Phenomenology of felt presence across degrees of psychosis-risk and spirituality

Background Felt presence (FP) involves sensing another social entity nearby without clear, corresponding evidence. Characteristics of FP depend on context. Previous work suggests FP is meaningful and welcomed in spiritual practice, but in psychotic-like states, FPs are intrusive, distressing, and intense. However, real-world contexts are rarely so discrete.Methods A total of 337 participants completed an anonymous online survey with validated measures of FP, spirituality, and psychosis-risk.Results Both psychosis-risk and spirituality are associated with more frequent, distressing, and vivid FP experiences. Unexpectedly, positive feelings during FP were more closely linked with psychosis-risk than spirituality.Discussion Though FP is relatively common in the general population, qualities of the experience depend on context. Multiple factors (including spirituality and psychosis-risk) appear to play a role in characterizing FP but the overlap across contexts is under-studied. Specifically, the possibility that spirituality intensifies distress and minimizes positive aspects of FP among individuals at increased risk for psychosis merits further study.