Hypnotically Induced Near-Death-Like Experiences: An Exploratory Study of Phenomenological Similarities to NearDeath Experiences.

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are known to occur in individuals who go through the first stages of physical death but can also happen as a nontypical manifestation of several forms of non-ordinary states of consciousness. In this exploratory study, we assessed the possibility of inducing the phenomenological components of an NDE through hypnosis using a specific script in a group setting. Participants were 7 males (38.9%) and 11 females (61.1%) ranging in age from 15 to 59 years with a mean age of 35.9. NDE Scale (Greyson, 1983) scores among the 17 participants whose total scores met the criterion of 7 or higher were seemingly indistinguishable, in both content and intensity, from scores of spontaneous near-death experiencers. Older participants scored higher on the three non-cognitive subscales. The core phenomenological components were prevalently affective, pointing to the likelihood that expectations played a role in induced experiences, as may also be the case with spontaneous NDEs that were in some way anticipated. However, we were unable to conclude that, beyond phenomenology, a hypnotically induced experience was equivalent to a spontaneous episode. To affirm that a shift from ordinary consciousness, facilitated by hypnosis, is adequate to bring someone close to a theoretical mental threshold that might be called Near-Death Consciousness, in which a comparable event could be hypothetically achieved, at least four variables should be considered: the context, content, intensity of deviation from ordinary consciousness, and aftereffects of the experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]