Clinical Briefs-By Louis Kuritzky, MD
Dissociation in Near-Death Experiences
The term dissociation has been described as "a separation of thoughts, feelings, or experiences from the normal stream of consciousness and memory." The ranges of this experience extend from simple daydreaming to multiple personalities. Dissociation is not always considered pathologic, and has been described in victims of trauma, rape, or other intense emotional/physical assault.
Near-death experiences (NDE) are often described as a perception of having left the physical boundary and transcending time/space boundaries. There has been the suggestion that NDE are, in fact, dissociations. Greyson studied the frequency of dissociation among people who reported NDE, comparing this with the frequency of dissociation in persons who had been close to death but did not experience NDE. The instrument used to measure dissociation was the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), a 28-item visual analogue scale measuring a variety of different dissociative experiences.
Evaluation of 134 individuals who reported having been close to death determined that 72% described NDE. Scores on the DES for persons experiencing NDE were significantly higher than for individuals who had not experienced NDE, but the DES scores were not as high as those seen in persons with pathologic dissociative disorders. Greyson concludes that NDE are not a manifestation of a dissociative disorder nor are they a pathological type of dissociation.
Greyson B. Lancet 2000;355:460-463.
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