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Implications of near-death experiences for a postmaterialist psychology. | 2010 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Near-Death Experience as a Probe to Explore (Disconnected) Consciousness | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Near-death experiences between science and prejudice | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Metaphoric and Gestural Descriptions of Out-of-Body Experiences by Persian Subjects. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying January 31, 2026
- The Bereaved Detachment Experience: An NDE-like Phenomenon. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying April 28, 2025
- The intertwining of death and life: a hermeneutic phenomenological investigation of near-death experiences among coma survivors. BMC Psychology September 29, 2025
Cites 23
- The Near-Death Experience Scale The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease June 1, 1983
- Features of "near-death experience" in relation to whether or not patients were near death The Lancet November 1, 1990
- The phenomenology of near-death experiences American Journal of Psychiatry October 1, 1980
- Near-death experiences. American Psychological Association eBooks October 27, 2004
- Does the arousal system contribute to near death experience? Neurology April 10, 2006
and 18 more in the library