The latest in a long series of names for these phenomena. This one has the virtue of condensing to a short acronym and, in its full expansion, accurately describing the phenomena.
Details #
This is a very common experience but often, in Western/global north cultures, not disclosed for fear of others’ reactions. Earlier terms have included (cribbing from a paper mostly down to Dr. Pablo Sabucedo which we are hoping to submit soon (2025).
- “bereavement psychosis” (Freud, 1917/1980)
- “post-bereavement hallucination” (Rees, 1971)
- “mourning hallucination” (Matchett, 1972)
- “ghost illness” (Putsch, 1988)
- “ideonecrophany ” (MacDonald, 1992)
- “sense of presence” (Steffen & Coyle, 2010)
- “experiences of continued presence” (Hayes & Leudar, 2016)
- “after-death spiritual experiences” (Jahn & Spencer-Thomas, 2014)
These experiences are important in themselves because they are common and comforting for many, but distressing for some and often badly handled by therapists and MH practitioners. They are also an important area of exploration helping us understand processes of bereavement and grieving and the phenomenology of experience and distortions of experience and unusual experiences.
Try also #
- Bereavement
- Delusion
- Grief
- Hallucination
- Psychosis
- Reality testing
Chapters #
Not covered in the OMbook.
Online resources #
None likely.
Dates #
First created 17.iii.25, tweaked 18.iii.25.
