Near death experience: a concept analysis as applied to nursing

Abstract

This paper will attest that the number of people who have claimed to have a NDE is phenomenal and overwhelming. In addition, it claims that the numbers of those who have experienced this phenomenon may be underestimated because of the persons' feeling of insecurity in talking with others about their paranormal incident. Therefore, it is vital that nurses become aware of the NDE and how to support the client who has had the experience. The following paper will summarize the different stages of a NDE, the consequences that one experiences, both positive and negative, and nursing implications.

Nursing concepts and theories

“…A concept is considered an ideal or mental construction elaborated with regard to a phenomenon that is essential for research development and construction of theories (12) . Concepts comprise abstract attributes of reality and, as a consequence, represent more than words and mental images because those do not capture the complex nature of these attributes (5) .…”

Paving a New Frontier: Near-Death Experiences and the Unspoken Aspect of What Researchers Have Faced, and Continue to Face

“…In my past 23 years of knowing and working with NDErs, this has been my experience as well, and I cannot express how many times I hear NDErs say to me, "Thank god I can finally share my experience with someone who is not judging me or psychologically analyzing me." Many other researchers have written about this and have provided some useful tips about how practitioners can initially respond to a patient who may be trying to talk about their experience (i.e., Atwater, 2007;Duffy and Olsen, 2007;James, 2004;Simpson, 2001). The general tips are to listen empathetically and non-judgmentally while NDErs try to put their experience into words, while resisting the temptation to try to explain, or "explain away" the occurrence of their experience as some type of hallucination or reaction to medicinal drugs (Duffy and Olson, 2007;Greyson, 1996;1997;James, 2004).…”

Near-Death Experiences and the Possibility of Disembodied Consciousness: Challenges to Prevailing Neurobiological and Psychosocial Theories

“…In contrast, common reports from NDErs state that NDEs seem more (not less) real than consensual reality (Brumm, 2006;Duffy and Olson, 2007;Holden et al, 2006). Furthermore, while NDErs have been shown to have increased symptoms of distress following a NDE, research has shown that these symptoms do not meet clinical diagnostic criteria for dissociative or posttraumatic stress disorders, as outlined in the DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000;Brumm, 2006;Duffy and Olson, 2007;Greyson, 1997;James, 2004;Simpson, 2001;WrenLewis, 2004). Gabbard and Twemlow (1984) proposed that NDEs are more likely to occur in individuals who have personality characteristics prone to dissociation, absorption, or fantasyproneness.…”

“…However, studies have shown contradictory results and do not reveal significant relationships between the NDE and absorption or fantasy-proneness personality traits (Britton and Bootzin, 2004;Brumm, 2006;Greyson, 2003;Simpson, 2001;Wren-Lewis, 2004). For example, Greyson's (2003) study on 1,583 survivors of cardiac arrest found NDErs to have slightly elevated levels of dissociation, but not high enough to meet DSM-IV-TR (APA, 2000) criteria for a dissociative disorder diagnosis.…”