Mystical Experience in Freediving
Authors: Olga Mitina, Mir Mirsaidov, Natalia Molchanova, Andy Tutrin
DOI / Source: n/a
Date: n/a
Reading level: Intermediate
Why This Matters for Freedivers
Some divers report “strange” or deeply meaningful experiences at depth (often around 40–50 m), and they usually keep quiet because it sounds too weird to explain. This paper tries to treat those stories seriously and asks: are these experiences real and measurable, and do they relate to mindset, safety, training style, and how we handle discomfort during breath-hold?
Synopsis
Freediving isn’t only about lungs, fins, and equalisation. Many divers also talk about moments that feel bigger than sport: a sudden calm, a sense of unity, timelessness, or a powerful emotional “reset” that’s hard to describe afterward. These experiences are often brushed off as exaggeration, imagination, or “narcosis talk.” The authors of this draft preprint argue that it’s worth looking closer—because similar experiences have been studied in psychology for decades under the label mystical experience.
Their main idea is simple: at depth, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (CO₂) rises, and CO₂ can have narcotic effects. Combine that with the classic freediving ingredients—quiet water, intense focus, letting go, and a strong “set and setting” (feeling safe, supported, and open)—and you may create conditions where unusual states of consciousness can occur. The authors connect this to earlier work on altered states from breathing gas mixtures, and they also discuss (more speculatively) whether biological compounds linked to hypoxia-related brain protection might play a role.
To test whether “mystical experience in freediving” is just random storytelling or something measurable, they ran an anonymous online survey using the MEQ30 (Mystical Experience Questionnaire), a well-known tool used in research on psychedelics, meditation, and religious experiences. The survey attracted hundreds of freedivers in two languages. The authors then used statistical methods (confirmatory factor analysis) to check whether freedivers’ responses fit the same underlying pattern seen in other contexts.
Their key claim: yes—the same basic structure shows up. In other words, when freedivers describe these experiences, their answers cluster in a way that looks like the established “mystical experience” framework (things like unity, sacredness, timelessness, and ineffability—“I can’t put it into words”). They also discuss why these experiences might be more likely in divers who are calm and process-focused, and less likely when someone is highly goal-fixated or tense. The paper finishes by proposing future research directions (including safer, controlled testing ideas) and notes that any practical “applications” would need care, ethics, and strong safety boundaries.
Abstract
This draft preprint explores reports from breath-hold freedivers describing unusual, highly meaningful states of consciousness sometimes occurring during deep dives. The authors propose that deep-water conditions—especially elevated partial pressure of endogenous CO₂, combined with a calm mindset and a supportive setting—may contribute to experiences resembling those described in psychological research as “mystical experience.” To test whether such experiences can be measured in a structured way, an anonymous online survey of freedivers was conducted using the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30) in two languages. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess whether freedivers’ responses fit the established MEQ30 factor structure. The authors report that the MEQ30 framework is applicable in freediving and that mystical-type experiences appear to occur across a spectrum among respondents, from low to high intensity. The paper discusses potential moderators such as goal-fixation versus calm openness, outlines limitations (including self-selection bias and lack of demographic data), and proposes future research directions, including safer controlled approaches to investigating altered states in freediving and possible biological correlates.