I have observed that it seems to take a minimum of seven years for most NDErs to integrate the aftereffects. Although these cannot be faked, an individual can delay the onset of them or deny their existence. Seven major elements comprise the universal pattern:
Unconditional Love - NDErs perceive themselves as equally and fully loving of each and all, openly generous, excited about the potential and wonder of each person they see. Confused family members tend to regard this sudden switch in behavior as oddly threatening, as if their loved one had become aloof, un-responsive, even uncaring or unloving.
Lack of Boundaries - Familiar codes of conduct can lose relevance or disappear altogether as unlimited avenues of interest and inquiry take priority. This new frame of reference can infuse NDErs with such an accepting nature that they can and do display childlike naivety. With the fading of previous norms and standards, basic cautions and discernments can also fade.
Timelessness - Most NDErs begin to "flow" with natural shift of time, rejecting locks and schedules as they exhibit a heightened awareness of the present moment and the importance of "now." They are easily distracted and can appear "spacey" until they readjust to the demands of daily routines.
The Psychic - Extrasensory perception and various types of psychic phenomena become normal and ordinary in the lives of NDErs. A person's religious beliefs do not prevent this expansion of faculties or enlargements of perceptual range. This can frighten the unprepared and be misconstrued as "the devil's work" when it is actually more akin to "gifts of the spirit."
Reality Switches - Hard-driving achievers and materialists can transform into easy-going philosophers; but, by the same token, those once more relaxed or uncommitted can become energetic "movers and shakers," determined to make a difference in the world. Switches seem to depend more on what is "needed" to round out the individual's growth than on any uniform result.
The Soul as Self - Most come to recognize themselves as an immortal soul currently resident within material form so lessons can be learned while sojourning in the Earth realm. They know they are not their body; it is a "jacket" they wear. The majority develop an interest in reincarnation, some accept it as valid.
Modes of Communications - What was once foreign becomes familiar, what was once familiar becomes foreign. Rationale of any kind tends to lose its logic as NDErs begin to think more abstractly and in grandiose terms. New ways of using language, even whole new vocabularies, emerge.
Within some households, relatives are so impressed by what they witness with their loved one that they too change, making the NDE a "shared" event. In other families, though, the response is so negative that alienation, separation, or divorce results. The situation with children, who undergo the same aftereffects as adults, can be doubly challenging, since they lack the ability to speak up for themselves, negotiate, or seek alternatives.
Basing the degree of an individual's transformation solely on before and after contrasts can distort or mask deeper issues that may eventually undermine the best of intentions - for researchers as well as NDErs.