Support Needs After a Near-Death Experience

Near-death experiences (NDEs) can occur when an individual is in a medical crisis or near death and they appear to involve an awareness of a reality beyond one’s physical conditions. NDEs have common (though not universal) features, such as out-of-body perceptions or a sense of undergoing a life review. Profound aftereffects frequently follow an NDE, including reduced fear of death or increased compassion for others. However, these experiences can also bring distress, as experiencers may struggle to communicate about their NDE, integrate it when it challenges their prior worldviews or reconcile their changed values with those of loved ones. Despite these well-documented challenges, specialized professional help for experiencers remains limited, prompting individuals to seek support from various sources. Here, we report findings from an exploratory study with 167 NDEs, examining the types of professional help, therapy, and other support avenues they have pursued to process their experience, as well as the perceived helpfulness of support and barriers to seeking support. Sixty-four percent of participants reported seeking help in processing the NDE and 78% found the support received to be helpful. Greater NDE intensity and a history of psychological difficulties significantly increase the likelihood that experiencers will seek support. Experiencing validation—such as a positive first reaction when disclosing the NDE or support from NDE-friendly organizations—significantly increases the perceived helpfulness of the support. We offer an overview of challenges after an NDE and discuss how these findings can be used going forward to improve support after this transformational experience.

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