Citation

Cassol H, Martial C, Annen J, Martens G, Charland-Verville V, Majerus S, Laureys S. Memory 2019; 27(8): 1122-1129.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/09658211.2019.1626438

PMID

31189413

Abstract

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are usually associated with positive affect, however, a small proportion are considered distressing. We aimed to look into the proportion of distressing NDEs in a sample of NDE narratives, categorise distressing narratives according to Greyson and Bush's classification (inverse, void or hellish), and compare distressing and "classical" NDEs. Participants wrote down their experience, completed the Memory Characteristics Questionnaire (assessing the phenomenology of memories) and the Greyson scale (characterising content of NDEs). The proportion of suicidal attempts, content and intensity of distressing and classical NDEs were compared using frequentist and Bayesian statistics. Distressing NDEs represent 14% of our sample (n = 123). We identified 8 inverse, 8 hellish and 1 void accounts. The proportion of suicide survivors is higher in distressing NDEs as compared to classical ones. Finally, memories of distressing NDEs appear as phenomenologically detailed as classical ones. Distressing NDEs deserve careful consideration to ensure their integration into experiencers' identity.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Female; Male; Middle Aged; Death; Suicide, Attempted; Surveys and Questionnaires; Memory; phenomenology; Narration; Psychological Distress; Bayes Theorem; distressing near-death experiences; Memory Characteristics Questionnaire; Near-death experiences