cesses necessary to
remember their experiences of birth.
Many psychological
theories
have
shown that our reactions, experiences and
desires are working to
fulfil a psychological need. However
unlikely this may
seem, it could be
possible to explain
the NDE in this way.
The theory of crisis
intervention supposes that pathological states can
lead to an opportunity for positive
growth. This opportunity for growth in
crisis involves the
person entering a
state of disequilibrium due to great
periods of stress. In
this period the ego
is overwhelmed and
the person becomes
more susceptible to
positive and corrective influences. It is
possible that the person has a regression to
a very primitive level
and this return to basic
functioning leads them
to view their experiences (real or imagined) in a sense of
childlike awe and bliss.
In essence, they are
44
30
regressing to a preverbal stage of development where they had
an imbedded trust in
the ‘realness’ of their
experiences and feelings of bliss associated
with a time when, as
a child, all their needs
were readily met. This
could explain why people report feeling so
at ease and in awe of
their experiences within the NDE. But could
this regression indicate
that the NDE served
a psychological need?
Greyson (1981) tried
to explain why positive personality transformations sometimes
occurred in those who
had attempted suicide and experienced
an NDE. He concluded
that it was possible the
NDE reduced the person’s suicidal intentions
in the future by using
psychological mechanisms. Some of these
psychological mechanisms he used for these
explanations included