Scientists from Belgium, led by Charlotte Martial, conducted a year-long study of survivors of resuscitation. They interviewed 126 people immediately after recovery and one year after discharge. All patients had been in intensive care, but only 19 of them (15%) reported near-death experiences.
These 19 participants most often described having an altered perception of time, heightened senses, seeing important life events flash before their eyes, experiencing accelerated thoughts, and encountering mystical beings. However, out-of-body experiences or feelings of peace were uncommon. Moreover, the authors acknowledge that the sample size is too small to draw concrete conclusions.
A year later, almost nothing had changed. Most of the participants were convinced that the experience was real (i.e., that it wasn’t just a dream or hallucination). However, these experiences rarely affected participants’ lives, with the possible exception that love became more significant for many. Interestingly, 89 patients (71%) scored 1 to 6 on the Greyson scale, indicating that their experiences were not rich enough to be considered near-death experiences, though they included some features of such experiences.
What do you think: are the stories of survivors real, or are they dreams/hallucinations?
The article was published in June 2024 in the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology.
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