Omega
February 1, 2020
D. Royse, K. Badger
17 citations
People who survive catastrophic accidents sometimes report vivid experiences during times when survival was in doubt or during resuscitation. This qualitative study examines near-death experiences (NDEs) in a sample of burn survivors attending the World Burn Congress. Their accounts align with prior research while reflecting individual uniqueness. Six major themes emerged. Counselors and health professionals should be educated about NDEs, as these experiences can profoundly affect individuals. Patients may need to discuss NDEs but fear professionals will dismiss their stories.
Omega
September 1, 2023
Hatice Karabuga Yakar, Banu Yılmaz, Emine Çelik et al.
13 citations
A meditation-based mandala program reduced distress, depression, and anxiety among caregivers of cancer patients in a palliative care unit. In a single-group study of 11 caregivers, levels of these mental health problems were measured before and after a 5-week program of weekly 2-hour sessions. Results showed decreases in distress, depression, and anxiety after the program. Mental health problems were more common than physical health problems in this group.
Omega
March 1, 2025
Robert A. King
7 citations
People who have a near-death experience sometimes perceive being outside their body and encountering a spiritual figure who offers a choice to return to life or stay in an afterlife-like state. This paper applies self-determination theory to explain how such experiences can meet the three basic psychological needs for relatedness, competence, and autonomy, which may motivate the person to willingly return to life. The authors postulate that this process fosters intrinsic motivation to live well, leading to greater psychological wellbeing.
Omega
December 18, 2024
Chinenye Joseph Aliche, Erhabor Sunday Idemudia
5 citations
Among 311 HIV patients in Nigeria, mindfulness buffered the negative effects of death anxiety and depression on health-related quality of life. Higher mindfulness weakened the link between death anxiety and poorer quality of life, and also weakened the link between depression and poorer quality of life. The findings suggest that mindfulness-based training could help improve well-being in people living with HIV by reducing the impact of these psychological challenges.
Omega
March 10, 2023
Robert A. King
4 citations
A near-death experience (NDE) is an altered state of consciousness that can occur during life-threatening incidents, including nonfatal suicide attempts. For some suicide attempters, believing their NDE reflects objective spiritual reality may either increase or decrease suicidal ideation, sometimes leading to further attempts. The paper also explores how NDEs can trigger suicidal ideation in people who had not previously attempted suicide. It provides examples and offers theoretical insights and therapeutic considerations based on this discussion.
Omega
July 30, 2025
Sandra Barreto
3 citations
Research on near-death experiences (NDEs) has expanded across medicine, psychology, and literature, but no agreement exists on their origin or nature. A bibliometric and systematic review of 775 articles from 1977 to April 2025, following PRISMA guidelines and using the Tree of Science method, shows that the United States, the United Kingdom, and Belgium lead in NDE research. Methodologies range from medical analyses of brain activity to psychological studies of reduced suicidal ideation and narrative analyses of language patterns. The theoretical landscape remains fragmented, highlighting a need for integrative frameworks. Future work should deepen medical and psychological understanding and examine NDEs' long-term effects on mental health and spiritual development.
Omega
June 11, 2025
Adela Miquel-Sendra, Joaquín García-alandete
3 citations
Near-death experiences (NDEs) can have lasting psychological effects. Positive NDEs typically increase spirituality, reduce fear of death, and foster compassion, while negative NDEs, though rarer, may cause confusion, emotional distress, and trauma. The way individuals interpret their NDE strongly influences its impact on personal growth and social integration. Health professionals need training to support those who have had NDEs, recognizing their psychological significance. People exposed to NDE accounts may also gain emotional and spiritual insights. NDEs are impactful psychological events requiring informed clinical attention.
Omega
September 19, 2023
Robert A. King
3 citations
Near-death experiences (NDEs) often involve a sense of existing as a disembodied self, sometimes near the physical body or in a transcendental realm, and encountering deceased people, spirits, or divine beings. This paper argues that these features form a broader death motif in NDE reports. It provides qualitative examples of different types of death symbolism and suggests that this motif may serve a purposeful psychological function: to heighten awareness of a threat to life, using death symbolism to boost the desire and resilience to live and survive.
Omega
July 10, 2025
Daniel Rosenbaum, Celina Carter, Brandon A Cirella et al.
1 citation
A scoping review of 18 reports found little high-quality evidence on using psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for grief following death due to advanced illness. Across seven empirical studies, positive outcomes such as reduced grief symptom severity were generally reported, with few adverse events. The literature is informed by differing conceptualizations of grief, adding complexity. The review concludes there is not a strong evidence base to guide clinical recommendations at this time and suggests future work should explicitly situate researchers' positions and integrate grief theory.
Omega
January 31, 2026
Omid Khatin-Zadeh, Zahra Eskandari, Danyal Farsani et al.
People describing out-of-body experiences (OBEs) use more metaphoric language and gestures when recounting normally-impossible events (e.g., floating or seeing from above) than when describing normally-possible events. Two chi-square tests revealed that impossible OBE events were more frequently described with metaphoric sentences than literal ones, and with metaphoric gestures rather than iconic gestures. The authors suggest that impossibility, emotional load, and extremeness—alongside abstractness and unfamiliarity—drive the active use of verbal and gestural metaphors for normally-impossible OBE events.
Omega
April 28, 2025
Robert A. King
Some bereaved people experience after-death communications (ADCs) in which they sense a deceased loved one through visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, or sentient phenomena. A specific type, the bereavement detachment experience (BDE), involves feeling out of or away from the physical body during the encounter, even without a near-death threat. These BDEs share features with near-death experiences (NDEs), such as meeting the deceased, traveling through darkness or a tunnel, encountering a bright light, entering otherworldly environments, and feeling love or peace. This exploratory study examines seven BDE cases for thematic patterns, compares them to NDEs, and explores beneficial psychological aftereffects, offering therapeutic insights for bereavement care.
Omega
May 26, 2023
N Sai Sameera, P Aishwarya Lakshmi, B Sangeetha Lakshmi et al.
Among 29 chronic kidney disease patients who survived cardiac arrest, near-death experiences were assessed using Greyson's NDE scale and Ring's Weighted Core Experience Index. This cross-sectional study is the first to examine NDE characteristics in dialysis patients in the authors' country. The data collected from these scales provide a perspective on NDEs in this population, and the authors suggest that similar studies should be undertaken by other nephrologists.