Near-death experience: memory recovery during hypnosis.
Explore (New York, N.Y.) January 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2024.103036 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractAbout 10-12% of patients who survive cardiac arrest report core near-death experiences (NDEs), but the low percentage may reflect memory impairment rather than absence of experience. A detailed case study of a 41-year-old woman who had an NDE during childbirth cardiac arrest supports three hypotheses: NDEs may occur during cardiac arrest but remain unrecalled until hypnotic regression reveals verifiable details not perceivable through the five senses; precognition of the events leading to cardiac arrest can occur; and NDEs fundamentally transform an individual's understanding of consciousness, meaning, purpose, concern for others, and appreciation of life.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | A 41-year-old woman who experienced cardiac arrest during childbirth |
| Intervention | hypnotic regression therapy |
| Keywords | Cardiac arrest Consciousness Hypnosis Memory Nde |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key finding | Hypnotic regression revealed verifiable details of events during cardiac arrest that could not have been perceived through the five senses, supporting the possibility that NDEs occur more often than recalled. |
Abstract
Increasing numbers of research studies have offered evidence regarding awareness of verified events during near-death experiences (NDEs) occurring during cardiac arrest and severely impaired brain function. The prevalence of patients reporting core NDEs under these conditions is reported as 10-12 %. One question that is often asked is why this percentage is low. Though it may be hypothesized that NDEs are limited to this low percentage of patients, it is also possible that more patients experience an NDE, but that memory is impaired sufficiently such that the NDE is not recalled. In this article I present a detailed and extensively verified case study of a woman, Stephanie Arnold, who experienced an NDE during the birth of her second child when she was 41 years old. The data provide evidence that supports the hypotheses 1) that during cardiac arrest an NDE may occur, but not be remembered until hypnotic regression therapy reveals extensive details of the events that could not have been perceived with the five senses, both in the operating room and elsewhere during resuscitation. 2) that there may also be pre-cognition of the events leading to the cardiac arrest, reported in clear detail, and 3) that NDEs lead to a fundamental transformation in an individual's understanding of the nature of consciousness, their quest for meaning and purpose, their concern for others, and their appreciation of life.