Between My Body and My "Dead Body": Narratives of Coma.
Limor Meoded Danon
Qualitative Health Research 2016 DOI: 10.1177/1049732315578637 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 17 |
| Population | People from different areas of Israel who had been in various kinds of coma states |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Keywords | Body Coma Narrative research Unconscious |
| Key findings | Participants' coma experiences fell into three narrative types—"dead-alive," "rational," and "emissaries"—and redefined bodily boundaries, especially for non-corporeal experiences like out-of-body or near-death experiences. |
Abstract
This article is based on narrative research that focuses on corporeal experience during coma and during the rehabilitation process. Seventeen participants from different areas of Israel who had been in various kinds of coma states reveal what the corporeal experience of coma is. The participants are divided into three types of narrative protagonists--"dead-alive," "rational," and "emissaries." Each of the participants redefined the boundaries of the body, especially in cases when they spoke of experiences they did not understand as corporeal, for example, out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, or experiences of being between the earthly and unearthly. Their struggle to find suitable words to tell their coma stories emphasizes these boundaries between experiencing and telling, which crossed the normative discursive border of the medical establishment and illustrates the ambiguous nature of human existence.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative thematic analysis of the phenomenology of near-death experiences Cardiac arrest survivors | 2018 | Qualitative study | n = 34 |
| Do Suicide Survivors Report Near-Death Experiences? Persons who had been close to death as a result of a suicide attempt | 1982 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| The evolving self: finding meaning in near-death experiences using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Female participants who had near-death experiences | 2008 | Qualitative study | n = 3 |
| Investigation of the phenomenology, physiology and impact of spiritually transformative experiences - kundalini awakening. Persons having a spiritually transformative experience (e.g., spontaneous energetic... | 2021 | Qualitative study | |
| Near-death experiences and religion: A further investigation Near-death experiencers | 1984 | Qualitative study | n = 40 |