Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Ego death

Ego death:
What is ego death, what are its consequences, and how can it be facilitated?

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Overview

Ego death is a profound psychological experience that transcends ordinary understanding of selfhood. Imagine a moment where the boundaries of your identity dissolve, leaving you with a sense of unity with the universe. This chapter delves into the nature of ego death, its implications, and the various ways it can be facilitated.

Case scenario Envision Emily, a mother overwhelmed by the demands of family and work. In search of inner peace, she attends a weekend retreat focused on deep meditation and mindfulness practices. During a profound meditation session, Emily experiences ego death, where her individual identity dissolves, and she feels an immense connection to the universe. This spiritual rebirth provides her with a deep sense of tranquility and a new perspective on balancing her life’s responsibilities.

Figure 1. Transcendence through meditation

Ego death challenges conventional perceptions of self, raising important questions about identity, consciousness, and mental health. Understanding ego death is crucial because it can lead to significant psychological transformations, impacting emotional well-being, resilience, and personal growth. However, it also poses risks, such as disorientation and anxiety, making it vital to explore safe and effective ways to facilitate this experience.

Psychological science can provide a framework for understanding ego death through research on consciousness, identity, and mental health. It can identify the benefits and risks associated with ego death, offer evidence-based practices for safely facilitating the experience, and develop therapeutic approaches to integrate the insights gained. Studies in neuroscience and psychology can also help explain the mechanisms behind ego death and its impact on mental health.

Focus questions: 1. What is ego death, and how is it defined in psychological terms? 2. What are the psychological consequences of experiencing ego death? 3. How can meditation, psychedelics, and near-death experiences facilitate ego death? 4. What does scientific research reveal about the neurological and psychological aspects of ego death? 5. What are the ethical considerations and potential risks associated with facilitating ego death?

Historical origins

Understanding the ego

• To conceptualise ego death, we must first understand what is meant by the ego. The concept of the ‘ego’ is not easily defined and has often been challenged by researchers and scientific theorists, although, the notion embodies the idea of the ‘self’ and the individual, which encompasses moral judgement, self perception and interpersonal relations (Loevinger, J. 1979).

Theoretical interpretations of the ego

Allport (1943), in his account of ‘The Ego in Contemporary Psychology', collated many definitions of the ego from the early 18^th Century until the early 20^th century: See Table 1.

Definitions of The Ego throughout history - Table 1

Theory	Theorist(s)	Year(s)	Description
Ego as Knower	Franz Brentano, William James	Brentano (1838-1917), James (1890)	The ego is the subject actively engaging with the universe. This view has been largely abandoned in favour of more practical understandings.
Ego as Object of Knowledge	David Horowitz	Early 20th century	Focuses on how we experience the self through introspection. This approach is limited, revealing only superficial and varied localisations.
Ego as Primitive Selfishness	Max Stirner, Felix Le Dantec	Stirner (1844), Le Dantec (1918)	Argues that humans are inherently selfish, with egoism forming the foundation of social structures. Modern psychology often aligns with this view.
Ego as Dominance-Drive	Not attributed to a particular theorist	Emerged in early to mid-20th century	Sees the ego as the part of personality that demands status and recognition, often linked to dominance and the need for social order.
Ego as a Passive Organisation of Mental Processes	Sigmund Freud	Late 19th to early 20th century	Describes the ego as a passive entity mediating conflicts among the id, superego, and external forces, often resulting in anxiety.
Ego as a Fighter for Ends	William James, Heinz Hartmann	James (late 19th century), Hartmann (mid-20th century)	Views the ego as an active agent striving for mastery and planning, diverging from Freud’s passive ego concept.
Ego as a Behavioural System	Kurt Lewin, Kurt Koffka	Lewin (early to mid-20th century), Koffka (early 20th century)	Considers the ego as a dynamic system within overall behavior, influencing actions when engaged, but not always the driving force.
Ego as the Subjective Organisation of Culture	Muzafer Sherif, Hadley Cantril	Mid-20th century	Integrates psychology with social anthropology, viewing the ego as shaped by social values and cultural influences, emphasising its socialised role.

As evidenced, the ego is a transient concept that is difficult to define as a unilateral idea. Rather, it comprises of many definitions (see Table 1).

• Explain psychoanalytic Theory (Freud) - Ego, Id, and Superego
• explain maslows hierarchy
• explore any other relevant theories

Ego death - what is it?

• Ancient philosophical understandings of ego death were traditionally derived from Eastern religions, including Hinduism and Buddhism, and posit that reducing or eliminating personal desires is crucial for fully benefiting from their practices. This process is sometimes described as the "death of the ego." (Rindfleish, 2007)
• The sense of self, though seemingly permanent, is easily altered. This alteration, known as ego-dissolution, ego-death, or ego-disintegration, results from a reduction in the self-referential awareness that is usually present in normal consciousness. (Wellender, 2022).
• Conclude by getting reader to choose a theory of choice and think about how that relates to their lives, what constitutes the ego in these terms, and reflect on moments of ego dissolution through that lens.

Quiz

Choose your answers and click "Submit":

1 The ego is not defined simply in psychology and refers to multiple factors beyond thoughts and mental processes:

	True
	False

2 Ego death is simply the absence of thought and cognition:

	True
	False

Consequences of Ego Death

Ego death, frequently induced by psychedelics, meditation, or near-death experiences, brings about significant changes in one's reality and perception. This experience involves the dissolution of the personal self, creating a sense of oneness with the universe and blurring the typical boundaries between self and others.

Altered reality and perception

• Ego dissolution, often reported by psychedelic drug users, involves the loss or reduction of the sense of a distinct "self" separate from the world. Neuroscientific research explains this through predictive processing models, which suggest that self-awareness stems from the brain's hierarchical models that create the perception of a stable, unchanging self. This "self" is seen as a cognitive construct, or a "Cartesian fiction" (see Cartesianism), that helps unify and integrate cognitive processes. Although the self-model plays an important role in organizing thoughts and perceptions, it is not a real, enduring entity. Ego dissolution experiences reveal that the self is an illusion, a cognitive function that can be disrupted (Letheby & Garrans, 2017).

Psychological and Emotional Impact

• Reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety
• Enhanced problem solving
• depersonalisation
• spiritual awakening
• Healing and enhanced self understanding

Spiritual and Personal Growth

• spiritual awakening
• Healing and enhanced self understanding
• deeper connectedness

Facilitating Ego Death

Meditation and mindfulness

• Traditional Eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism emphasise the importance of lessening or eliminating individual desires, often referred to as the "death of the ego," to fully benefit from spiritual practices. Facilitating ego death through meditation and mindfulness, the traditional Eastern practices, which aim to diminish the ego, involved techniques such as meditation and mindfulness to quiet the mind and reduce attachment to the self.
• In a modern approach that reflects the Western attitude toward spirituality, the principle of ego death has been adapted to emphasise the acceptance and transformation of the ego, rather than its complete elimination. Interpreting ego death in this way suggests that mindfulness and meditation serve primarily as tools to transform and integrate the existing ego, creating a self-identity that is less attached to the 'self' overall. This shift is seen as undermining traditional Eastern practices and potentially impacting their efficacy in favour of a more individualistic cultural approach to understanding the self and the ego. (Rindfleish, 2007).
• Explain another avenue of mindfulness such as breath work that exhibits ego death.

Psychedelic perspectives

Figure 2. Psilocybin ("magic" mushrooms)

• Explain effects of psychedelics and link in with ego death
• These findings indicate that as the degree of ego-dissolution increases, the symptoms of disorders characterised by a heightened sense of self, such as depression and anxiety, tend to decrease. This supports the hypothesis that the therapeutic effects of psychedelics may be linked to their ability to disrupt repetitive negative self-referenced thought patterns. (Wellander, 2022).
• Find another study example

Near death experience

• Explain near death experiences briefly
• This study investigated the impact of near-death experiences (NDEs) on individuals' self-perception. Researchers surveyed 100 people who had NDEs, evaluating their experiences of ego dissolution and ego inflation through specialized inventories. They discovered that individuals who experienced ego dissolution had higher scores on measures of ego dissolution compared to those for ego inflation. The findings indicated that experiencing a dissolved sense of self was a frequent aspect of NDEs, with stronger links found between ego dissolution and phenomena like out-of-body experiences and feelings of unity. (Martial et al, 2021).
• Include another study

Scientific Perspectives

Neurology in ego death

• Certain strong hallucinogenic drugs can deeply affect our sense of self. These substances, known as classical psychedelics, include LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), and DMT. They work by interacting with a specific brain receptor, the 5-HT2A receptor, which is crucial for our self-perception and understanding of the world. When using these drugs, individuals often experience "ego dissolution," where the distinction between themselves and their environment becomes blurred. This can lead to intense visual hallucinations and a sensation that their self-identity has disintegrated. Studies indicate that these drugs influence brain regions related to self-awareness and introspection, particularly the default mode network (DMN). The DMN, active when we are not focused on external tasks, is involved in self-referential thoughts and memory. Psychedelics decrease DMN activity, which may contribute to the feeling of ego loss. These drugs alter brain function in a way that disrupts usual self-awareness and alters the connections between different brain areas, explaining the dramatic changes in self-experience reported by users. - (Millière. 2017).

• Research on psychedelics has focused on identifying brain areas they affect. Studies have shown that psychedelics like ayahuasca reduce activity in the Default Mode Network (DMN), which is also decreased during deep meditation and experiences of ego-dissolution. Psilocybin, on the other hand, increases connectivity between the DMN and the Task Positive Network, while also reducing the inverse relationship between these areas during meditation. Additionally, psilocybin decreases the coupling between the DMN and the Medial Temporal Lobe, which is linked to dream-like states and depersonalisation disorders. - (Senanayake, 2022)

• This study explored the neural mechanisms behind ego disturbances, particularly ego dissolution, in the context of schizophrenia and psilocybin-induced psychedelic experiences. Conducted with 15 healthy participants using functional MRI scans, the research compared brain activity after administering a saline placebo or 2 mg of psilocybin. The findings revealed that psilocybin-induced ego dissolution is linked to decreased connectivity between the medial temporal lobe and high-level cortical regions, disintegration of the salience network, and reduced interhemispheric communication. These results suggest that the sense of self relies on the normal functioning of these brain networks, offering insights into ego disturbances in both clinical and non-clinical settings. - (Lebedev et al., 2015)

Impact of ego death on mental health

• Ego-dissolution and connectedness can contribute to therapeutic outcomes, but in different ways. Ego-dissolution may serve as a catalyst for breaking down rigid mental structures, allowing for new insights, while connectedness provides a foundation for enduring positive change. (Kałużna. 2022).
• Reduced anxiety
• Reduced depression

Criticisms

• Psychedelic therapies, such as those involving psilocybin, present unique risks that differ from conventional psychiatric treatments. These risks include the potential for profound and unsettling psychological effects, such as a diminished sense of self-importance, profound insights or ineffable knowledge, and intense experiences of unity or encounters with a perceived deeper reality or divine presence. Such experiences can lead to significant and sometimes distressing changes in personality and worldview.
• Variability in individual responses to psychedelics can make outcomes unpredictable.
• The potential for patients to face challenging ethical or existential questions further complicates the therapeutic process. Therefore, the informed consent process for psychedelic therapy needs to be more detailed and tailored to address these specific risks, ensuring that patients fully understand the potential for deep and lasting psychological changes. (Smith & Sisti, 2021).

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Quiz

• Different types of quiz questions are possible; see Quiz

Choose your answers and click "Submit":

1 The ego is not defined simply in psychology and refers to multiple factors beyond thoughts and mental processes:

	True
	False

2 Ego death is simply the absence of thought and cognition:

	True
	False

Conclusion

In summary, ego death is a complex and intricate psychological phenomenon that questions conventional ideas of self-identity. Drawing from ancient philosophical teachings and modern neuroscience, it can be induced through practices like meditation, mindfulness, psychedelics, and has been reported as a consequence of many near death experiences. While ego death offers potential for profound personal growth and therapeutic advantages, it also poses risks to mental health when the environment and dosage is not controlled and monitored, posing substantial risk to health. A more in depth comprehension of its psychological, neurological, and ethical aspects is essential for its effective use in therapy and for safeguarding the well-being of those who experience it.

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See also

• Ayahuasca and the brain (Book chapter, 2024)
• Death and meaning in life (Book Chapter, 2023)
• Ego death (Book chapter, 2023)
• Ego death (Wikipedia)
• Philosophy of self (Wikipedia)

References

Allport, G. W. (1943). The ego in contemporary psychology. Psychological Review, 50(5), 451.https://doi.org/10.1037/h0055375

Kałużna, A., Schlosser, M., Craste, E. G., Stroud, J., & Cooke, J. (2022). Being no one, being One: The role of ego-dissolution and connectedness in the therapeutic effects of psychedelic experience. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 6(2), https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2022.00199.

Lebedev, A. V., Lövdén, M., Rosenthal, G., Feilding, A., Nutt, D. J., & Carhart-Harris, R. L. (2015). Finding the self by losing the self: Neural correlates of ego-dissolution under psilocybin. Human brain mapping, 36(8), 3137–3153. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22833

Letheby, C., & Gerrans, P. (2017). Self unbound: ego dissolution in psychedelic experience. Neuroscience of consciousness, 2017(1), nix016. https://doi.org/10.1093/nc/nix016

Loevinger, J. (1979). The idea of the ego. The Counseling Psychologist, 8(2), 3-5.https://doi.org/10.1177/001100007900800202

Martial, C., Fontaine, G., Gosseries, O., Carhart-Harris, R., Timmermann, C., Laureys, S., & Cassol, H. (2021). Losing the self in near-death experiences: the experience of ego-dissolution. Brain sciences, 11(7), https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11070929

Millière, R. (2017). Looking for the self: phenomenology, neurophysiology and philosophical significance of drug-induced ego dissolution. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 11, 191130. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00245

Rindfleish, J. (2007). The “death of the ego” in East‐meets‐west spirituality: diverse views from prominent authors. Zygon, 42(1), 65-76. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2006.00805.x

Senanayake, R. (2022). From Ego to Death: Validation of the Ego-Dissolution Scale (EDS) (Doctoral dissertation, Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington). https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.20380158

Wellander, K. (2022). Prescribed ego-death: the therapeutic effects found in the psychedelic-Induced absence of self.

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