---
title: "Near-death experience"
chunk: 2/8
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-death_experience"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:18:06.795176+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

==== Assertions of phenomenological diversity ====
The 2022 guidelines stress that the themes of authentic death experiences have little in common with mislabeled NDEs, except perhaps for shallow similarities, like mentioning religious symbols or saying the experience felt peaceful. The physiological context of patients near-death or experiencing death (as defined by cardiopulmonary criteria) leads to a decline in mental clarity and consciousness and, in extreme cases, complete loss of detectable cerebral function. Paradoxically, genuine/authentic near death experiences—characterized by coherence, meaning, purpose, and lucid life review—arise during this state, not under normal conditions of preserved brain metabolism and function. According to the 2022 guidelines, experiences termed "NDE-like" including those induced by ketamine or DMT, reliably display features unlike recalled experiences of death: 

distorted body sensations,
inflated or self-centered perspectives, and
varied imagery such as elves, celebrities, geometric forms, aliens, or bright neon scenes.
Likewise, dreams and seizures exhibit unrelated, non-authentic NDE themes.

==== Claims of common elements ====
Another author instead claims that similar traits have been identified despite the differences among populations being studied and these include:

50% awareness of being dead.
56% a sense of peace, well-being, painlessness, bliss, euphoria and other positive emotions.
24% an out-of-body experience (OBE). An OBE may be part of an NDE and involves a perception of one's body from an outside position, sometimes observing medical professionals performing resuscitation efforts.
31% a "tunnel experience" or entering a darkness. A sense of moving up, or through, a passageway or staircase.
32% being reunited with deceased loved ones or seeing religious figures.

=== Interpretation of NDEs ===
A person's interpretation of an NDE experience often corresponds with one's cultural, philosophical, or religious beliefs. For example, in the US, where 46% of the population believes in guardian angels, the Light will often be identified as angels or deceased loved ones (or will be unidentified), while Hindus will often identify them as messengers of the god of death. The cultural beliefs held by NDErs seem to dictate some of the phenomena experienced during the NDE, but more so affect the later interpretation thereof.

=== Negative NDEs or ICU delirium and delusions ===
In the years following Moody's descriptions of classical near-death experiences, reports of unpleasant experiences where people felt persecuted, distressed or frightened began to appear in the literature and in the media. These NDEs were categorized as negative or "hellish" (NDEs). More recent research, indicates that these distressing experiences generally do not share the same narrative structure or thematic elements as classical NDEs, nor do they exhibit the same long-term transformative impact, transcendent characteristics and ineffability. In essence, negative NDEs appear to be fundamentally and phenomenologically distinct from classical NDEs. In fact, most of these accounts are better understood as mislabelings of ICU delirium and delusions—phenomena that are well documented in the literature, particularly in the context of toxic metabolic disturbances, withdrawal syndromes, and other conditions that can produce persecutory, frightening, or dream-like experiences in hospitalized and critically ill patients. The original misclassification of these experiences lacked specific criteria or a scientific basis, and no formal definition or consensus has ever been established. Nevertheless, the use of these terms has contributed to the propagation of the idea of negative or "hellish" death-related experiences in the media and beyond.

=== NDEs and suicides ===
Those who attempt suicide and survive will sometimes report enduring intense emotional pain that feels, to them, like a torment of their own creation. These individuals often find themselves in a state that they perceive as a personal and self-created hell.

=== Bruce Greyson scale and false positives ===
To improve diagnosis of NDEs, Bruce Greyson created a questionnaire for NDErs, composed of 80 characteristics. The questionnaire studies common effects, mechanisms, sensations and reactions. Greyson replaced that questionnaire in 1983 with a scale for researchers to use. Nearly four decades after the development of the standardized Greyson NDE scale, several limitations have come to light. Notably, many of the terms and questions used (in the Greyson scale) — interpreted literally by the public — lack the precision to reliably distinguish true NDEs from other different kinds of human experiences. For instance, Greyson's scale includes vague terms like "strange bodily sensations", "unearthly place", "mystical feelings", "joy", "harmony", "pleasantness", and "spirits", which could apply to a variety of non-NDE experiences. The term "unearthly", for example, could easily describe anything from a stunning vacation setting to the altered state brought on by drugs. Because this scale was developed without a clear definition of what it means to be "near death". it failed to include criteria that tie the experience to a real life-threatening event. As a result, using the scale outside its intended context can lead to false positives. For example, someone recalling a peaceful vacation and reflecting on life might meet several of the scale's criteria—such as peace, harmony, an unearthly place, and life review—leading to the incorrect labeling of the event as an NDE. Researchers must be cautious of such misclassifications.