People who have had a near-death experience (NDE) report significantly less fear of death than those who came close to death without an NDE or who never came close to death. The deeper the NDE, the lower the death threat. The study measured death threat using the Threat Index and depth of NDE with a quantitative scale. Self-actualization did not relate to having or deepening an NDE.
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are often dismissed as evidence for survival after death, yet many experiencers become convinced of survival. This article examines survival and nonsurvival interpretations, focusing on reports of seeing deceased persons during NDEs. It compares 74 NDEs with such reports to 200 NDEs without them. Some findings could support either interpretation, but several findings weaken the main nonsurvival hypothesis of expectation. The convergence of features suggesting survival, along with the need for multiple alternative explanations in individual and group cases, warrants taking the survival hypothesis more seriously than most scientists currently do.
A meaningful psychedelic experience can reduce death anxiety, and that reduction appears to help explain improvements in satisfaction with life, positive affect, and negative affect. In a survey of 201 participants who recalled a meaningful psychedelic experience, reductions in death anxiety mediated the link between mystical experience and these well-being measures, but did not mediate effects of psychological insight. The findings are correlational and do not establish causation, but they suggest that decreased death anxiety may be one mechanism through which psychedelic-induced mystical experiences boost subjective well-being.