Though vastly different, the one thing NDEs and tripping out have in common is their overwhelming intensity<\/em>. The strange similarity between the two has never been truly studied before \u2014 until today.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new study<\/a><\/strong> from Johns Hopkins, published in the journal PLOS ONE<\/em>, has compared near-death experiences and psychedelics based on their ability to reduce one\u2019s anxiety over dying. The team surveyed 3,192 people online who have changed their beliefs about death. Whether after taking major doses of psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, or DMT (aka \u201cpsychedelic experience\u201d<\/em>), or after going through either an out-of-body or a near-death experience (aka \u201cnon-drug experiences\u201d<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The results were astounding. The data just might be solid evidence why psychedelic-based talk therapy<\/a><\/strong> has worked so well in reducing end-of-life anxiety and distress.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the authors wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[Both] groups were remarkably similar in the reported changes in death attitudes attributed to the experience, including a reduced fear of death.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Roland Griffiths<\/strong>, a professor of psychiatry and neurosciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the lead author of the study, said in an interview<\/strong> with Vice.com<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was expecting [the groups] to have some overlap, but to be much more different than they ended up being in this survey.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere was a huge overlap with respect to the phenomenology \u2014 that is, the qualities of the experience \u2014 as well as the enduring attributions made to that experience, in both the near-death or out-of-body or non-drug experiences, versus the psychedelic experiences.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n What happens when you narrowly avoid certain death?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n For those who have lived through near-death experiences, there\u2019s a sense of your life \u201cflashing before your eyes in a split-second\u201d<\/em>. Such an intense event often leads to major life transformations. Take an abrupt career change<\/em>, for example, from soulless cubicle jobs to exciting pursuits based on passion. A desire to come out as your most authentic self<\/em>; or a newfound sense of purpose in your life.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Griffiths, one of the world\u2019s leading experts on psilocybin as medicine, read about the life-changing effects of near-death experiences. Soon, the neuroscientist was struck by how similarly NDEs work to a full-on dose of shrooms and magic truffles. Could this link be confirmed in the real world? <\/em>He sat down to develop the comparative experiment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVery often people come away with a changed sense that there\u2019s something that continues after death of the body<\/em>.\u201d<\/em> Griffiths told Vice.com<\/em> on the fear-reducing effects of psilocybin. \u201cPeople feel that there\u2019s some benevolent quality that emerges, and that they no longer believe that death is an endgame.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Psilocybin has been shown to be effective in cancer patients<\/a><\/strong> <\/a>by reducing the death anxiety that often comes after such a diagnosis. Griffiths had done similar work in the past, which came in handy when comparing psychedelics to near-death experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe had done work with psilocybin in cancer patients who were depressed or anxious because of their life-threatening cancer diagnosis, and we found much the same thing.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeople had these experiences and they had a marked decrease in depression and anxiety, but also in a fear of death.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of the 3,192 respondents in total, 2,259 were classified as psychedelic experiences<\/em> and 933 were non-drug experiences<\/em> (i.e. near-death experiences and out-of-body events)<\/em>. In the first group, LSD<\/strong> was the most common drug at 40 percent (904 respondents)<\/em>. Followed by psilocybin mushrooms<\/strong> at a close 34 percent (766 respondents)<\/em>. Then DMT<\/strong> in smoke\/vape form other than ayahuasca at 14 percent (307 respondents)<\/em>. And finally, traditional ayahuasca<\/strong> at 12 percent (282 respondents)<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the second group, composed of those who had non-drug experiences<\/em>, around half of the respondents wrote that they have had a near-death experience<\/strong>. The other half reported having had an out-of-body experience<\/strong>. These can be just as transformative but without posing danger to their life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the psychedelic-<\/em> and non-drug experience<\/em> groups felt less anxious about death after going through their respective events. There were still a few key differences, however. For example, those who had either an out-of-body or a near-death experience were more likely than those in the psychedelic group to \u201crate their experiences as the single most meaningful of their lives\u201d<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, those in the psychedelic group had subtle traits. These depended on the set and setting<\/a><\/strong> of the drug experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Griffiths explained to Vice.com<\/em> about how ayahuasca trips (i.e. the brewed variety)<\/em> are taken in a different context these days, compared to other popular psychedelics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlthough we statistically control for demographic differences, ayahuasca tends to be used in ceremonies, in groups<\/em>. So, there may be more of a bias toward an expectation of some kind of metaphysical insight.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere really may be differences, but I think we\u2019re a ways from teasing those apart.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The full journal article goes on to describe just how much out-of-body and near-death experiences and psychedelic trips have in common. One subtle occurrence in both groups was encounters with otherworldly entities<\/a><\/strong>, such as with a being that you might describe as \u201cGod\u201d. Another was the way in which the respondents saw life (and death)<\/em> in a vastly different way for the rest of their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n These changes in one\u2019s perception are linked to the feeling of awe<\/em>, which can be induced in a number of ways. Taking strong doses of psychedelics, such as shrooms and magic truffles, is an easy and effective way of doing so. Ever noticed how a well-prepared trip can often quickly reduce your stress, loneliness, and depression?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n All thanks to awe!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a white paper<\/a><\/strong> for UC Berkeley, Dr. Summer Allen<\/strong> describes awe as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAn experience evokes a \u2018need for accommodation\u2019 when it violates our normal understanding of the world. When a stimulus exceeds our expectations in some way, it can provoke an attempt to <\/em>change the mental structures that we use to understand the world.<\/em><\/strong> This need for cognitive realignment is an essential part of the awe experience\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAwe experiences are self-transcendent. They shift our attention away from themselves, make us feel like we are <\/em>part of something greater than ourselves<\/em><\/strong>, and make us more generous toward others.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few ways in which a sense of awe can help you feel good and relieve stress:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simply put, those who experience awe regularly reap the benefits in their daily lives. In a paper<\/a><\/strong> for the Cognition and Emotion<\/em> journal, Dacher Keltner<\/strong> and Jonathan Haidt<\/strong> had this to say about awe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAwe-inducing events may be one of the fastest and most powerful methods of personal change and growth.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Griffiths shared his dreams to Vice.com<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTherapeutically, I would hope that eventually the use of these compounds to treat end-of-life anxiety will be medically approved. That\u2019s huge, because, of course, we\u2019re all terminal.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere will be many within our culture who are going to face that existential crisis and can be very distressed by it, so it\u2019s a hugely applicable therapeutic indication.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Griffiths and his team wish their findings to help in the psychedelic renaissance<\/a><\/strong>. How exactly, you may ask? By easing in psychedelics such as psilocybin into the general public as medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPsychedelics Work Like Near-Death Experiences in Reducing Fear of Death<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.wholecelium.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Roland_Griffiths_2019.jpeg\")
\u2018They No Longer Believe That Death is an Endgame\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Confirming The Link<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Single Most Meaningful Experience of Their Lives\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Less Anxious About Death<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Psychedelics as a Way to Induce Awe<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How Awe Can Improve Your Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Psilocybin as a Rare Comfort<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n