Experiences outside the body help the mind to escape trauma

Summary: New research suggests that experiences outside the body (OBE) can serve as coping mechanisms triggered by trauma, instead of the symptoms of mental illness. According to data from more than 500 people, those who had OBE reported higher rates of mental health conditions, but also described lasting benefits of their experiences.

Many participants reported a reduced fear of death, greater inner peace and a broader sense of existence after an OBE. These findings challenge stigma and require more compassionate clinical approaches for OBE.

Key facts:

Coping mechanism: OBEs can represent dissociation in response to trauma or emotional pain. Informed benefits: many experimenters say Obes reduced their fear of death and improved their perspective.

Source: University of Virginia

Experiences outside the body, where people feel like disconnected spirits in their physical form, can be a coping mechanism triggered by trauma or other overwhelming stress, suggests new research at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Virginia.

That idea challenges the common assumption that experiences outside the body, or obes are only a symptom of mental illness. According to data from more than 500 people, researchers, including the Marina Weiler of UVA Health, PHD, defend a more nuanced perspective: that OBEs can represent an underlying problem that could be a better treatment goal than experiences outside the body.

“Many people believe that having obes means that there is something wrong with them, so they are often maintained for fear of being judged or seen as mentally ill. Unfortunately, many mental health professionals still see these experiences in the same way,” said Weiler, a neuroscientist of the Division of Perceptual grape studies.

“In this work, we discovered that people who have had obes tend to report poorer mental health compared to those who have not done so. However, our findings also suggest that OBEs can function as a coping mechanism in response to a past traum and sensitivity. “

Understand experiences outside the body

The researchers point out that many people who report OBE really consider them beneficial: a study found that 55% of experimenters said their life changed and that 71% found the OBE of a lasting benefit.

40% substantial described it as the best that had happened to them. In addition, many experimenters are less afraid of death, they report more inner peace and say they are more open to new ideas about the nature of existence.

To better understand OBE, Weiler and his colleagues gathered data from people over 18 online, asking both if they were sure they had suffered an OBE and about their medical history, including their mental health history.

The average age of the first experience outside the body was young, often happening in childhood. Among the experimenters, 80% reported one to four experiences, while the remaining 20% ​​reported five or more.

The OBE were described as spontaneous in 74%, while 9% of respondents said they were using psychoactive compounds, and 8.2% said that OBEs were self -induced by meditation, visualization or other means. 0.7%reported hypnosis.

The scientists discovered that OBE experimenters were more frequently diagnosed with mental health conditions than those who had not had an OBE. In addition, the more time from the first OBE, the more probabilities the obers had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder.

Weiler and his colleagues, however, propose that they obey them may not be the problem. On the other hand, experiences outside the body can represent the subconscious attempts of experimenters to distance themselves from pain or trauma or other “distressing realities.”

They found high levels of child trauma in the OBE group, suggesting that OBEs can be a “dissociative response to overwhelming stress or emotional pain.”

“This opinion,” the researchers write in a new scientific document, “changes the focus of causality to the possibility that OBES may also arise as a consequence, a coping strategy to navigate difficult or traumatic experiences.”

According to their findings, researchers urge more research to explore the possible implications for the mental health treatment that experimenters receive.

“If OBEs are understood not as symptoms of pathology, but as coping mechanisms, especially in response to trauma, this update can lead to several important changes in clinical practice, research and public understanding,” said Weiler.

“Ultimately, we hope to reduce stigma around this issue, promote the search for help and build the community and resilience among experimenters.”

About this research news, Trauma and Psychology

Author: Josh Barney
Source: University of Virginia
Contact: Josh Barney – University of Virginia
Image: The image is accredited to Neuroscience News

Original research: open access.
“Are the experiences outside the body indicative of an underlying psychopathology?” By Marina Weiler et al. Personality and individual differences

Abstract

Are the experiences outside the body indicative of an underlying psychopathology?

Experiences outside the body (OBE) are intriguing phenomena where people feel separated from their physical bodies.

While OBEs have a resemblance to the manifestations found in neuropsychiatric conditions, the relationship between OBES and such disorders remains complex and uncertain.

Some studies have demonstrated an association between OBE and neuropsychiatric conditions, while others suggest possible positive results associated with OBE.

Consequently, it is crucial to differentiate between non -pathological obes and those that can be indicative of underlying psychopathology.

This study aimed to examine the clinical characteristics of OBE experimenters (Obers), hypothesizing that the Obers did not have a lower mental health compared to the unbridled.

Contrary to our hypothesis, our findings indicate a significant group difference in the psychopathological profile between Obers and No Obers, but the clinical importance of these findings has not yet been elucidated.

To provide a more complete understanding of the possible implications of our findings, we adopt a clinically oriented perspective, examining the nuances of the observed differences and considering their potential relevance for the experiences of the real world and mental well -being.

We speculate that OBEs can also function as a dissociative coping mechanism instead of a sign of psychopathology, but this statement guarantees greater investigation.

This rethinking invites a broader and more nuanced understanding of OBEs as potentially adaptive responses to stress or trauma, challenging assumptions of a necessary pathologization of experience.