Absorption is a personality trait describing a person’s tendency to become deeply immersed in imagination, inner states, internal imagery, or specific experiences. It’s a neutral trait, and isn’t seen as a negative trait. In fact, nearly everyone lands somewhere on a spectrum of psychological absorption.
Have you ever felt chills while listening to a particularly powerful or emotional piece of music? Or lost track of time while reading a book? Or had a really vivid daydream? These are all examples of absorption.
Research has shown that people who report near-death experiences (NDEs) often score higher on measures of absorption, suggesting that this trait may play a role in how they enter, experience, and remember extraordinary states of consciousness.
What is absorption, exactly? Is it a bad or negative thing?
In psychology, absorption is defined as the ability to become fully engaged in a stream of thought, sensations, or imagery, sometimes to the point of losing awareness of your surroundings. Researchers consider it part of the broader personality trait of “openness to experience”. And it’s definitely not a bad thing to have.
People scoring higher in absorption often report feeling more connected to art, music, or nature. And they may recall those moments—seeing their favorite band live, going on a memorable hike, etc.—with unusual vividness.
It needs to be stressed that absorption is not inherently unhealthy. This is normal human variation, just like being more or less extroverted. By itself, absorption is not an indicator of mental health issues.
Psychological absorption is measured using the Tellegen Absorption Scale, or TAS. It’s a 34-item multi-dimensional measure of a person’s tendency to become mentally absorbed in everyday activities.
Note: Be sure to also visit the IANDS Glossary, where you’ll also learn about dissociation and other terms!
Absorption vs. self-absorption
At first glance, you might find yourself confusing absorption with self-absorption. And it’s worth noting that these are two entirely different and unrelated topics.
Self-absorption is both a clinical and colloquial term describing someone who is excessively preoccupied with their own thoughts, feelings, or interests. It sometimes (but doesn’t necessarily) overlap with narcissism or egocentrism.
The connotations with self-absorption are typically negative. It’s linked with selfishness or a lack of concern for others. But while the shared word “absorption” might trip people up, it’s important to understand these two concepts are wholly different and unrelated.
Self-absorption is not directly linked with near-death experiences. In fact, many experiencers return from NDEs with less self-absorption than they may have had going into them. Greater empathy and altruism are common NDE aftereffects—quite the opposite of how we’d define self-absorption.
Absorption and near-death experiences
Numerous studies have linked absorption with near-death experiences. For instance:
- One study from 2023 found that people who’ve had NDEs score significantly higher on the Tellegen Absorption Scale than control subjects.
- A 2018 study found through experiments with DMT that baseline absorption correlates positively with how intensely someone reports NDE-type features.
- A different 2018 study found that men and women more prone to fantasy and with higher absorption tend to report more intense or vivid NDE-like experiences
So, what exactly does this data mean? When taken together, it suggests that people more prone to absorption may be more likely to enter altered states, process them vividly, or recall them in rich detail.
What it doesn’t mean is that NDEs are “just imagination.” Higher absorption doesn’t suggest experiencers are inventing their NDEs or dreamed them up. Instead, higher absorption suggests someone might be more capable of recalling or expressing NDEs and other experiences in vivid, detailed ways.
Absorption doesn’t explain NDEs away. But it may help researchers understand how people experience and remember them.
Absorption is just one piece of the NDE puzzle
When it comes to understanding near-death experiences, research into absorption has definitely been useful. By learning how traits like absorption influence the way people enter and recall extraordinary states, researchers can better explore the mysteries of consciousness, the afterlife, and human potential.
If you’ve had an NDE, or if you know someone who has, you can play a direct role in this important research. Please consider sharing your story with IANDS or joining an NDE research study. Your contributions can play a pivotal role in helping researchers better understand this extraordinary phenomenon.
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