What's a near-death experience?

Counselors Peggy Lesniewicz of Bowling Green State University, left, and Linda Smith of the University of Toledo want to help people who are having a tough time coping with a near-death experience. THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER Enlarge | Photo Reprints

The trauma of a serious car crash or a heart attack is intense enough, but for some people the after-effects can be just as traumatic.

Consider, for example, those who report undergoing a near-death experience.

While unconscious, many say, they saw a bright light, felt as if they had floated out of their bodies, perceived dazzling landscapes, encountered loved ones who had died, and felt overwhelmed by unconditional love of a presence they believe to be God.

But when they tell their stories to medical doctors, many survivors are rebuked, ridiculed, and told they were hallucinating or that it was the effect of drugs or because their brain was deprived of oxygen.

Linda Smith and Peggy Lesniewicz, two local university professors and licensed counselors, want to help people who are having a tough time coping with a near-death experience. They will hold a workshop titled "Understanding Your Near-Death Experience (NDE)" in Sylvania on Feb. 25.

"All kinds of things happen that are associated with death, but people are soundly ridiculed for talking about it," said Ms. Smith, a counselor and an associate dean of the University of Toledo honors program. "At the very best, they are ignored by medical personnel. And that makes it a negative experience."

Ms. Lesniewicz, a counselor and a professor at Bowling Green State University, said it's not the fault of medical personnel, who typically are trained to look at the physical world and not to give much credence to their patients' spiritual matters.

"That makes it particularly difficult for the people who have experienced this," she said.

To their knowledge, no other counselors in the area and few nationally are reaching out to people with near-death experiences.

The field is relatively new, often attributed to psychiatrist Raymond Moody and his pioneering 1975 book Life After Life.

"I was surprised -- and I hadn't heard about this in the earliest research of the 1970s and '80s -- that people who had this experience are having lots of trouble adjusting and integrating it, for various reasons," Ms. Smith said. "One may be that medical personnel treated them like they were nuts."

"They're put in the same category as being abducted by UFOs," adds Ms. Lesniewicz.

Ms. Smith noted that the near- death experience was often wonderful.

"They're generally less afraid of death or have no fear at all of death. They had a feeling of unconditional love. The experience often changes their views of the nature of God."

But if doctors tell those who experience it that they were hallucinating, they become reluctant to talk about it, the counselors said.

"When people are told they're insane," Ms. Smith said, "they are afraid to talk about it, afraid to share. And a major component of mental health healing is being able to discuss something."

Some of the more interesting cases involve people born blind, the counselors said. In the NDE, they reported seeing things for the first time. One woman said she left her body, saw herself on an operating room table, and knew it was herself because of her wedding ring. Once the blind persons are revived, they can no longer see, Ms. Lesniewicz said.

Not all the experiences are filled with love, bright lights, and happy reunions, Ms. Lesniewicz said. For some people, it can seem like a trip to hell. "We hear about all the positive ones, but people can have negative ones too," she said.

Added Mrs. Smith, "That can be really hard to integrate."

Said Ms. Lesniewicz, "They ask, 'What's wrong with me?' "

"They say, 'I thought I was a good person. Why did I go to hell or whatever?' " Ms. Smith said. "And that's really very traumatic."

Researchers estimate that between 9 million and 15 million Americans have had a near-death experience, and the number is rising as medical advances make it more commonplace for people to survive cardiac arrests or other traumas.

Such experiences are universal, crossing all cultural and religious lines, the counselors said. They see their role as being open-minded and compassionate, validating the person and helping them integrate their near-death experience into their daily lives and worldview.

The "Understanding Your Near-Death Experience" workshop will be from 1-4 p.m. Feb. 25 at Harmony in Life, 5747 Main St., Sylvania. The cost is $35 in advance, $40 on Feb. 22 or after. For registration, call 419-517-0047. For more information, contact Linda Smith at 567-686-9257 or lindasmith@theheartworks.org.

Contact David Yonke at: dyonke@theblade.com or 419-724-6154.