A note on anesthetically-induced frightening "near-death experiences".
Journal of Near-Death Studies January 1, 1996 K. Ring
A frightening type of near-death experience (NDE) called the "meaningless void," where a person feels existence is an illusion or cruel joke and nothing has inherent meaning, is more common after anesthetic use and among women. Evidence from medical studies of reactions to nitrous oxide supports both patterns. The author argues this experience, despite feeling real and having lasting effects, is best understood as a drug-triggered emergence reaction rather than a genuine NDE.