An Encounter with the Other: A Thematic Analysis of Accounts of DMT Experiences from a Naturalistic Field Study
P. Michael, D. Luke, O. Robinson
June 10, 2021 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/8cdgs via Semantic Scholar
Summary
A naturalistic field study of experienced DMT users found that breakthrough experiences nearly always involve encounters with other beings (94% of reports) and emerging into other worlds (100% of reports). The beings were described in terms of their role, appearance, demeanor, communication, and interaction. The immersive spaces had distinct scenes, content, and qualities. These features resonate with other extraordinary experiences such as alien abduction, shamanic, and near-death experiences. The findings offer a systematic analysis of the phenomenology of DMT's otherworldly encounters.
Study at a glance
| Design | naturalistic field study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 36 |
| Population | experienced DMT users (mostly Caucasian males, average age 37) |
| Key finding | Breakthrough DMT experiences consistently involve encounters with other beings and immersion in other worlds, with detailed phenomenological features that parallel other extraordinary experiences. |
Abstract
Introduction: N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is an endogenous serotonergic psychedelic capable of producing radical shifts in conscious experience. Increasing trends in its use, as well as new trials administering DMT to patients, indicate the growing importance of a thorough elucidation of the phenomenology the drug may occasion. This is particularly in light of the hyper-real, otherworldly, and often ontologically challenging yet potentially transformative, nature of the experience, not least encounters with apparently non-self social agents. Laboratory studies have been limited by clinical setting and lacking qualitative analyses, while online surveys’ limitations lie in retrospective design, recreational use, and both of which not guaranteeing ‘breakthrough’ experiences. Methods: We report on the first naturalistic field study of DMT use including its qualitative analysis. Screened, healthy, anonymised and experienced DMT users (40-75mg inhaled) were observed during their non-clinical use of the drug at home. Semi-structured interviews using the micro-phenomenological technique were employed immediately after their experience. This paper reports on the thematic analysis of one major domain of the breakthrough experiences elicited; the ‘other’. Thirty-six post-DMT experience interviews with mostly Caucasian (83%) males (8 female) of average 37 years were predominantly inductively coded. Results: Invariably, profound and highly intense experiences occurred. The main overarching category comprised the encounter with other ‘beings’ (94% of reports), with further subordinate themes including the entities’ role, appearance, demeanour, communication and interaction; while the other over-arching category comprised experiences of emerging into other ‘worlds’ (100% of reports), in turn consisting of the scene, the content and quality of the immersive spaces. Discussion: The present study provides a systematic and in-depth analysis of the features of the otherworldly encounter within the breakthrough DMT experience, as well as elaborating on the resonances with both previous DMT studies and other types of extraordinary experiences which also entail entity encounters. These include the alien abduction, folkloric, shamanic and near-death experience. Putative neural mechanisms of these features of the DMT experience and its promise as a psychotherapeutic agent are discussed in light of such findings.