HOW CAN CAREGIVERS HELP A CHILDHOOD NDER?
Caregivers play a crucial role in helping to recover from childhood NDER:
- As a nurse we can be alert after cardiac arrest recovery of a child if the child has that experience or not.
- Listen actively and show receptivity when a child describes near-death-like features.
- Trust child’s reality about returning to their body, and child’s communication with spirits and respect the child’s confidentiality
- GENTLY ask open-ended questions.
- A nurse should be careful when and with whom it is safe to talk about their NDE-related experiences.
- Be prepared to guide the child through the changes and phases of adjustment.
- Become knowledgeable about NDEs through reading, talking with NDErs, etc.
- Be prepared to support the child’s increased interest in spirituality that may be expressed through increased church attendance, desire for prayer and grace.
- Expect the child to initiate deep conversations about meaning and purpose in life.
- Consider encouraging the child to write and/or draw about both their NDE.
- Withdrawal, depression, alcohol/drug abuse, and/or suicidal tendencies are the signs of significant difficulty adjusting after the NDE. Seeking professional help from a counselor knowledgeable about NDEs, art and music therapy, play therapy may be helpful.
- Participate in volunteer activities with the child.
https://iands.org/childrens-near-death-experiences.html
For adults, proper diagnosis and treatment simply involves understanding the content and course of an NDE and then engaging in:
- a systematic inquiry;
- sympathetic listening;
- validation;
- education of the patient and family; and
- referral to books and organizations, such as IANDS, that can nurture the patient and their family.
https://bit.ly/2P2wtoH
Dr. Elaine Drysdale discusses the importance of training for medical professionals to recognize their patients’ near death experiences. She comments on the effectiveness of the training video, “Near-Death Experience, What Medical Professionals need to know:-