This Mysterious State of Consciousness Can Trigger Pure Ecstasy—But It Comes With a Cost

3 min readA seizure is distressing. But a few people who experience epileptic seizures report a condition called ecstatic epilepsy.Such seizures, which may start with a characteristic warning sign called an epileptic aura, are still a mystery.However, scientists are learning more. An aura may be a warning sign of a seizure. Certain parts of the brain, such as a dysfunctional temporal lobe or anterior insula, may be involved.A small percentage of people with epilepsy experience a state of “oneness” with the world just before a seizure. The rare condition is called ecstatic epilepsy, and the altered state of consciousness patients experience just before a seizure can be life changing; according to some researchers, it could even explain profound religious experiences.Scientists don’t yet understand where ecstatic seizures come from, but they do have some knowledge of epilepsy in general, which is a condition that causes an electrical storm in the brain. Occasionally, patients’ neurons will rapidly misfire, which overwhelms the brain and causes seizures. One of many types of the disorder, ecstatic epilepsy is characterized by a warning sign called an epileptic aura, followed by a focal seizure that affects a localized area in the brain.Not to be confused with the spiritual term for energy, epileptic auras are brief sensory experiences—such as visual hallucinations or feelings of déjà vu—that occur moments before a seizure. Ecstatic auras in particular are moments of pure ecstasy; patients experience brief, yet overwhelming feelings of heightened self-awareness and positivity.Experts are getting closer to understanding where exactly these ecstatic experiences originate from.Auras may be learned sensory warning signals, according to a 2024 study published in the journal Scientific Reports, in which researchers created an animal model to study auras. The team gave mice light and sound cues along with electrically induced seizures. Eventually, the animals froze with the cues alone. This behavior suggested that the mice were anticipating at least some pre-seizure sensations and that these sensations could potentially be warning signals of a seizure.Researchers studying epilepsy generally point to a dysfunctional temporal lobe, the region of your brain responsible for functions like memory formation and sensory processing, as the culprit for ecstatic epilepsy. Other recent studies suspect the anterior insula—a small, poorly understood region of the brain related to emotional processing—may be involved.For example, a 2021 study published in the journal Annals of Neurology showed that electrically stimulating the anterior insula can trigger an ecstatic aura, though the procedure is invasive and typically used to identify the origin of a patient’s epilepsy before surgery. However, the authors note that not everyone reaches an ecstatic experience through stimulating the region.Meanwhile, another 2021 paper published in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior Reports proposes the hypothalamus—which is located near the pituitary gland and responsible for maintaining things like internal temperature and blood sugar—could be related to ecstatic epilepsy.The condition’s origins may be a mystery, but the feelings it can create are palpable. Some patients report that their ecstatic auras feel “mystical” and have had a transformative effect on their lives, according to Fabienne Picard, MD, a French-Swiss neurologist who studies the rare form of epilepsy.For example, one patient says she no longer fears death because of the ecstatic states, Picard explains on the podcast Where the Wild Thoughts Are: Conversations in Science and Beyond. Another patient told Picard that her ecstatic auras made her more confident because she understood that “there is something greater than us.”Picard explains in an email that these “awakening experience[s]” could be due to a momentary slip of the brain’s filter. She says humans have become increasingly good at predicting our environments, but ecstatic auras may interrupt that process, stripping away our preconceived notions and revealing a “direct perception” of the world.For some patients, the feelings they experience are so profound that they’re hesitant to receive treatment to stop the seizures. However, these brief moments of serenity are often followed by a loss of consciousness or a convulsive seizure, which can be distressing and force patients to seek intervention. In other words, the short-lived bliss doesn’t outweigh the eventual toll on the body and mind.This story has reporting from Emma Frederickson and Manasee Wagh