Unusual visions and sensations are often meaningful and positive over time

Unusual experiences often arrive during ordinary moments, when people are awake, alert and alone. Yet what happens afterward may depend less on the event itself than on the meaning a person gives it.

A Brazilian study of 5,117 adults found that experiences such as sensing a presence, hearing unexplained sounds, having visions or feeling outside one’s body were usually remembered as neutral or positive. About 51% of participants reported positive long-term effects, even though roughly one in four experienced suffering or discomfort at the time.

Published in PLOS One, the findings came from Ronald Fischer of Instituto D'Or de Pesquisa e Ensino in São Paulo and colleagues.

The study used the Inventory of Nonordinary Experiences, or INOE, a survey designed to separate what happened from what people believed it meant. That distinction matters because similar experiences may be viewed as spiritual, paranormal, random or pathological.

The researchers first tested whether Brazilian adults understood the survey questions as intended. They recruited 160 adults and evaluated 38 original questions along with nine new ones covering context, timing, control, emotional effects and possible explanations.

Each question had to reach an understanding rate of at least 80%. All nine new categories passed, with understanding rates of at least 83.5%. The team then used the expanded survey in a much larger population sample.

The second phase included 5,117 completed questionnaires. The sample broadly matched national patterns for age, gender and region, though highly educated people were overrepresented.

The experiences included déjà vu, lucid dreams, near-death experiences, unexplained sounds or touch, intense awe, sudden insight, feelings of guidance and perceptions of extraordinary forces.

Most reports did not occur during obvious altered states. About 57% of participants said they were awake and alert. Only small shares linked the event to substance use or a mental or physical condition.

Being alone was the most common setting, reported across experiences by about 39% of participants. Religious or spiritual settings accounted for about 10%.

Pedro Fortes described the contrast this way: “What struck us was the mismatch. These experiences share features with symptoms used to define psychosis and dissociation yet are frequently observed in a general-population sample. Our prevalence study suggests they most often arrive in entirely ordinary moments, when we're awake, alert and by ourselves, and are commonly remembered as meaningful rather than frightening.”

The immediate emotional response varied sharply. About 50% of participants reported some degree of joy or wellbeing, while about 25% described the event as emotionally neutral. Nearly 26% reported suffering or discomfort.

The effect on daily activity was often limited. About 46% said the experience caused no interference, while nearly 35% said it helped what they were doing. About 20% said it hindered them.

Long-term judgments leaned more positive. Nearly 51% described the lasting effect as mildly or strongly positive. About 31% reported no lasting effect or a neutral one, while roughly 15% described negative long-term consequences.

The survey also asked whether people felt control over what happened. About 56% reported total or some control. Nearly 24% said they had none, while about 21% did not try to control the experience.

Ronald Fischer said the findings challenge assumptions that unusual perceptions automatically signal illness. Most people who reported them were not unwell, and they often remembered the events as neutral or positive.

“For many people such experiences can be meaningful and lead to personal growth and insight. Highlighting these possible positive outcomes is important to help people make sense of them and help to normalize them. Importantly, we hope our work can help to remove stigma by focusing on the diverse ways that people experience and make sense of them. However, we would also stress that if people feel that these experiences interfere with their daily activities, then they should talk to a professional or seek help from somebody that they trust.”

Participants often relied on a shared set of explanations. About 38% said the event may have happened by chance. Nearly one-third said they did not believe any person or being caused it.

Religious interpretations also remained common. About 48% viewed their experience as religious or spiritual, while nearly 31% did not. Another 21% were unsure.

Views on science split almost evenly. About 49% believed science can or eventually will explain such experiences. About 51% disagreed.

The pattern may reflect Brazil’s many religious traditions, which offer language for visions, presences, messages and other unusual events.

Jorge Moll said the meaning attached to an event can shape its aftermath.

“Our findings suggest that how a person interprets an unusual experience matters more than the experience itself in determining whether it becomes a source of distress or of meaning. That has direct consequences for how clinicians and families respond when someone describes something extraordinary.”

The study was descriptive and cannot prove that a particular interpretation causes better or worse mental health. Each participant reported only one experience, so the researchers could not compare how the same person interpreted several events.

The survey also relied on closed-ended responses. It could measure broad patterns, but not the full personal narratives behind them.

The sample was more educated than Brazil’s general population. That may limit how well the findings apply to people with lower literacy levels. The research also took place within one national setting.

The findings could help clinicians, families and communities respond with more care when someone reports an unusual experience. Treating every account as a symptom may overlook the fact that many people remain well and find lasting value in what happened.

Positive averages should not erase individual distress or the need for support when these events disrupt daily life.

The expanded survey helps researchers separate an event from its interpretation, setting and emotional effects. That could help identify why some experiences become sources of growth while others lead to fear, disruption or continuing distress.

Research findings are available online in the journal PLOS One.

The original story "Unusual visions and sensations are often meaningful and positive over time" is published in The Brighter Side of News.

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