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May 5, 2023 · Ego death is the realization that you are not your ego or sense of self, but rather a spiritual being. Learn what ego death means, how it happens, what stages you may go through, and how to achieve it with spiritual practices or psychedelics.
- Overview
- History of Ego Death
- Signs of Ego Death
- What Triggers Ego Death?
- Positive Benefits of Ego Death
- Potential Pitfalls of Ego Death
- A Word From Verywell
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Ego death, also known as ego dissolution, is a phenomenon commonly linked with the use of psychedelics. It's described by people who have experienced it as a feeling of losing one's self. It is termed so because it has been reported as feeling like a form of dying in which one lets go of their sense of self and identity.
Psychedelics that have triggered ego death include LSD, psilocybin, and ketamine. Words that have been used to describe the experience include eye-opening, cathartic, blissful, and scary. Understanding what one means when one refers to the ego is crucial to understand ego death better.
The ego is your self-identity. It is determined by how you view yourself. More than you may realize, your ego determines how you perceive and go through the world. It determines how you interact with others and the degree of your self-esteem.
Now that you understand what your ego is, you can view ego death as the realization that it holds significantly less importance than most people place on it. Visualize your ego as a deck of cards built into a tower and ego death as the collapse of this tower.
While the premise of ego death may seem terrifying, it may surprise you that people seek out the experience of "ego death."
The history of ego death as an idea can actually be traced to centuries-old religious and spiritual practices, such as Zen Buddhism, as a method of communion with the universe or a given deity. In more recent decades it has also come to be associated with psychedelic use. People turn to recreational psychedelic use for one of many reasons, one of which is phenomena like ego death.
Ego death is a highly personal experience. People who have experienced it share sentiments like feeling they lost themselves or feeling like they were one with the universe.
In a 2020 study into the link between glutamate use and ego death, researchers observed that higher levels of glutamate in the medial prefrontal cortical resulted in a negative experience of ego death, while lower levels in hippocampal glutamate were associated with a positive experience of ego death.
Although it's often linked with psychedelic use, other things can bring on ego death. Ego death may either be induced by psychedelic use or entering a deep meditative state. Other life-altering experiences like near-death experiences and childbirth have also been linked to experiences akin to ego death.
Spiritual people believe it can be conjured by your mind alone by entering a deeply meditative state. For Buddhists, the phenomenon is described as enlightenment. For Sufi Muslims, it's called Fana, which is defined as the passing away of self. It translates to "Die in God." For Sufi Muslims, Fana is achieved by constantly reflecting upon the qualities of God.
Improved Well-Being
In a 2022 study into psychedelic use and the role ego death and connectedness play on your mental well-being, researchers found that there are potentially beneficial therapeutic effects, including improved psychological well-being. This is especially true across several mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder. Researchers also suggested that isolation and being overly self-focused, which are at the opposite ends of the scale of ego death and connectedness, may be linked with mental suffering.
Default Mode Network
Research shows a link between your ego and sense of self with your default mode network (DMN). The DMN is thought to be responsible for many things, including ego, emotion, morality, and empathy. How you view yourself and how much value you place on your sense of self and your self-identity all culminate in forming your ego. Some people regard the ego as a lens through which they view the world. People who argue for the benefits of ego death suggest that this lens is often restrictive. So, in turn, they believe that ego death serves to remove these restrictions. Where ego death is triggered by psychedelic use, there appears to be a dulling in the activity in your DMN, which is thought to possibly trigger ego death.
While ego death can be a potentially blissful experience, it can also be a terrifying experience. People react uniquely to psychedelics. Factors such as a history of drug use, gender, age, and other environmental factors all come into play in determining your psychedelic experience.
It's possible to have negative reactions to psychedelic use. For instance, you might experience the following:
•Nausea
•Sleep problems
•Dry mouth
•Sweating
Ego death is undoubtedly a dynamic experience. However, whether this is good or harmful to you has long been a topic of conversation amongst psychedelic experts and enthusiasts. It's crucial to note that the recreational use of substances such as psychedelics can be accompanied by many unpleasant and potentially fatal side effects.
7 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
1.Kałużna A, Schlosser M, Gulliksen Craste E, Stroud J, Cooke J. Being no one, being One: The role of ego-dissolution and connectedness in the therapeutic effects of psychedelic experience. JPS. 2022;6(2):111-136.
2.Harvard Library. Timothy Leary’s legacy and the rebirth of psychedelic research
3.Mason NL, Kuypers KPC, Müller F, et al. Me, myself, bye: regional alterations in glutamate and the experience of ego dissolution with psilocybin. Neuropsychopharmacol. 2020;45(12):2003-2011.
Ego death is a phenomenon of losing one's sense of self and identity, often triggered by psychedelics or meditation. Learn about its history, signs, potential benefits, and pitfalls for mental health and well-being.
Feb 16, 2023 · What Is Ego Death? 3 Stages of Ego Death Experiences. Plenty of people through the ages claim to have undergone experiences in which they totally lost their sense of self-identity. Some who’ve experienced ego death describe it as positive and life-changing, while others have insisted it was terrifying and destabilizing. Learn more about what ...
Ego death is a complete loss of subjective self-identity. Ego Death may also refer to: Ego Death (album), by the Internet, 2015. "Ego Death" (song), by Ty Dolla Sign featuring Kanye West, FKA Twigs, and Skrillex, 2020. "Ego Death", a song by Alien Faktor from the 1995 album Desolate. "Ego Death", a song by Busdriver from the 2014 album Perfect ...
Apr 13, 2024 · An “ego death” or ego dissolution refers to a profound, intense and transformational experience where a person’s sense of self or personal identity dissolves or is temporarily lost.
Sep 23, 2019 · Ego death is the realisation that our self-identity is only a perception and not a reality. It is a state of consciousness that can be achieved through various methods, such as meditation, yoga, or psychedelics. Learn the signs of ego death and how to embrace your true nature.
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May 10, 2023 · Ego death is the experience of temporarily transcending the ego, self, or personal identity. This experience is the most mind-bending, awakening, awe-inspiring, peaceful, and unconditionally loving experience you could ever have.
