Traumatic and Mystical Experiences: The Dark Nights of the Soul

This article examines the similarity between the mystical experience and the traumatic experience, the latter involving a fundamental threat to life or bodily integrity. Despite the necessary caution and reservations, there are many similarities between these two kinds of experience. Indeed, the resemblance is not restricted to a phenomenological description but is far more deeply rooted: a result of the subject’s encounter with nothingness. This comparison provides us with an opportunity to improve our understanding of both the traumatic and the mystical experience as well as phenomena such as Posttraumatic Growth and Spiritual Crisis.

Source: Journal of Humanistic Psychology - June 1, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Ataria, Y. Tags: Articles Source Type: research