Experiences outside the body may be a traumatic reaction, not a mental illness

A groundbreaking study of over 500 people suggests that floating outside your own body can be a way to protect you from overwhelming pain, and that’s not a sign of something wrong with you.

The study challenges decades of assumptions about in vitro experiences and has the potential to reshape how mental health professionals respond to these mysterious events.

For many years, psychiatry has largely regarded external experiences (OBEs) as red flags for mental illness. People who report leaving their body form and observing themselves from the outside often face suspicion or pathological diagnosis. But the new study at the University of Virginia School of Medicine presents a completely different situation.

When float becomes coping

“Many people think that having obes means they have problems, so they often keep themselves out of fear of being judged or being considered a mental illness,” said Marina Weiler, a neuroscientist who led the research at UVA. The study, published as personality and individual differences, analyzed data from 256 people who experienced OBE, compared with 289 people.

These findings reveal complex relationships. Although OBE experiencers do score higher in terms of psychiatric symptoms and childhood trauma, the researchers believe that this does not tell the whole story. They propose that these experiences may be delicate psychological escape routes rather than treating OBE as a pathological symptom.

Consider time: Most obes occur in childhood, with an average age of about 20 years old. Among those who have experienced it, 74% describe their obesity as spontaneous, with more than half of their sleep occurring. When fully awake, it often occurs 30% when fully awake.

Paradox of beneficial symptoms

This is where things get interesting. If Obes were purely pathological, why would so many people find them transformative? Previous studies cited in the study found that 55% of experienced people said that experience changed their lives, while 71% found it to have lasting benefits. An extraordinary 40% think it is “the greatest thing that happens to them”.

This creates a difficult problem that a standard psychiatric framework is difficult to solve. How is it both a symptom of distress and a source of huge positive change?

The answer may lie in understanding obese people, because researchers call it “the coping mechanism of separation.” When faced with trauma or overwhelming stress, the mind may create an outside-body experience as a way to distance psychologically from unbearable pain.

Beyond the cutoff score

The study showed that 53% of OBE experienced people scored above the threshold for common mental disorders, while no 44% of non-experienced people. They also showed significantly higher rates of trauma and dissociation symptoms in children. But this is a key detail that is often overlooked: the clinical significance of these differences is unclear.

The researchers found that the longer they were since the first OBE, the more likely they were to have a mental health diagnosis. This correlation suggests that Oster may precede psychological distress, rather than caused by existing mental illness, may contribute to management.

“Unfortunately, many mental health professionals still view these experiences in the same way,” Weiler noted, referring to the trend of automated pathological obes. “We encourage mental health practitioners to rethink the way they interpret these experiences and engage with them with greater openness and sensitivity.”

Rewrite the clinical script

The meaning goes far beyond academic debate. If OBE represents a coping strategy rather than a symptoms, a basic revision of the treatment is required. Rather than trying to eliminate experience, the therapist focuses on addressing potential trauma or stress.

The study also highlights the methodological challenges of studying abnormal experiences. People in distress may be more likely to participate in the study and may be biased towards pathological explanations. Furthermore, individuals who do not have support frameworks to understand their own experiences may struggle more than those who accept the community.

What emerges is calling for nuance in an area that is often dominated by binary thinking. The study shows that experiences that were once considered purely pathological may provide important psychological functions for some people while suggesting distress in others.

The way forward

Future research needs to take into account the environment of obesity – whether they are spontaneous, caused by meditation or triggered by substances. Each environment may involve different neural mechanisms and psychological outcomes.

The researchers stressed that their findings did not invalidate people’s concerns about OBE. Instead, they argue that more complex assessment tools can distinguish adaptive and problematic experiences.

“If OBE is understood as a symptom of pathology, but rather a coping mechanism (especially in coping trauma), this restructuring may lead to several important shifts in clinical practice, research, and public understanding,” Weiler explained. “Ultimately, we want to reduce the stigma surrounding the topic, encourage help seeking, and build community and resilience among the experiencers.”

For millions of people who have experienced floating outside their bodies, this study offers something valuable: The most unusual moments of their minds are probably the most protective possibilities.

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