Near-death experiences (NDEs) are typically positive, but about 14% of 123 NDE accounts were distressing. These distressing NDEs included inverse, hellish, or void types, with inverse and hellish each appearing 8 times and void once. A higher proportion of suicide survivors reported distressing NDEs compared to classical ones. Memories of distressing NDEs were as phenomenologically detailed as those of classical NDEs. The findings suggest distressing NDEs require careful attention to help experiencers integrate them into their identity.
People who report near-death experiences (NDEs) often consider those memories central to their identity, regardless of whether the experience occurred during actual physical danger. Among 71 participants screened with the Greyson NDE scale, 48 had real NDEs and 23 had NDE-like experiences without life threat. Those who recalled their NDE (41 total) rated it as more central to their identity than other self-defining memories. Richer NDE memories were associated with greater centrality. The findings suggest that the self-defining nature of NDEs relates more to their phenomenological content than to the circumstances of occurrence, highlighting the importance of integrating these memories into personal identity.