How a Near-Death Experience Can Change Someone Afterward

For many people, a near-death experience is not just a memory. They describe it as something that changed how they live. This article summarizes what researchers have found about those changes. It also explains why the findings should be read carefully.

What changes do people report?

A pattern of similar changes. Bruce Greyson, a psychiatrist at the University of Virginia, explains that near-death experiences matter to clinicians partly because they often lead to pervasive changes in attitudes and behavior. He cites a review of research on the changes that follow. It found the most common to be loss of fear of death, strengthened belief in life after death, and feeling specially favored by God. It also found a new sense of purpose or mission.

What did the large Dutch study find?

Similar results. A summary of the 2001 Lancet study of 344 cardiac arrest survivors reports a similar pattern. Patients who had a near-death experience commonly reported less fear of death and a stronger belief in an afterlife.

Does it last?

A Psychology Today article reports that, according to Greyson, people who have these experiences can remember them accurately for over two decades. It also says that in a 2011 book, Melvin Morse described adults who had had near-death experiences. He found they had much lower fear of death than others, regardless of how long ago it happened. This was a small set of people, and the researcher has a strong interest in the topic.

What are the limits of this research?

There are several. The findings come from what people say about themselves, often years later. The people who take part have chosen to, which may not represent everyone who comes close to death. And these studies cannot tell us why the changes occur. The AWARE II researchers have called for tracking the long-term psychological health of people who have these experiences, according to Freethink.

Is a change always positive?

Not necessarily. The reports describe mostly positive changes, but each person’s experience differs. People who have strong reactions after a close brush with death can talk to a doctor or counselor. For the experiences themselves, see What Is a Near-Death Experience? and Scientific Theories Explaining Near-Death Experiences.