I worked as a counselor in a psychiatric hospital for a number of years, and saw many patients in both manic and depressive phases of the illness. It seemed to me that both phases were characterized by equally extreme emotional levels. In this, it reminds me of the polarized but equally extreme emotions in NDEs (extremely positive emotions in the "Realm of Light", vs extremely negative emotions in the Realm of Bewildered Spirits").

These powerfully negative emotions sapped the strength and will of the patients in the depressive phase, to the point that patients in the furthest extreme of the depressive phase were not considered suicide dangers, simply because they did not have enough will power at that point to try to do anything. The suicide danger didn't arrive until the patient started "coming out of it" and, while still extremely depressed, reacquired a little more of their will power. This, again, reminds me of NDE researcher's descriptions of the miserable souls in the "Realm of Bewildered Spirits", who, according to all reports I've read, never even try to look for a way to get out of their predicament, and show virtually no autonomous will or initiative at all.

On the other end of the scale, the manic patients very commonly identified with God, thinking of themselves as God Him- (or Her-) Self. This again seems to have a parallel in NDE research, in that souls in the Realm of Light commonly report feeling that there was no separation at all between themselves and God.

And yet another parallel occurs to me. Patients in manic phases, while thinking about everything in extremely positive terms, typically did not think intelligently or rationally. They would jump to unwarranted conclusions at the drop of a hat, and then adamantly refuse to even consider the possibility that those conclusions were mistaken.

This again seems much like the certainty that occurs in NDEs. Dr. Peter Fenwick, President of the British Branch of IANDS, identified a number of characteristic aspects of NDEs, including the tendency to never doubt or question, and like myself perceived a connection between these behaviors and the unconscious, Right-Hemisphere side of the mind.

Dr. Fenwick wrote:

"Words, the categorization of experiences, are functions of the left hemisphere. If an experience is ineffable, impossible for people to categorize, it suggests that it may be arising in the right hemisphere, which is more concerned with spatial images, less with words, than the left. There are other clues which point in the direction of right-hemisphere involvement. One is the deep feeling of unity, the loss of boundaries, both spatial and personal, which is often described in the NDE ....and a third is the tag of absolute reality which near-death experiences seem to carry - they are nearly always described as vivid, true, real; often they are felt to be even more real than everyday life. This attribution of certainty to ongoing perception is possibly a function of the right temporal lobe."

Like bipolar patients in the manic phase, so too NDErs have such total confidence in their impressions and assumptions that they never even consider subjecting them to rational analysis. Why are they so certain what they think they "know" is in fact correct? All too often, in both cases the only answer they can give is simply because "the knowledge was given to me".

The miserable souls in the "Realm of Bewildered Spirits" seem to display the exact same perspective and behavior-pattern. Why are they so certain they cannot get out of their unfortunate predicaments? Simply because they "know" it is not possible. Why are they so sure? Have they subjected these assumptions to any rational confirmation process? No. They are certain already. They are experiencing no doubt whatsoever about these impressions, and so no need is felt to seek confirmation of the knowledge that "was given to them to know". This attitude is quite contrary, it seems to me, to I Thessalonians 5:21, which implores us to "Test all things, and hold onto what is good."

Bi-polar patients all too often exhibit the exact same perspective and behavior-patterns, never testing their impressions, but just going along with their first impressions, whether positive or negative. Many would call this intellectual laziness, but I fear it has more to do with intellectual unavailability.

Descriptions of the manic phase of bipolar illness sound much like the ecstacy of the "Realm of Light", and descriptions of the depressive phase sound like the despair of the "Realm of Bewildered Spirits". I wonder if patients with bipolar illness have a unique understanding about the true experience of NDEs? Even though they may have not actually had a NDE itself, such patients may nonetheless know intimately what both sides of the equation feel like, which, if true, would put them right at the head of the class, since so few actual NDErs report visiting both realms.