Near death experiences are a phenomenon that thankfully not everybody really gets to experience. They're fascinating anomalies of science because they are impossible to explain and are different for each person.
The trauma surrounding the near-death-experience, though, stays present and strong well after the fact. It can be difficult to move on with one's life after the emotional scarring. Trigger warnings: violence, depression/suicide, blood, death.
u/lifeandtimes89 asked:
People who have had a near death experience, what did you experience?
Here were some of the answers.
It's The Calm
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Almost drowned as a kid. About 1 minute of sheer panic followed by an eerie sense of calm. I just remember thinking to myself "Well, I'm gonna die" while looking up at the lights/people above the water. Next thing I remember I was puking water out on the side of the pool.
A Choir Of Voices
I had a large tumor that eventually forced me to get a hysterectomy. It was discovered after (pardon the graphic description) large pieces of my innards began to come out. I was weak and losing a lot of blood and eventually lost consciousness. While out, I heard a chorus of voices, beckoning me to let go. It was very tempting, very pleasant. But I forced myself to "swim" back to reality and awaken in the emergency room. I could still hear the voices, faintly. I think the most interesting part was the absolute knowledge I had afterwards that I had to eat more vegetable soup. That homemade vegetable soup was what my body would be needing. So I made it a lot. It's been 22 years and I'm fairly healthy for my age, knock wood. That's as close as I've gotten to an NDE.
Dang Cats
I was asleep and was woken up to my neighbor pounding on the door. He told me there was a fire and I had to get out.
Let me tell you my emergency plan had one step on it: the cat carrier is always clean and available. My first cat went in the carrier fine, and sat in it while I retrieved his sister. I had to chase my second cat and she wouldn't go in. I finally get the cats wrangled (about three minutes) and I open my front door to pitch black. It felt like I had all of the oxygen sucked from my lungs. My eyes were burning, my throat was burning. If there was still electricity in the building it had cut out or the smoke was so thick and dark I couldn't see.
I felt my way down the hall to the stairs. I couldn't breathe anymore and I fell down. I knew there were firefighters outside because I could hear them and I tried to scream for help, but I couldn't even inhale. I realized that no help was coming at all and stood back up and somehow powered my way out of the building. There's a gap in my memory between falling and stumbling outside with the sweet embrace of fresh air.
I asked some random guy if he had any water and he gave me his half-drank bottle. I chugged it and called my family to pick me up at 2 AM. I got out with the clothes on my back and my cats. I vomited up black for days. I coughed and sneezed up more black stuff. I'm wheezing non stop but I made it out. I'm living in my aunt's basement but I have cried happy tears every day I have my kitties.
Apocalypse, Nowish
I was visiting Chernobyl on a small day trip from Kiev. Even though it was illegal the guide let us go inside one of the huge apartment complexes (around 20-25 floors). We all went to the roof top to get the full view of the area, and the guide told us we could check out some of the abandoned apartments on the way down if we wanted to. The majority of the group went inside the first apartment on the way down, but I thought I'd skip a few floors and go in one by myself. I went down to the 18th floor and inside an apartment. It was very dark inside and a lot of abandoned stuff on the floor. Old family photos and torn dolls, it was a bit creepy. I continued into another room, but it was too dark to see anything, so while walking I took out my phone and turned on the flashlight. As I turned it on I was just about to step into an open elevator shaft going 18 floors down. I was literally 1 step from what would have been my dead. I immediately stepped back and I felt an intense adrenaline rush. As scary as it was, I actually enjoyed the feeling, and I still get shivers down my spine just thinking about what happened.
The Farmer In The Ditch
One time while I was driving down an old curvy backroad I came real close to biting it. We were going up a hill in a small car, doing about 60-70 and when we came up over the top there was a semi truck in my lane passing a car. I had like 2 seconds to get out of his way or he would've hit me head on. Had to swerve into the ditch and slam on breaks, if I didn't react as fast as I did I probably wouldn't be here now. We were fine but I just about pooed myself when that happened. Felt unreal.
Awooooooo
15y/o brother actually died for half an hour, he has a weird named condition called Wolf White syndrome, he had woke up one morning complained of a headache and just dropped, his heart had stopped and his dad (my step dad) did cpr as best he could until the ambulance arrive.
He was put into a medically induced coma for a week then woken up, practically had no idea what happened, he's still being monitored and has regular check ups (since this happened In May) next week i believe he is going to London to see a specialist and then have a pacemaker fitted.
I asked him if he dreamt or experienced anything during his time out of it, and he said there was nothing, it was just dark.
Park Time
After fainting one time I clearly saw my self jogging during a sunset. There were green hills around me and a tree in the distance. It looked like a park but I was jogging towards the sun which was extremely bright ! To the point that I couldn't see ahead of me. Thing is this place doesn't exist because were I'm from it's a desert area so theres not many green areas. When I woke up I was in the hospital with a bunch of nurses around me asking if I knew my name, how old I was, etc. After I regained consciousness I realized I was jogging towards the light. I told my mom and close friends and they freaked out. It hasn't happened since then.
That Was One Annoyed Friend
I don't actually remember this happening, but I have been told by family that it did indeed happen.
I was a baby, maybe 1 1/2 years old or 2 years old. My parents are not home, and my granny is watching me and my brother (who is 3 years older than me). My brother has a friend over for a visit, who we will call David.
My granny was not that old at the time probably in her early 60s, but she was very kind of "hands off" when watching us. Meaning she watched TV and let us play.
The house we lived in at the time was split into different rooms, none of that open space, kitchen/living room thing. So granny was in the living room and us kids where in the kitchen. And guess I was being annoying or something or at least annoyed David. So when my brother had to go to the toilet, our granny took him out there and did their business.
Meanwhile, I was left unsupervised with David. No one really knows what happened, because I don't remember, So this part is how my granny has told it. Her and my brother come out of the toilet and David and I are not there. My granny thinks nothing of it yet, and just calls for us, we don't respond. She then walks around the house looking for us, with my brother close behind her. She finds me and David in the laundry room, David is on top of me, strangling me. According to my granny she flung David off me, and I was blue and unconscious. She did CPR on me. (She says everything else happened in kind of a blur, but she called my parents, and told them to get a hold of David's parents to come pick him up, because he did 'something') My parents and David's parents show up at around the same time, I'm conscious again. And my dad is PISSED when he hears what happened.
From what I've been told my dad gave David's parents a verbal beating and we never saw them again. I was also taken to the hospital to get checked up, David didn't do any real damage because I wasn't unconscious for long enough and he wasn't strong enough to actually kill me.
Close To The End
in 2016 my appendix burst. I didnt know that it did, I was suffering really bad stomach pain. The pain started about 3 days before it got bad. I thought I was just getting sick. Well fast forward 3 days and I'm in actual hell suffering from nausea and insane stomach pain.
My bf was at work so I called him and he called an ambulance to pick me up. The ambulance never came. So my mom (who is a nurse) picked me up and took me to the doctor. At this point my skin was yellow. The doctor gave me some nausea medication. I went back home and when my bf finally got back from work he rushed me to the hospital. Mind you at this point we still didn't know it was a burst appendix. I was sitting in the waiting room for way to long, so my bf takes me to another hospital where they promptly took me in. One of the doctors or what ever said they wished I had come sooner. And at this point I'm laying on the hospital bed, Really drugged up because of the pain. It didn't hit me until I had surgery and was at home, that him saying he wished I came in sooner meant that I was in pretty bad shape. Scary stuff. My appendix was black.
It's A Mold Thing
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When I was I think 4, I would complain a lot that something was sore, so my mom would give me some Advil. I had an allergic reaction to that Advil, like I couldn't breathe, and as far as I know, that was the first time my mom ever had to call 911. We still didn't know what I was allergic to yet, because my reactions were slightly delayed, so, what do you know, I ask for more Advil the very next day. Wtf 4 year old me. My mom gives it to me, same reaction,. called 911 again. So for 8 years, everyone thought I was deathly allergic to Advil, Aspirin, those types of medicines. Turns out, I'm not allergic to Advil at all.
The bottle of Advil my mom had been given me was one she bought, and didn't throw away when they recalled all the Advil bottles. Turns out, I'm ACTUALLY deathly allergic to mold. The Advil was moldy. That's why it was recalled. Keep in mind that these were not the only reactions I had that I told you about here. I think there was actually 4 or 5 reactions in total. Guys, when something gets recalled, throw it away.