One of life's greatest mysteries is death. Is that ironic? Humans spend so much time wondering about what happens after we draw our last breath, rather than focusing on using the breath we have left. It maybe morbid but the curiosity is normal. And it seems that there are several people out there who say they can explain what it feels like to be dead or near dead and then return. Now whether or not that is the mind playing tricks or truth, we'll never know. But it's still fascinating to decipher.
Redditror u/Aidanmartin3 wanted to hear from the people who have returned from the light by asking.... Redditors who were pronounced dead and resuscitated, what did you go through mentally while being pronounced dead?I'm Awake
David Dore Hello GIF by Sick Animation
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I don't remember anything from the whole day. It happened one afternoon. Only thing I remember is waking in the hospital two days later to a surprised nurse. Turns out they thought I was going to be in a coma.
Massive trauma...
I was in a motorbike accident in 2013. It eventually resulted in internal bleeding from damage to my spleen and liver (plus more - I was pretty messed up. Just the spleen was really bleeding though). I ended up with 13 units added to me over multiple transfusions.
I had a few small incision surgeries to try to stop the bleeding before they really opened me up. The morning I was supposed to have a big surgery I was waiting in the ICU.
I am told that I "coded" one morning. Effectively I was on the edge of death and my heart stopped. It was definitely not so far as to be pronounced dead but I guess it was closer than most people prefer.
Between physical trauma, massive blood loss, and massive-er pain killers my memory of the time in the ICU is spotty at best. I have absolutely no memory of coding. It isn't very exciting from my prospective, but my brother says it was pretty intense for everyone else in the room.
Luckily I have a totally normal life now. If I'm wearing jeans and a t-shirt all my scars are hidden and no one knows any different. In the pool, there are a lot of scars to see. Kids stare. It doesn't bother me.
Thanks to all the medical staff out there that do so much to keep people like me alive!!!
A Long Nap
I wasn't actually pronounced dead, I was in a coma on life support. I was drugged at a bar and overdosed on the drug. I don't really remember much but I know I walked home from the har and my sister said when I got there I immediately fell down and wasn't waking up. She rushed me to the hospital and said I wasn't breathing and my lips were blue when I got there. I was immediately put on machines and miraculously woke up about 24 hours later.
The thing is, I have zero memory and it didn't feel like that long. It was like waking up from a nap when I did wake up and I didn't understand what the deal was when my friend ran out of the room like "she's awake! Get in here!". To this day, my near death is a huge disappointment. I didn't have any dreams, I didn't get to see any dead relatives, I didn't meet God or any Angels, nor my spirit guide. It was just a $12,000 nap.
Going Black
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I got hit by a car. I could still see with my eye that didn't have blood in it. I could hear all the commotion.
I felt getting forced into my back and then CPR. I felt my first heartbeat and then blood flowing through my body and at that point I felt all the pain took a deep breath and then everything went black.
3 Days Later
My buddy had heart surgery last year that got complicated, to the point where it took about triple the time it was supposed to. (He has spoken at length with me about the experience because it was so traumatic.) He did require resuscitation from a full arrest mid-surgery, which sadly (fortunately?) he does not remember.
What he does slightly remember, is the THREE DAYS of post-surgical psychosis as the specific cocktail of sedation played poorly with his personal brain chemistry.
For him it was a relentless stream of horrible hallucinations, demons, fighting monsters, quicksand, carnivorous hospital beds, being swallowed by the orderlies who morphed into tentacle monsters, pulling out his own Foley catheter while it was still inflated, all sorts of terrible, horrible memories he wish he could erase.
So if he even remembered specifically the being dead portion of the program, it is unlikely that would even compare to the subsequent 3 days of his life.
"widowmaker"
I had a "widowmaker" heart attack. If my GF hadn't been there and acted quickly, I'd be dead. But she administered CPR and the ambulance got there fast and revived me with the defibrillator paddles. Got to the hospital and was given an emergency stent and stabilized. But I was technically dead for 4 1/2 minutes. The doctors told my family and GF that I'd most likely remain in a coma due to how long I was gone.
Then shortly after I woke up. Super out of it. I was looking around trying to figure out what happened and I guess some change in my vitals prompted a nurse to come check on me. She saw me awake and looking at her and said something to the effect of, "Oh crap wow, okay" and went and got a doctor.
They explained everything as they were extubating me. (Which sucks, 1/10 do not recommend).
I was really fuzzy and confused for a few days, so this is as accurate as I can remember it. Zero memory from feeling fine the morning of the heart attack, to coming to in the hospital.
Cheese or Cool Ranch?
Yea they told me i was dead for 3 minutes, i remember those clips of people saying they experienced some kind of near-afterlife, but for me it was like sleeping, i woke up, they told me how i almost died, i said oh yeah? they explained a bunch of stuff and then offered me a grilled cheese... I had Doritos too. 10/10 would die again, it's just nothingness, not scary at all.
Edit : guys please I don't need rewards save your money, there's a lot of comments here, and people seem to have fear of being nothing, and that's ok i would have too but it's not really like that, you don't have to DO anything, it's just an absence of all things, no thoughts, no fears, just absolute zero. much deeper than a dreamless sleep, more like anaesthesia.
You're around and doin' things, and then you wake up, somewhere else, confused as all like no time at all has passed, kind of like that long stretch of time before you were born, remember that? yeah neither do I, you had nothing to fear then did you? it will be ok, just enjoy your time while you're here and give people you love BIG hugs even if your dad doesn't want one and is pretending to be a tough guy with no emotion (give him an even bigger hug).
A Hard Kick
worlds funniest fails GIF by Fox TV
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Died from an overdose for a few minutes.
There really wasn't anything. Just blackness and a vague lapse of time. It was almost like waking up from a crappy night's rest and feeling like a horse had kicked me in the chest.
Floaters
Anaphylactic reaction to an already deadly Irukandji jellyfish sting. I coded. Saw this white light and could see my myself "floating upwards" saw my family and the drs and nurses who were working on me. Came back and was in intense pain.
Stay Still
I was pronounced dead but never resuscitated I think it might be why my family freaks out whenever I move something in the house.
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Real life contains the scariest horrors you could ask for. So aren't we all living in a horror movie, in a way? At least, these people sure freakin' were.
MisterSnowman69 asked: What was a moment in your life that felt like a horror movie scene?
In the words of the legendary Mary Vivian Pierce in the film Pink Flamingos, “Murder merely relieves tension”. I’m sure the following Redditors felt differently.
Nothing scarier than the woods at night.
Went into a real deep woods hike for only the second time in my life.
My gps broke and had to rely on my compass. Got turned around a few times because I couldn't remember the direction I came from, and it was getting dark. Lost the trail way.
But the woods are weirdly silent in the dark and alone.
It was around 2am by the time I found the trailhead.
Darn foxes.
the simpsons react GIFGiphyMy friend and I got lost late on one foggy night in the Italian countryside. There were rats all over and every once in a while we heard someone scream.
I've never been more sure I was about to get murdered than I was that night.
It was probably a red fox that was screaming.
Could've also been a lynx, but they are much rarer in Italy.
At least she wasn’t speaking in tongues.
My mom is quite the sleep talker, but it's usually pretty short and incoherent when it happens. One night as a teenager, I woke up to her scream-yelling the Hail Mary prayer (my bedroom was across the house and upstairs).
Difficult to get back to sleep after that one.
Sometimes scary sh*t ends up just being funny coincidences. Super funny. Right?
Don’t give them any ideas.
I was exploring an abandoned mental asylum and then got the scare of my life when a scary looking person inside one of the rooms was just staring at me without moving. Turns out some joker had left a cardboard cutout there.
And now I have plans this weekend... Just need to find a couple of cardboard cutouts and to break into the local abandoned asylum.
Don’t you hate when that happens?
Evil Dead Horror GIF by Coolidge Corner TheatreGiphyI was driving home on backcountry roads at midnight in heavy fog. Like can't see 10 feet in front of you thick. Suddenly I see an all-white silhouette running in front of the car. Every hair on my body stood up. I immediately think "oh god, oh f*ck, it's a f*cking woman in white, I'm gonna f*cking die"
Nope just a drunk who dove into the ditch.
Gotta love paranoia.
When I was about 12, my parents went out for dinner leaving me home alone. We lived out in the country, on a private road with only three other houses, surrounded by cow fields and wooded areas.
I went into the the kitchen and glanced out the window towards the trees and there in the fading light I could see a person walking slowly through the woods. They were wearing all black, moving slowly and appeared to pause behind trees. My heart started pounding so hard in my ears I couldn't hear anything else and I was weak and shaky from fear. I froze and just watched them. Would they come to the house? Where were they going?
This was before cell phones but I suddenly remembered my mom had left the number of the restaurant by the living room phone. Slowly, I made my way towards the living room, trying to watch this stranger in the woods.
Just as I entered the living room, all the lights in the entire house went out. By this time it was nearly dark outside. I started openly sobbing and in the dark I heard a weird boom like noise. That was it, I ran to my parents room, hid under their bed and sobbed. That's where my mom found me hours later (it felt like).
Well, turns out the stranger in the woods was a stupid cow that had busted through a fence, the lights going out was from an accident a few miles away (hit the power line) and the boom was the pilot light in the gas stove. Man, I have never been that scared in my life though!
I have a lot of questions.
A naked man who was covered in blood chased me across a park at 2 in the morning. I was totally alone. He just wanted money for a bus (????) and luckily nothing bad happened but I thought I was going to die.
But of course, the genuine horrors do exist. And they aren’t scary in a fun horror movie way, they’re actually terrifying because they can happen to anyone.
A scary few seconds.
car chase GIF by Mayans M.C.GiphyI am a "baby" in a car seat in between cousins in backseat. Dad is driving. This is in the 80s and it is my aunt's insistence that I am in this seat even though I am like 5.
A sleeping semi driver is coming over into our lane and there is a cliff on other side. Basically my dad did some amazing driving but semi blew us up. I am uninjured sitting in the seat swinging my legs while everyone is unconscious. They all wake groaning. Dad doesnt wake up.
Long story short just minor scrapes and dad has broken leg. But the crunch of metal and those few seconds/minute of being the only "alive" person was quite fear inducing.
Glad they’re all ok now.
Two days after my now boyfriend told me he liked me he fell from a zip line and broke his back. Almost died. 6 months later he got into a car wreck from a drunk driver - almost died. 6 months after that, he passed out and had to have emergency brain surgery, again, almost died. I now have severe anxiety/separation anxiety/and ptsd. That whole year was a f*cking nightmare
Edit: we're both okay now, the brain injury was almost a year ago. But TBIs take a while to heal so he still has side effects. Thankfully our relationship is still strong; he's physically getting better and I'm healing emotionally too. Lucky for him, the trauma of the injuries has caused him to forget the majority of the pain and memories of those incidents.
ALWAYS wear a helmet.
Driving home from work at 23, listening to my favorite song.
I pull up to a red light, and see this guy on a motorcycle coming up next to me in the other lane. I rolled down my window to compliment his bike when he stops. He doesn't, and runs the red light. He hits a car going at least 55mph. His motorcycle shatters apart, he goes flying, hits the hood of another car, and lands on the ground and rolls into the curb (no helmet). The car he hit with his motorcycle was totaled. I had to step over his body to talk to the police. He was still alive when they got there. I regret not holding his hand. It was just a normal day, and all of a sudden it felt like the rug was pulled from out beneath me. He was only 18.
Edit: The song was Sunny by Boney M., for those curious
What did we learn today, kids? Foxes scream like humans, shadowy figures are usually cows or drunken rednecks, and once again, PLEASE WEAR A HELMET WHEN YOU RIDE ANY KIND OF BIKE.
Scary sh*t surrounds us. But where there is horror, there are heroes. So next time you think you see a scary figure in the woods, know that Bruce Campbell is probably right around the corner
Hypocrisy is everywhere; it's like a disease. And sadly everyone does it. Some of us indulge in smaller doses than others. But some people live their life by it. Like how can you support civil servants, like police, firefighters, etc... yet try to find ways to hide money in order to not pay taxes? Tell me... I'll wait.
Manga...
Hungry Night Court GIF by LaffGiphyItalian moms that say you're too fat then say I'm making grandma cry by not finishing my pasta.
Asian moms too! Not only that if you try to not eat, they make to go containers for you. Oh, sorry I have to leave, RUNS AT LEAST HAVE SOME FRUIT.
Phonies...
Celebrities positioning themselves as champions for social justice while launching a clothing line with no comment on the labor conditions their garments are made in.
Sexy Times...
The Porn Industry
Why is prostitution considered a crime, but it becomes perfectly legal once a camera is put beside them?
I think the first amendment helps with that one. There's been many a supreme-court case about whether porn is protected speech.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...
You can get away with WAY more crap, in general, when you're attractive.
But we all kind of aspire to attractiveness and it's not like it's attractive people's fault, exactly. So what is there to be done?
So true. Money and beauty are treated like virtues and they aren't. They're luck of the draw. It probably helps you to be a better person if people assume that you are gentle and clever just by looking at your face or wallet.
KIDS
GIF by MOODMANGiphyPeople screaming at you if you don't want Kids and Kids are the greatest thing in the World and then turn around and whine how expensive they are and how annoying yadda yadda.
Yeah see... humans are a mess. And too often then not, personal conviction and dignity are just a myth, or a punchline. Double standards have always been a way of life. And many of us have begrudgingly learned to navigate.
Fashion
Fashion Model GIF by NYFW: The ShowsGiphyIf a skinny person wears something out of the ordinary, it's a fashion statement and awesome. It can even just be something like a crop top or overalls.
But God forbid a fat person wear the same thing.
Distractions
The hypocrisy hypocrisy. People love to call it out but rarely notice it on themselves and if they notice it then it's something completely different or a distraction.
That's the worst. I hate that I have to hate that. But if I don't hate it, then the hate will just continue. So, really, my hate comes from my love of an end to hate. So anyone who hates my hate hates love. And we must hate anyone who hates love!
My Morality
My own personal hypocrisy; When I was a lot less well off financially, delivering pizzas trying to get through college, I kept a cup of coins in my car. When a homeless person would approach me for spare change, I gave them the cup. Most of the time it was nearly full, so there was probably 20-30 dollars in there.
Now that I have a good salaried job, even if I've got a few bucks in my wallet, I tend to not even make eye contact anymore. I know it's awful, I know it makes me crappy, but the last 4-5 years have made me a jaded craphead towards people in general. I used to be so hopeful and I wanted to help everyone, and tried to live a life that reflected that.
Now, while my general and political morality is pretty much the same, my personal morality has gotten more grey. I'd jaded, I hate people, I assume the worst of people I used to assume the best of. I don't really care about the strangers around me like I used to, but I still expect everyone else to.
Placing Blame
Victim mentality.
It's so freaking frustrating when it becomes entrenched. "You did this, it's your fault" "you should've known to do x, its your fault" Yeah bro your problems aren't my problems and if all you do is make excuses and blame me for them, it's not going to be my fault when you don't develop as a person and accomplish your dreams. I'm sure they'll find someone to blame though.
In D.C.
Donald Trump Reaction GIF by Election 2016GiphyPoliticians work part time, are given free housing, education, and health care, and exempt from the everyday violence we experience, but refuse to lift a finger to help us.
At this points most people running for a position in the government are only in it for the benefits of being a politician and the amount of money they can embezzle. Well in my country at least.
Just speak a truth and live it. Yes, it maybe hard. But what part of life isn't? Hypocrisy is just lying. Plain and simple. And it's a sin to lie.
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