A systematic analysis of distressing near-death experience accounts
Héléna Cassol, Charlotte Martial, Jitka Annen, Geraldine Martens, Vanessa Charland-Verville, Steve Majerus, Steven Laureys
Memory June 12, 2019 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2019.1626438 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 123 |
| Population | Individuals who had a near-death experience and wrote down their account |
| Topics | Dreaming Near-death experience |
| Keywords | Distressing Narrative Dsm-5 Clinical psychology Psychotherapist Jungian analytical psychology |
| Citations | 60 |
| Key findings | Distressing NDEs made up 14% of the sample, with a higher proportion of suicide survivors among them, and their memories were as detailed as classical NDEs. |
Abstract
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are usually associated with positive affect, however, a small proportion are considered distressing. We aimed to look into the proportion of distressing NDEs in a sample of NDE narratives, categorise distressing narratives according to Greyson and Bush’s classification (inverse, void or hellish), and compare distressing and “classical” NDEs. Participants wrote down their experience, completed the Memory Characteristics Questionnaire (assessing the phenomenology of memories) and the Greyson scale (characterising content of NDEs). The proportion of suicidal attempts, content and intensity of distressing and classical NDEs were compared using frequentist and Bayesian statistics. Distressing NDEs represent 14% of our sample (n = 123). We identified 8 inverse, 8 hellish and 1 void accounts. The proportion of suicide survivors is higher in distressing NDEs as compared to classical ones. Finally, memories of distressing NDEs appear as phenomenologically detailed as classical ones. Distressing NDEs deserve careful consideration to ensure their integration into experiencers’ identity.