Disturbing reports of those who were almost dead and came back: USP researcher explains the psychological consequences of NDE
Post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Social and Work Psychology at the Institute of Psychology at USP, Beatriz Carunchio carried out research with 350 Brazilians and concluded that traumatic near-death experiences can break with existential certainties and alter the flow of so-called ‘normal life’.
A study conducted by a researcher from the University of São Paulo (USP) revealed that patients who go through traumatic near-death experiences (NDE) — considered disturbing — can have psychological consequences that break with existential certainties and significantly alter the flow of life. called “normal life”.
Post-doctoral student at the Department of Social and Work Psychology at the USP Psychology Institute, Beatriz Ferrara Carunchio came to this conclusion when studying reports collected by herself during her doctoral research, carried out at PUC-SP.
. Citing authors in the field of psychiatry and psychology, she explains that NDEs are profound psychological events that have transcendental and mystical elements;
. They normally occur with individuals who are close to death or in situations of intense physical or emotional danger;
. The experiments take place during the clinical death of patients — when there is an absence of activity in the cerebral cortex, but still with the possibility of resuscitation —, never during brain death, which is an irreversible condition;
. The article published in Revista Rever, from PUC, indicates that, in most cases, an NDE takes the patient to a pleasant context, with sentimental reports of peace, love and acceptance; different from the scenario of anguish, fear or pain typical of a situation of serious illness, accident or violence that has led to that state;
. However, the neuropsychologist points out that, in some cases, this is not what happens — in disturbing NDEs, most of the phenomena reported are unpleasant, causing pain, fear or uncertainty. (see reports below)
Main features
Beatriz explains that NDEs in general tend to present some of the following characteristics:
. Out-of-body experience: Patients generally report floating and seeing their body from above;
. Going through a tunnel: there are reports of people seeing tunnels with or without lights at the end;
. Awareness of being dead: the notion can arise intuitively or be deduced after observing one’s own body from above, apparently lifeless;
. Peace and serenity: more common in pleasant NDEs, generally reported as more intense;
. Life story review: the person can just watch the scenes, relive them and even experience it from another person’s point of view related to the event;
. Seeing deceased loved ones: in addition to patients “visiting” deceased family members, there are reports of children seeing relatives who have been deceased for years and later identifying them in old photos;
. Visit other planes: reports vary between places of great beauty (gardens or “cities of light”) and deserted and swampy places;
. Bright light: the reported brightness is intense, but without hurting the eyes; some patients identify as a being who holds all knowledge; Religious people can identify it as God, a guide, orixá, etc., depending on their belief.
Beatriz Carunchio carried out the study with 350 people from Brazil and observed that the phenomenon affected 14% of patients in general and 51% of patients who were at risk of death. It indicates that the conditions that destabilized the patient may suggest the type of element predominant in the NDE.
“Patients who are intoxicated, drunk, overdosed on drugs or even under the influence of medications with effects on the level of consciousness can experience NDEs with bizarre and confusing aspects, while patients who have NDEs after cardiorespiratory arrest typically have an out-of-body experience. Those who are faced with the risk of sudden death, such as in an accident, have a marked prevalence of cognitive elements, such as life history review, temporal distortion or acceleration of thought.”
‘I think I went to hell, nothing was ever the same again’
The following report is from a 42-year-old Catholic engineer who drowned. After the experience, he developed post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep disorders.
“It’s been three years since I drowned and went to a horrible place. It was dark and dirty, people screaming and crying. There was a man who was laughing while he was taking many people on a chain. He saw me and said he would take me soon.”
“I don’t like to say this because either they think I’m crazy or they think I’m a bad person for having gone to that place. I think I went to hell. Nothing has ever been the same again. There’s not a night that I sleep well and I don’t have a nightmare about it.”
“I feel short of breath, I feel watched by evil. When I think about it, I feel scared and very ashamed. I’m not a bad person. I hope that everything will be fine, I hope to be good and also to be closer to God.”
According to Beatriz, this is type 3 of disturbing NDE, which are those in which most of the reported phenomena are unpleasant, causing pain, fear or uncertainty.
“I had an experience in a swampy and dark place,” described a 26-year-old biomedical doctor, who also had a third-type NDE that occurred after a hemorrhage in the lung.
‘We know that we are not there in terms of matter’
See below the report of a 32-year-old trader who suffered a motorcycle accident and had physical consequences.
“Surreal. A totally different reality than usual. It is something that involves us in such a way that we know we are not there in matter… But our consciousness is attracted by this environment… It was mega surreal.”
This is the second type of disturbing NDE, which usually appears as a type of paradoxical experience, in which the patient is faced with emptiness and has difficulty dealing with it, as it puts the human being in contact with the possibility of ceasing to exist. . The subject feels that he is passively waiting for something that he does not know for sure what it is or whether it will actually come.
‘I plummeted in free fall until I hit really hard’
A 68-year-old doctor reported the NDE she had after an anaphylactic shock during a contrast exam.
“The first event was a critical review of life up until that moment. Then, I entered, very frightened, into a kind of dark and narrow hole, until I began to see light at the end of the tunnel. I came out in a place of peace, luminous, infinite, with music I had never heard before, soft smells and very sweet and welcoming voices.”
“Before I saw anyone, I fell in a free fall and was in a Trendelenburg position until I hit the inside of my body very hard, entering the region of the heart chakra. It took me a while to be able to move my body. The records and doctors say that I remained immobile for about 10 minutes.”
This is the first type of disturbing NDE, which are similar to pleasant ones, but are understood by the patient as something scary or uncomfortable.
‘I saw my body lying on the hospital floor’
Also type 1, the following report was given by a 56-year-old federal civil servant, who experienced an NDE after complications resulting from an abortion.
“Tranquility, a field full of daisy-like flowers, at the same time I saw my body lying on the hospital floor.”
‘I couldn’t move, I was pulled into the tunnel’
Below, a brief report from a 42-year-old psychiatrist, who had a type 1 NDE caused by head trauma:
“I had the feeling of entering a tunnel at high speed with colored lights and a feeling of imminent death, paralysis. I couldn’t move. I was pulled into the tunnel of lights.”
‘The operating room felt clearer and a huge relief’
Below, the report of a 35-year-old saleswoman who experienced a type 1 NDE caused by internal bleeding caused by complications from an ectopic pregnancy.
“On the operating table, while the operation was taking place, I was very scared and anxious. At one point, I felt as if the operating room became brighter, as if the lights became brighter and whiter. At that moment, I felt a great relief, tranquility and peace.”
“Something very instantaneous. I was very afraid of dying and thinking about my son and family. But, at that moment when the room became lighter, I was no longer afraid of dying.”
The researcher points out that it is a clear example of an NDE that begins unpleasantly (due to the presence of distressing feelings and the sensation of dying) and unfolds in a more pleasant way.
“In general, the darkness is described as so dense that nothing can be seen, and even sounds are absorbed by it, in a deep and heavy silence. When there are sounds, they are screams, whining, crying or threats. There may be the presence of disturbed, crying or threatening beings. In some cases, sounds of chains or torture are also reported”, says Beatriz.
“In experiences in which there are other beings in the place, they are described as suffering or disturbed beings, or even as threatening and disturbing beings, who in some way make the patient feel fear and insecurity. During the experience, there is the feeling that at any time a person can suffer some type of violence or be tortured.”
Psychological consequences and prejudices
The researcher points out that the set of sensations caused by the NDE can trigger a “stressful and continuous state of hypervigilance, which can persist for years”, when the experience is very intense.
She explains that hypervigilance is characterized by a state of continuous alertness and mentions that this condition is accompanied by a state of increased anxiety that can cause exhaustion, in addition to an increased response to stimuli and continuous scanning of the environment looking for threats.
“It often takes time for people to feel comfortable in a situation or interpersonal relationship. Hypervigilant patients tend to preserve their personal space too much, feeling safe only in situations that they can control. As a result, they may have difficulty maintaining closer relationships and intimate”, he says.
Patients who have experienced disturbing NDEs, adds Beatriz, may also have secondary disorders, such as sleep disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
One of the negative consequences for the academic world, according to the researcher, is that these reflexes lead people not to report their experiences.
“It causes this type of experience to be underreported. In addition to hindering studies that could provide clinical guidelines to alleviate the harmful effects that this type of NDE brings, these patients are left helpless, without the necessary treatment, facing intense unpleasant feelings and possible disorders alone. .”
Translation from Portuguese to English using Google Translate
