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The Phenomenology of Distressing Near-death Experiences and Their Aftereffects

Kinnunen, Karolina Eila Vilhelmina LU and Ait Melloul, Amal LU (2023) PSPR14 20231
Department of Psychology
Abstract
The purpose of our study was to explore what it is like to have a distressing near-death experience (NDE) and the aftereffects that follow. Positive NDEs have previously been more extensively studied, whereas research about distressing NDEs is still lacking. There have only been a handful of studies that have used qualitative methods to study both distressing and positive NDEs. We accessed all distressing NDE narratives from the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) database. In total we analyzed eight individual narratives using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Our findings show that distressing NDEs can include features such as disturbing feelings and experiences of darkness in different forms. Results... (More)
The purpose of our study was to explore what it is like to have a distressing near-death experience (NDE) and the aftereffects that follow. Positive NDEs have previously been more extensively studied, whereas research about distressing NDEs is still lacking. There have only been a handful of studies that have used qualitative methods to study both distressing and positive NDEs. We accessed all distressing NDE narratives from the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) database. In total we analyzed eight individual narratives using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Our findings show that distressing NDEs can include features such as disturbing feelings and experiences of darkness in different forms. Results also show that there are both emotional and social difficulties in dealing with the NDE afterwards. Aftereffects such as receiving negative feedback when talking about the experience and heightened emotions were reported. We found some hybrid experiences, where the distressing experience had positive features as well. Future research about NDEs should focus on hybrid experiences and employ mixed methods and more qualitative research in general. (Less)
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author
Kinnunen, Karolina Eila Vilhelmina LU and Ait Melloul, Amal LU
supervisor
organization
course
PSPR14 20231
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
Near-death experience, IPA, distressing near-death experience, hybrid near-death experience, NDE
language
English
id
9131344
date added to LUP
2023-06-29 15:49:03
date last changed
2023-06-29 15:49:03
@misc{9131344,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of our study was to explore what it is like to have a distressing near-death experience (NDE) and the aftereffects that follow. Positive NDEs have previously been more extensively studied, whereas research about distressing NDEs is still lacking. There have only been a handful of studies that have used qualitative methods to study both distressing and positive NDEs. We accessed all distressing NDE narratives from the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) database. In total we analyzed eight individual narratives using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Our findings show that distressing NDEs can include features such as disturbing feelings and experiences of darkness in different forms. Results also show that there are both emotional and social difficulties in dealing with the NDE afterwards. Aftereffects such as receiving negative feedback when talking about the experience and heightened emotions were reported. We found some hybrid experiences, where the distressing experience had positive features as well. Future research about NDEs should focus on hybrid experiences and employ mixed methods and more qualitative research in general.}},
  author       = {{Kinnunen, Karolina Eila Vilhelmina and Ait Melloul, Amal}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Phenomenology of Distressing Near-death Experiences and Their Aftereffects}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}