Out of Body, Loss of Self
Spiritual or Scary
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3592783 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Elpine M De Boer (0000-0002-6997-0836, Leiden University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 11 |
| Pages | 558 |
| Publication date | 2020-10-28 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel11110558 |
| OpenAlex | W3097952959 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 27 |
The main aim of the present study is to investigate when "loss of self" results in scaredness or anxiety during or after an out-of body-experience (OBE). An OBE is an intense form of (bodily) self loss in which people have the impression that their self is located outside their body. In a sample of respondents reporting to have had an OBE (n = 171), anxiety and different conceptualizations of "self loss" were assessed. In addition, questions were asked about meaning making processes after the OBE. Results show that there was no relationship between anxiety and self loss with a relational component (i.e., mystical experiences, positive spiritual experiences). However, there was significantly more anxiety in respondents who (1) (have) experience(d) ego loss/deconstruction, (2) have difficulties to (re)turn their attention to an internal bodily state (low mindfulness) and/or (3) experience a lack of self-concept clarity. Respondents who did not succeed in making sense of their OBE experience more anxiety, more ego loss/deconstruction, lower mindfulness and higher self-unclarity. Finally, the article examines how respondents explain their OBE (by using, for instance, medical, spiritual or psychological explanations) and how and why respondents do (not) succeed in making sense of the OBE
Anxiety · CLARITY · Id, ego and super-ego · Mindfulness · Psychology of self · Psychotherapist · Self · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments · Social Psychology
The varieties of religious experience
Openness to absorbing and self-altering experiences ("absorption"), a trait related to hypnotic susceptibility.
Dispositional Mindfulness and Psychological Health
Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention
The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale
Absorption, Mentalizing, and Mysticism
Meditation has stronger relationships with mindfulness, kundalini, and mystical experiences than yoga or prayer
The evolving self
Seeking the supernatural
Psychological Distress, Experiences of Ego Loss and Spirituality
Interpreting the Anomalous
Disorganized Attachment Promotes Mystical Experiences via a Propensity for Alterations in Consciousness (Absorption)
The benefits of being present
Self-concept clarity
The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience
Dissociational body experiences
Ascription, attribution, and cognition in the study of experiences deemed religious
The Construction and Preliminary Validation of a Measure of Reported Mystical Experience
Believing, Bonding, Behaving, and Belonging
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |