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.

Perceptual phenomena associated with spontaneous experiences of after-death communication: Analysis of visual, tactile, auditory and olfactory sensations.

The purpose of this study was to create a detailed characterization of the nature of the sensory perceptions associated with after-death communication. A primary aim was to determine if perceptions of after-death communication (ADC) support one or more of three hypotheses: (1) they are the result of hallucinations or day-to-day thoughts about the deceased; (2) they are subjective phenomena reflecting the extrasensory perception of remote events; or (3) they constitute objective phenomena, perceived more solidly, as if within the physical world. Methods: The study included a quantitative analysis and qualitative first-person narrative description of part of the data set from a detailed questionnaire study (991 viable cases) investigating the phenomenology of spontaneous ADCs. Results and Conclusions: A majority of respondents reported that ADCs were distinctly different from simple thoughts about the deceased. Specifically, relative distribution of ADCs across the senses was 46% visual, 44% auditory, 48% touch, and 28% olfactory, with 34% sensing the presence of the deceased without input from the five senses. ADCs often were perceived as external and having properties of the material world (e.g., solidity, tactile qualities). Even the more nebulous 'sense of presence' cases were perceived as having a distinct location in space and as being identifiable as a specific deceased presence despite the lack of sensory cues. These elements are more compatible with hypotheses 2 and 3 than hypothesis 1.