Common elements

Researchers have identified the common elements that define near-death experiences.[4] Bruce Greyson argues that
the general features of the experience include impressions of being outside one's physical body, visions of
deceased relatives and religious figures, and transcendence of egotic and spatiotemporal boundaries.[11] Many
common elements have been reported, although the person's interpretation of these events often corresponds with
the cultural, philosophical, or religious beliefs of the person experiencing it. For example, in the USA, where 46% of
the population believes in guardian angels, they will often be identified as angels or deceased loved ones (or will be
unidentified), while Hindus will often identify them as messengers of the god of death.[12][13]
Common traits that have been reported by NDErs are as follows:

A sense/awareness of being dead.[4]

A sense of peace, well-being and painlessness. Positive emotions. A sense of removal from the world.[4]
An out-of-body experience. A perception of one's body from an outside position. Sometimes observing medical
professionals performing resuscitation efforts.[4][14]
A "tunnel experience" or entering a darkness. A sense of moving up, or through, a passageway or staircase.[4][14]
A rapid movement toward and/or sudden immersion in a powerful light (or "Being of Light") which communicates
with the person.[citation needed]
An intense feeling of unconditional love and acceptance.[citation needed]
Encountering "Beings of Light", "Beings dressed in white", or similar. Also, the possibility of being reunited with
deceased loved ones.[4][14]
Receiving a life review, commonly referred to as "seeing one's life flash before one's eyes".[4]
Receiving knowledge about one's life and the nature of the universe.[citation needed]
Approaching a border or a decision by oneself or others to return to one's body, often accompanied by a
reluctance to return.[4][14]
Suddenly finding oneself back inside one's body.[15]
Connection to the cultural beliefs held by the individual, which seem to dictate some of the phenomena
experienced in the NDE and particularly the later interpretation thereof.[12][page needed]
Stages
Kenneth Ring (1980) subdivided the NDE on a five-stage continuum. The subdivisions were:[16]

1. Peace
2. Body separation
3. Entering darkness
4. Seeing the light
5. Entering the light
He stated that 60% experienced stage 1 (feelings of peace and contentment), but only 10% experienced stage 5
("entering the light").[17] According to Alana Karran, the NDE stages resemble the so-called hero's journey.[18]

Clinical circumstances
Clinical circumstances associated with near-death experiences include cardiac arrest in myocardial
infarction (clinical death); shock in postpartum loss of blood or in perioperative complications; septic or anaphylactic
shock; electrocution; coma resulting from traumatic brain damage; intracerebral hemorrhage or cerebral infarction;
attempted suicide; near-drowning or asphyxia; apnea; and serious depression.[citation needed] In contrast to common
belief, Kenneth Ring argues that attempted suicides do not lead more often to unpleasant NDEs than unintended
near-death situations.[19]

NDE variants
Some NDEs have elements that bear little resemblance to the "typical" near-death experience. Anywhere from one
percent (according to a 1982 Gallup poll) to 20 percent of subjects may have distressing experiences and feel
terrified or uneasy as various parts of the NDE occur, they visit or view dark and depressing areas or are accosted
by what seem to be hostile or oppositional forces or presences.[20]
Persons having bad experiences were not marked by more religiosity or suicidal background. According to one
study (Greyson 2006) there is little association between NDEs and prior psychiatric treatment, prior suicidal
behavior, or family history of suicidal behavior. There was also little association between NDEs and religiosity, or
prior brushes with death, suggesting the occurrence of NDEs is not influenced by psychopathology, by religious
denomination or religiosity, or by experiencers' prior expectations of a pleasant dying process or continued
postmortem existence.[21]Greyson (2007) also found that the long term recall of NDE incidents was stable and did
not change due to embellishment over time.[22]
Greyson Bush, former Executive Director to the International Association for Near-Death Studies, holds that not all
negative NDE accounts are reported by people with a religious background.[23]Suicide attempters, who should be
expected to have a higher rate of psychopathology according to Greyson (1991) did not show much difference from
non-suicides in the frequency of NDEs.[24]

After-effects
NDEs are associated with changes in personality and outlook on life.[4] Kenneth Ring (professor of psychology) has
identified a consistent set of value and belief changes associated with people who have had a near-death
experience. Among these changes one finds a greater appreciation for life, higher self-esteem, greater compassion
for others, less concern for acquiring material wealth, a heightened sense of purpose and self-understanding, desire
to learn, elevated spirituality, greater ecological sensitivity and planetary concern, and a feeling of being more
intuitive. Changes may also include a need for being alone more often, increased physical sensitivity; diminished
tolerance of light, sound, alcohol, or drugs; a feeling that the brain has been "altered" to encompass more; and a
feeling that one is now using the "whole brain" rather than a small part.[4] However, not all after-effects are
beneficial[25] and Greyson[26] describes circumstances where changes in attitudes and behavior can lead to
psychosocial and psychospiritual problems.[27] Often the problems are those of the adjustment to ordinary life in the
wake of the NDE.