Aftereffects of NDEs: Long excerpt #18

Radiation oncologist Jeremy Long writes in his article, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights" - “Near-death experiences usually produce long-lasting changes in beliefs and attitudes. The changes following NDEs are collectively referred to as aftereffects and often take many years to develop fully. The aftereffects of NDEs have been extensively investigated. One of the earliest NDE studies found that NDErs were more likely to be self-confident, have a stronger sense of spirituality, reduced materialistic values, and have a greater appreciation of life. Over time, NDErs often become increasingly concerned about others. NDErs also may become progressively more confident that life has meaning and purpose.

People generally don’t make substantial and lasting changes in their lives in response to unreal experiences such as dreams or hallucinations. They also don’t ordinarily make considerable life changes after their experiences if they doubt that the experiences are real. However, near-death experiencers generally accept the reality of their NDEs and usually respond with significant changes in their lives.

One of the most common near-death experience aftereffects is an increased belief in an afterlife. Multiple prior studies confirm the frequent increased belief in an afterlife following NDEs. This is not surprising, as NDErs typically believe they personally glimpsed an afterlife.

The most recent version of the NDERF survey explores near-death experience aftereffects by asking questions about beliefs and values at the time of their NDEs and when they shared their experiences with NDERF. The responses to these questions are among the most remarkable in the entire NDERF survey. Over and over, the survey answers show enormous changes in the beliefs and values of the NDErs. There may be no other single life event in the lives of the NDErs that is associated with such sizeable and lasting changes in beliefs and values.

Jeffrey Long, MD, "Evidence for Survival of Consciousness in Near-Death Experiences: Decades of Science and New Insights." In the next several posts I will share excerpts from Long's 2021 article. Footnotes have been deleted. The complete text is available as a pdf at https://www.nderf.org