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intermediate

Dissociation in people who have near-death experiences: Out of their bodies or out of their minds?

Greyson, Bruce (2000)

Published
Feb 5, 2000
Journal
The Lancet · Vol. 355 · No. 9202
DOI
10.1016/S0140-6736(00)82013-9

At a GlanceAI

NDE experiencers show more dissociative symptoms than controls, but at a non-pathological level.

SummaryAI

96 people with self-reported NDEs and 38 who had come close to death without one completed the NDE Scale and the Dissociative Experiences Scale. Experiencers reported more dissociative symptoms, and deeper NDEs went with more symptoms, but levels stayed well below those of pathological dissociative disorders. Greyson reads the pattern as a non-pathological response to stress, not a psychiatric disorder.

Method SnapshotAI

Mailed questionnaire survey with group comparison and rank correlation.

BackgroundAI

Greyson NDE Scale; basic idea of dissociation.

More dissociation in NDE experiencers than in controls, but far from pathology. A good answer to those who write NDEs off as psychiatry.

— ES