Near-death experiences and dissociation: Two cases.
Journal of Near-Death Studies 1993 DOI: 10.17514/jnds-1993-12-2-p85-94. (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Individuals reporting near-death experiences and out-of-body experiences, including survivors of childhood physical, emotional, and sexual abuse |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Citations | 13 |
| Key findings | The author argues that NDEs and OBEs may be understood as a dissociative process, offering relief from physical and emotional pain, and presents two cases of NDEs that he contends support this view. He notes prior reports of an NDE triggered by sexual abuse and of a woman who described her OBEs during molestation as a "safety valve" to escape trauma. |
Abstract
The near-death experience (NDE) literature has long chron icled the observation that out-of-body experiences (OBEs) lead to relief from physical and emotional pain.Researchers have suggested recently that the NDE may be viewed as dissociation.People who are physically or sexually abused, including those who have multiple personality disorder, often develop dissociative defenses and may well leave their bodies to achieve pain relief.This article presents two cases of NDEs that support the supposition that NDEs and OBEs may be a dissociative process.Several years ago I reported the retrospective account of a near-death experience (NDE) triggered by sexual abuse of a pre-teenage girl by her father (Serdahely, 1987-88).In that same article, I noted the case of another woman who had had out-of-body experiences (OBEs) while being molested.She described her OBEs as a "safety valve" to escape the trauma of being abused.Barbara Harris picked up on my suggestion of a connection between NDEs and child abuse and noted her impression that, in her subse quent work with near-death support groups and in the responses she's received to public presentations of her own NDE, "child abuse and incest survivors who have had NDEs are constantly popping up" (per sonal communication, 1987).One of Harris's NDEs pertinent to her childhood physical and emo tional abuse was discussed by Kenneth Ring (1984): during this NDE,
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near-Death Experiences in India Individuals in India who reported near-death experiences | 1986 | Case study | n = 16 |
| The Near-Death Experience as a Focus of Clinical Attention Patients presenting with near-death experience-related problems | 1997 | Case study | n = 4 |
| A prospectively studied near-death experience with corroborated out-of-body perceptions and unexplained healing. A person who had a near-death experience | 2006 | Case report | n = 1 |
| Verified account of near-death experience in a physician who survived cardiac arrest. A 32-year-old female physician experiencing childbirth | 2020 | Case study | n = 1 |
| This is your brain on death: a comparative analysis of a near-death experience and subsequent 5-Methoxy-DMT experience. An individual who had a near-death experience during a coma caused by bacterial... | 2023 | Case study | n = 1 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- The phenomenology of the self-conscious mind. Journal of Near-Death Studies 2008
- Questions for the "dying brain hypothesis". Journal of Near-Death Studies 1996
- Variations from the prototypic near-death experience: The "individually tailored" hypothesis. Journal of Near-Death Studies 1995
- A philosopher's view of near-death research. Journal of Near-Death Studies 1995
- Dissociation: Normal or abnormal? Journal of Near-Death Studies 1996