Consequences of Unexplained Experiences in the Context of Bereavement - Qualitative Analysis

Unexplained experiences are common among bereaved people and are a natural part of grieving, but their consequences may affect their coping with grief. However, professionals lack awareness of these unexplained experiences, which may lead to an unnecessary pathologising of the experiences and a lack of opportunity for the bereaved to process their experiences in a safe environment. The study involved an inductive content analysis of 408 narratives of the consequences of unexplained experiences shared by 181 bereaved individuals. The consequences of the unexplained experiences were: (1) Experiencing after-effects which may alleviate or aggravate wellbeing, as well as be life-affecting; (2) consequences related to sharing or concealing the experiences, and the reactions of others to recounting the experience; (3) documenting the experience through videography, photography and keeping mementos. In conclusion, these experiences have consequences to bereaved which needs to be taken account in support interventions aimed at bereaved individuals.

Description and Impact of Encounters With Deceased Partners or Spouses

This study investigates perceived interactions with the deceased, a phenomenon reported across societies, with 30-34% of individuals likely experiencing at least one ADC in their lifetime. Despite this prevalence, studies examining the impact of ADCs' on those who have lost partners are limited. We present data from 70 individuals reporting partner ADCs via an online survey. Forty percent reported accelerated recovery and 42.9% confirm the ADCs' significant influence in their grieving, with 61% expressing a desire for continued contact. ADCs, interestingly, didn't worsen their pain. The influence on grief-related sadness varied: 41% noted no change, while 40% reported reduced sadness. Forty-seven percent acknowledged ADCs eased their loss acceptance. The data highlight ADCs' substantial, potentially therapeutic role in grief and healing, despite varying effects on sadness and recovery. This study underscores the ADCs' possible positive influence on bereaved partners, advocating for a deeper understanding of this phenomenon in the grieving process.

Factors Moderating the Impact of After Death Communications on Beliefs and Spirituality

After death communications(ADCs) are defined as perceived spontaneous contacts with living individuals by the deceased. This research presents on a subset of data from a recent large international survey of individuals who experienced ADCs and provided systematic information regarding these experiences. In our research we explore the impact of having an ADC on reported spirituality, religiosity, beliefs and attitudes about death and dying and also explore the moderating factors of this impact. We found that having an ADC was perceived as a positive life experience and that it was associated with a reduction in fear of death, belief in life after death and that the deceased could communicate with the living, and increased reported spirituality. Moderating factors include aspects of having or desiring physical contact with the deceased as well as perceiving some emotional reaction to the ADCs. Future directions for research exploration are also provided based on our findings.

Griefbots. A New Way of Communicating With The Dead?

There is a growing number of new digital technologies mediating the experiences of grief and the continuing bonds between the bereaved and their loved ones following death. One of the most recent technological developments is the "griefbot". Based on the digital footprint of the deceased, griefbots allow two-way communication between mourners and the digital version of the dead through a conversational interface or chat. This paper explores the mediational role that griefbots might have in the grieving process vis-à-vis that of other digital technologies, such as social media services or digital memorials on the Internet. After briefly reviewing the new possibilities offered by the Internet in the way people relate with the dead, we delve into the particularities of griefbots, focusing on the two-way communication afforded by this technology and the sense of simulation derived from the virtual interaction between the living and the dead. Discussion leads us to emphasize that, while both the Internet and griefbots bring about a significant spatial and temporal expansion to the grief experience -affording a more direct way to communicate with the dead anywhere and at any time- they differ in that, unlike the socially shared virtual space between mourners and loved ones in most digital memorials, griefbots imply a private conversational space between the mourner and the deceased person. The paper concludes by pointing to some ethical issues that griefbots, as a profit-oriented afterlife industry, might raise for both mourners and the dead in our increasingly digital societies.

The numinous experience in the context of psychopathology and traumatic stress studies

The psychological phenomenon of a suddenly appearing, extremely enigmatic, and at the same time fascinating state in which one feels influenced by higher powers was described as a “numinous experience” by R. Otto and C. G. Jung. This condition is one of those subjectively non-rational experiences that have so far received little attention in cultural clinical psychology and yet have great potency to explain psychopathological phenomena. In the first section of this paper, we work towards a contemporary psychological definition both by focusing on the roles of paradoxical cognitions and dissociation and by presenting various differentiations and possible explanatory mechanisms. In the second part of this paper, we describe the numinous state as it occurs in selected clinical phenomena such as the subjective experience of potentially traumatic events including near-death experiences, sexual abuse of children, post-traumatic stress disorder, severe states of mourning (diagnosed today as prolonged grief disorder), and sleep paralysis. This paper is intended as a theoretical proposal aimed at better understanding subjectively non-rational states in patients.

"They're in My Heart, Mind, and Cells": What Continuing Bonds Reveal About Social Networks

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Research suggests that robust social networks have positive effects on peoples' well-being. An instrumental methodology for studying networks is the social convoy model, a diagram of concentric circles that illustrate network size, structure, and satisfaction. Convoys have been described as dynamic. Specifically, as people age, their convoys become stronger and smaller due to focusing on what matters most and accumulating losses. Therefore, convoys only include meaningful, living persons. The continuing bonds model posits that it is normal for people to maintain connections with the deceased. The objective of the current study was to integrate the social convoy and continuing bonds models in order to examine the presence of deceased loved ones in convoys.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Eighteen individuals (M = 66 years), recruited via fliers and snowball sampling, participated in one semistructured interview regarding the death of a loved one and their convoy. Participants also completed a convoy model, identifying where the deceased fit (if anywhere) when they were alive and at present. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed for themes.

RESULTS

Three themes emerged: communication (i.e., writing or speaking to the deceased), continuity (i.e., a continuing relationship), and reciprocity (i.e., perceived exchange of support(s)). Eighty-nine percent of participants felt their loved one's death did not change their convoy presence and 88% reported that their positioning in the convoy remained unchanged.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

This research offers a new way to think about convoys and may prompt the development of supportive interventions for bereaved individuals.

Hematological and Psychophysiological Correlates of Anomalous Information Reception in Mediums: A Preliminary Exploration

CONTEXT

Modern research with mediums-individuals who regularly experience and report communication from the deceased-includes investigations of mediums' accuracy, psychology, phenomenology, and electrophysiology and the therapeutic potential of mediumship readings for the bereaved. Anecdotal reports imply that chronic medical problems may be a serious concern for mediums.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was two-fold: (I) to systematically investigate the hematological and psychophysiological correlates of anomalous information reception (AIR, the reporting of accurate and specific information about the deceased in the absence of prior knowledge, feedback, or deceptive means) and (II) to compare the reported health issues of mediums and non-mediums.

DESIGN

(I) A repeated-measures design in which mediums engaged in blinded mediumship readings and a control condition was used. (II) A parallel-groups design was used to compare mediums' and non-mediums' responses to an anonymous online survey regarding their health issues.

PARTICIPANTS

(I) Data was collected from five Windbridge Certified Research Mediums. (II) Survey responses from 125 mediums were compared to responses from 222 non-mediums.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

(I) General physiological measures and 28 hematological elements were assessed. (II) Reports regarding autoimmune disease diagnoses and specific ailments by organ system were collected.

RESULTS

Novel findings from this study included the following: (I) No significant hematological or physiological changes were seen in the mediums when pre- and post-condition comparisons were made for the counter-balanced sessions. (II) Compared to non-mediums, more mediums reported having at least one autoimmune disease (35.2% vs. 18.9%; p = 0.00076; z = 3.37; h = 0.4). Mediums also reported experiencing more health issues than did non-mediums (8.08 ± 5.38 vs. 5.09 ± 4.17 symptoms; p < 0.000001, g = 0.6). Specifically, more mediums than non-mediums (all p < 0.004) reported water retention (19.2% vs. 5.0%, z = 4.23, h = 0.5), bruising easily (20.0% vs. 9.0%, z = 2.93, h = 0.3), gastrointestinal issues (35.2% vs. 18.5%, z = 3.48, h = 0.4), headaches/migraines (26.4% vs. 11.3%, z = 3.63, h = 0.4), asthma (20.0% vs. 9.0%, z = 2.93, h = 0.3), food intolerances (28.0% vs. 9.9%, z = 4.37, h = 0.5), and sleep disturbances (40.8% vs. 14.9%, z = 5.41 h = 0.6). The proportions of participants reporting exophthalmos, chronic fatigue syndrome, and ankle sprains were not different.

Electrocortical activity associated with subjective communication with the deceased

During advanced meditative practices, unusual perceptions can arise including the sense of receiving information about unknown people who are deceased. As with meditation, this mental state of communication with the deceased involves calming mental chatter and becoming receptive to subtle feelings and sensations. Psychometric and brain electrophysiology data were collected from six individuals who had previously reported accurate information about deceased individuals under double-blind conditions. Each experimental participant performed two tasks with eyes closed. In the first task, the participant was given only the first name of a deceased person and asked 25 questions. After each question, the participant was asked to silently perceive information relevant to the question for 20 s and then respond verbally. Responses were transcribed and then scored for accuracy by individuals who knew the deceased persons. Of the four mediums whose accuracy could be evaluated, three scored significantly above chance (p < 0.03). The correlation between accuracy and brain activity during the 20 s of silent mediumship communication was significant in frontal theta for one participant (p < 0.01). In the second task, participants were asked to experience four mental states for 1 min each: (1) thinking about a known living person, (2) listening to a biography, (3) thinking about an imaginary person, and (4) interacting mentally with a known deceased person. Each mental state was repeated three times. Statistically significant differences at p < 0.01 after correction for multiple comparisons in electrocortical activity among the four conditions were obtained in all six participants, primarily in the gamma band (which might be due to muscular activity). These differences suggest that the impression of communicating with the deceased may be a distinct mental state distinct from ordinary thinking or imagination.