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People Who Have Been Clinically Dead Share Their Experiences

People Who Have Been Clinically Dead Share Their Experiences

Near death experiences are a pretty popular subject in media. Many books, movies, and television shows have been based on the experiences of those who were clinically dead for a time.

We don't really know a whole lot about what happens to the human consciousness when we die, though.


Redditors shared their near death experiences at the behest of u/Jason_Whorehees:

"Redditors who have been clinically dead, what did you experience in death, if anything?"

Some responses have been edited for content, clarity, or profanity.

*CONTENT WARNING: descriptions of near death experiences, death, and suicide*

40.

My girlfriend is anaphylactic, and it is triggered by a chemical called salicylate (found in pretty much every food). When she was in high school she had her first big reaction, and the school nurses refused to administer her epipen (adrenaline shot) until the ambulance got there. Now obviously, having an anaphylactic reaction doesn't give you a lot of 'waiting time', so by the time the ambulance got to her school she was in pretty bad shape and barely conscious.

The paramedics immediately administered one of her epipens, called the nurses "f*cking tw*ts" and loaded her into the ambulance as her mother arrived. She continued to fade, so they gave her a direct injection of adrenaline this time, still nothing. They give her a second direct injection of adrenaline and this time it hits her about 30 seconds later all at once, and her heart fails. She stops breathing, no pulse, nothing. Dead to the world. For about 2 minutes and 46 seconds she was clinically dead. And the scariest thing is, she saw nothing.

She tells me that when you are losing consciousness you can't tell the difference between waves of drowsiness and when your body actually shuts down. All she saw was the darkness of her eyelids, and it felt like going into an extremely calm sleep where she couldn't hear or feel anything, and she didn't mind it. All despite the fact her mother and the paramedics were screaming at her to keep her eyes open and the ambulance was flying towards the hospital.

She miraculously just came back to life almost 3 minutes later as they were giving her chest compressions, and the cardiologist that assessed her later stated that all the adrenaline in her body was enough to not only stop her heart, but to also restart it with the little help from the paramedic pumping it around. But still do this day, she can't differentiate falling asleep after a long day, and dying.

-tisJosh

39.

Friend of mine described it as deeply relaxing and that she could feel herself drifting away, but was brought back just as she was ready to "leave".

After that, she embraced life and death. She said she doesn't fear death anymore since it was so relaxing to experience.

A_Ron24

38.

My wife and I discussed this at length. 4 years ago, she died twice in 3 months, needing full resuscitation both times. Both were lengthy rescues (one resuscitation was off-and-on for nearly 40 minutes).

I asked her later when she had recovered if she remembered anything at all during the times she was clinically dead. She remembered nothing. Blackness.

No light. No relatives and former pets waiting for her. Just... black. Thankfully, also no pain.

She finally passed 18 months ago, and I hope she felt no pain or worry the final time.

Ed-Zilla

37.

Not mine but the head of my program was in a horrible car accident. She was dead for a few minutes on the scene while paramedics worked on her. She said it was the most amazing feeling she's ever experienced. It was blank black nothing, but that was perfectly fine, and she felt a comfort she can't even explain.

She remembers being angry at the man working on her when she finally came back to her body because she wanted to stay there. She told us she can't wait to experience it again when it's really her turn.

Edit: I'm really pleased this resonated so strongly with so many of you! I wanted to add some detail about her. She's not religious in the slightest, and she actively quashes our ghost stories and sh*t (mortuary students) because she only believes in tangible things, so she fully turned me into a believer.

Felt its important I make a distinction she was very adamant about when telling us this story- she's not advocating suicide. She stressed that she isn't telling us she's trying to reach this place again but that when it was her time she was going to be comfortable embracing it.

foxxykittenn

36.

I coded after surgery. I remember being able to see and hear everything and understand what was happening, but I couldn't physically feel anything. It was deeply unsettling.

Redshirt2386

35.

I drowned and was resuscitated when I was a teenager.

I remember struggling mightily and then, when I was sure there wasn't any hope, a distinct Okay then. I can let go. And from that moment on, there was peace. Total peace. Nothing hurt, I didn't even feel the dying part. I would imagine, for someone who decides upon suicide, the peace started the second they made that choice. It's said that suicide victims often looked happiest/calmest in their final days.

Now that being said: there are other, better ways of obtaining peace that aren't destructive, and I urge anyone reading this who is considering suicide to talk to someone. It is entirely possible to be happy again while alive; you just can't do it without outside help.

wowcoolbeans

34.

I was electrocuted by about 13,800 volts. The doctors say it's likely the first hit stopped my heart and the second one started it (before I was pulled like a lifeless corpse to safety).

I remember experiencing the darkest dark and the most silent silence. I ceased to care that I was dying; time seemed to change, it could have been hours it seemed. It was only about 30 seconds.

I felt as though I was floating and floated toward something that I eventually realized was my body and reality. Upon joining with whatever it was I was floating towards, I became self aware in my body and heard the electricity making horrible noises and knew I was in danger.

From there it was a horribly painful experience where I lost most of my toes due to tissue death and had severe electrical burns on all four limbs. More surgeries than I care to count and seeing the round bone ends of my toes that were freshly amputated still haunts me a little.

EDIT: Thank you everyone for helping me understand something that happened over 12 years ago. I was in the hospital for about a month inpatient, and then for 10 months, daily as an outpatient (basically sent me home for my mental sanity but needed daily attention). I got addicted to pain killers, had to learn to walk again and had to see a pain management therapist.

It was horrible at times but eventually the pain began to subside. I went back to school and became an engineer and I don't think I'd be where I am without this thing happening. Really strange to think that I am in some way grateful now. Also I can't watch horror anymore, Hollywood actually does a very realistic job.

Mr-TeaBag-UT_PE

33.

I was on loads of morphine so it's still really hazy and the fact it happened almost 6 years ago doesn't help the memory, but I'll try to recollect, as accurately I can, what happened and what I experienced.

I had appendicitis and my foster parents at the time didn't take me to the hospital until 2, almost 3 days after it had burst. I should've been dead well before they took me, even the doctors called it a miracle. Well, I died while waiting for surgery.

I had to wait for a pediatric surgeon to come in because no one else felt comfortable performing the surgery on a case this bad with a child this size (dumb@sses took me to the adult hospital, not the pediatrics which was 40 mins away. I was 14, 5'3 and weighed 75 pounds soaking wet). So while I was waiting for the surgeon I was in a room with me, the doctor, my two foster parents and my grandmother who is an RN. Like I said, I was really drugged up and couldn't really focus on much and couldn't really do anything.

The monitor I was hooked up to would beep really loudly from time to time and the intervals between beeps started to decrease rapidly. Turns out I wasn't breathing. I was conscious for the most part, I just kept forgetting to breathe. Doctors had to keep nudging me so I wouldn't sleep. I just remember being pissed at this loud beeping that kept me from enjoying a nice slumber.

The doctor had to step out for a second and my grandmother assured him she could look after me for a second. Unfortunately for her, she was out of her mind with rage at my foster parents. She didn't hold anything back. My grandma is a sweet, Mormon Utahn without a rude bone in her body. Well, I heard quite a few F yous, pieces of sh*t, etc. My point is she didn't notice I had passed out until the monitor signaled I had flat lined.

This is the bit where I died and is by far the most vivid part of the experience. I remember being capable of thought but no thoughts were in my head. I can only describe it as being conscious of my spirit but without a body for my thoughts to be processed in. I just kind of existed without feeling, thinking or being anything. I was floating. Honestly at the time it was a great feeling. I don't remember any visions of people, family, places or anything like that. But I felt something wrap around me and comfort me.

Without talking I was assured I was ok, that there was nothing to be worried about, and at that point my thoughts returned. I knew at that moment, without knowing how long I'd be able to keep thinking, that I had to go back. I didn't want to, but knowing that the last thing I'd see before I left mortal life was these two pieces of human trash who had abused me, neglected me, and treated me like a stain that they didn't want to bother trying to clean up, that did it. I wanted to get back to my body, fix my life so I could go back and live with my biological parents and feel loved again.

In that moment that's all I cared about. And then I sort of willed myself back. Doctors had tried to resuscitate me but had failed. Everyone was shocked when I opened my eyes and seeing the tears in my grandma's eyes after thinking she'd lost me, that did it. I fixed my life, I reinvented myself and threw out all my anger, depression, rage and everything else that put me in Brent and Karen's home.

Honestly, the only anger I felt (the burning hatred kind that makes you want to do anything possible to release it) in the last 5ish years since I moved from their home is when I think about them and how they're still fostering youth in custody and probably pulling the same things with those kids. I live about an hour away from where they are now and I have to restrain myself from driving up there, kidnapping those kids and taking them to the authorities with an explanation of why.

The only reason I haven't done that is because I've tried telling the authorities what kind of people they are. I guess the words of a juvenile screw up don't stack up against the lies from people who have practiced this for years.

Anyways, sorry for the rant at the end. I know that wasn't entirely what you'd asked, but it felt good to type out. Thanks OP for asking this question. It's been surprisingly therapeutic talking about this.

Heja_BVB_11

32.

I was dead for a very short period of time, like 30 seconds to a minute. There's a big misconception about it. It's not like sleeping at all. I'll try to explain. There's always a sort of white noise in the back of my mind. It quiets down when I sleep but it's still there. I never noticed it before I died, but I do now. I don't want to romanticize death, but when I was out, it was like this perfect nothingness.

And nothingness is so hard to imagine normally, but once you "experience" it, and they bring you back, part of you wishes you could have stayed. There's no positive feelings there, obviously, but it takes away everything bad too. All your stress, the nightmares, the troubles. All gone. Just nothing exists. It's beautiful in a way. But I'm very much looking forward to a lack of consciousness when I do eventually pass again, and I can honestly say I don't fear death anymore.

thebestjoeever

31.

I don't know what I experienced while I was dead but when I woke back up (so to speak) I remember wanting to experience it permanently.

PlanetaryGenocide

29.

Clinically dead on two separate occasions. I didn't experience any visions or light and I didn't feel anything at all. It was like a switch was flipped and my existence was just shut off. Coming back was another story. Slowly I was able to hear the voices of those around me fading in, and they slowly got louder until I was able to open my eyes. That's it. Nothing spectacular. One second you're here, one second you're not.

TheWiebat

28.

Former co-worker of mine died during heart surgery. I think she was out for 90 seconds or close to it. She wasn't religious or anything. She said that she remembered being in the room and seeing her dead uncle and cousin standing at the far end of the room watching everything going on.

Fun fact: she shared this information during an icebreaker "give us a fun fact about yourself". She didn't remember seeing a light or anything, just seeing her dead relatives at the end of the room.

TheSharkFromJaws

27.

My mother experienced a long corridor with arched door ways, one was open and she said she refused to go in.

She suffered a massive stroke at 27 to from a spinal tap done a week earlier.

amh93

26.

I saw my grandpa. We talked for a while and he said I could go back with him, or stay. I looked down and saw myself in that hospital bed with my brother holding my hand. He felt it turn cold and I never saw him cry that way before. Went back into my body and felt more pain than I knew in my life. Been a year of recovery and I lost most of my memory but I'm happy.

(Skull fracture/traumatic brain injury from heat exhaustion)

Edit: Here's a link with a pic of my brothers reaction when I woke up and when my mom played music for me trying to get me to wake up.

Signifikantotter

25.

I was dead for 6 minutes. I was laying on the gurney and I was getting colder. Somewhere my body started warming up and everything became really calm and peaceful. I was not longer in pain. All the noise from ER just went away. It was really enjoyable. I was thinking about my daughter and I was remembering all the things we had done. Slowly it was just black and nothing. There was no knowledge of anything. I explain it as it was like before I was born.

Then the worst thing in the world is being revived. I starting hearing loud noises, I felt this massive pain. Then there was the nastiest stench ever. The smell was like every dead animal had crawled in my nose. The smell was so bad I started vomiting. I remember the Drs turning me on my side and watching my vomit spray on a nurse. Dying was the most pleasant thing I have ever experienced and being revived the worst.

-dorseta40

24.

I was 19 when I had my first hip replacement surgery (born with a bad hip). The doctor put me under and then all the sudden it was like I was opening my eyes but felt... Nothing.

No pain, no sadness. Nothing.

Apparently I flatlined for 90 seconds due to complications. As I had my eyes 'open' I began to rise out of my body and stand next to it. How freaky is it to see yourself from outside your body? The thing is I never let my left hand let go of my body's left hand.

It felt... Attached

The second I saw the nurse use the (heart starting thing?) I was jolted upright - back in my body.

-Blair_Bubbles

23.

Not really sure what happened and it still freaks me out to this day. May daughter was 4 and developed pneumonia. Her breathing would stop in her sleep so we took her in to the emergency room. She was there for a total of 5 days. For the first 3 days her health kept deteriorating. And on the 3rd day my girlfriend got a call that her mother had collapsed and was taken to the hospital.

She was without oxygen for 20 minutes and was declared brain dead. That night my daughter woke up and asked about grandma. No one had said anything to her or in the room with her. We asked her what did she mean. She told us that grandma came to her in a dream and said it's not your time yet. I'll go for you. Immediately the next day she was almost 100 percent better.

-Mattjaq

22.

Anaphylaxis, wasn't breathing, I considered all the hallucinations I experienced likely due to hypoxic episode until I told my Mom what I saw. A middle aged man who wasn't in scrubs standing still at the end of my bed while all staff were running around and doing their business. I was having a non-verbal conversation with him and he was telling me to calm down, focus on breathing.

He wore a tropical style button down shirt, one of those old school news boys hats and had a very pleasant demeanor. Mom showed me a photo of my grampa that I never had seen before, and it was the guy at the foot of my bed, and he died before I was even born.

Edit: Didn't know this would comfort so many people, just remember not to worry too much about death and remember to enjoy your life while you have it.

-MakeeDru

21.

Overdosed. Flatlined. Didn't see a damn thing. When they hit me with Narcan, I woke up really mad ripping IV's out of my arms, cursing out the poor, amazing staff who saved my life. Good times! 6 years ago now with all that behind me luckily.

-DaddyDollars74

20.

Waking up just pissed as hell. I WANT TO GO BACK TO SLEEP.

I told the medics to f*ck off im going back to sleep and heard the scariest "DO NOT F*CKING GO BACK TO SLEEP," like he meant it with every fiber of his being. So terrifying

I didn't get to go back to sleep...

Edit: so for the record, this was my first time use. I thought it was like cocaine and you do an entire line, (a matchstick head size is enough). I was extremely wrong. I wasn't a junkie, didn't experience withdrawals. I did throw up once I got to the hospital, but I did go back to the drug for a bit after because I felt like a part of me did actually die. The withdrawals I felt after that are wayyyy different.

I'm clean now though. Had a good year. The previous two were extremely tough though. Heroin was my escape to feeling stuck in a profession that wasn't for me, and couldn't find happiness anywhere because I had graduated and left all my friends at school, moved back home and was unable to live a life I wanted to.

-Sunofabeach24

19.

A black void. Then waking up in ER surrounded by people running around like crazy. I was cold af , but in reality, just room temp.

Had to add and say that it was relatively peaceful. Like being wrapped in a big warm blanket.

-barrymendelsohn86

18.

I died twice after I got MRSA into my heart area after a major surgery. I don't remember much of anything when I was out (cliché as it was I saw a light) but damn that year sucked.

-Beanopatch

17.

A friend of mine described death (she was technically dead twice) as being surrounded by darkness and floating with some sort of warm gel-like substance covering her. She never wanted to leave that state.

-KKAPetring

16.

I don't know if this counts, as I don't think I flatlined, but I had a huge post-partum haemorrhage after my second (and last) child was born. I lost 2.3 litres of blood, which I think is about half of all my blood, and considered the highest classification of blood loss before death occurs. I was given general anaesthetic before I passed out on my own, but leading up to that was such a surreal experience.

As someone has previously mentioned, there is this sense of acceptance, of laying back and going with it. When I first started bleeding I was scared, and panicking. By the time I was being wheeled into theatre, I was smiling at the midwife and telling her it was going to be ok. I was delirious and euphoric and not scared at all. My vision started to go, at first it was coloured spots then everything had a grey hue, as tunnel vision set in. Sound became muffled, like putting my hands over my ears.

The whole time, the general feeling of indifference and no urge to fight it was there. It was so calm I don't think I've ever computed just how lucky I am to be here. So a near death experience by blood loss, can confirm, not bad.

The recovery though, I felt like crap for literal weeks and had PTSD. I was so physically weak that I could barely take care of the baby and had to inject myself with anti clotting meds for 6 weeks every day.

-BabyJo32

15.

When I was 15 I was scheduled to do a tilt table test (they lean you up at an angle on a table) because I was consistently experiencing dizziness and fainting spells. After about 20 minutes the doctor tilted the table back and I could feel myself passing out. I got severe tunnel vision and lost like 95% of my eyesight, like looking through a straw and then I blacked out. I remember hearing the dr call the code and my father cussing at the dr that he "killed" me.

I remember hearing alot of slamming and banging around, which I assumed was the crash cart and nurses shoving into this small testing room. I felt a pressure on my chest, like when you have someone stand on your back to crack it, which I found out later was the nurses doing CPR.

I saw an array of vivid colors kind of dancing around forming objects in the dark. The scariest thing was how peaceful it felt, just pure 100% peace. No panic, no pain, no sadness, nothing just bliss. I coded for just under two minutes and as soon as I came too and opened my eyes, I felt seriously angry and hostile, I started ripping off whatever I could get my hands on and yelling at the dr to get me off the table.

Forgot to mention my heart stopped because I had an undiagnosed heart problem (Wolff Parkinson White) that caused my heart to more or less misfire.

-Ozarkblood

14.

Not necessarily"clinically dead" but I was pronounced dead two times in the same night after a car accident I was in when I was 16. My great grandma pulled me out of the car and we walked through this really peaceful field of flowers. When I woke up two weeks later she was sitting on the edge of my bed and told me to tell my mom that everything was going to be okay.

13.

Whoah, my step dad accidentally overdosed from mixing pain meds/alcohol and he said he saw something very similar. A long hallway with several doors. Except he said he opened a few of them and they were beautiful landscapes, like meadows and mountains and lakes. He said he just kept opening the doors and it was very peaceful until he got yanked back to real life, even though he didn't want to leave the hallway.

-FaFarr

12.

This actually happened to me Monday. Tuesday morning actually. Was going thru a lot of money issues and thought I was going to lose everything. Hung myself in the closet. Fiance found me cut me down called 911. I was blue, dead in her arms and I pissed in my pants. Tongue is still swollen have no idea how that happened. The emt's brought me back. I was dead and they brought me back. I'm still at the hospital now and don't see me leaving anytime soon.

Anyway I saw nothing. Just darkness. No sounds. No white light . Nothing. Black. Next thing I know I woke up in an ambulance.

Suicide sucks guys don't even try it. People love you.

-ihatefacebook138

11.

I don't share it much but I've had 4 heart surgeries, and in my first and third one I coded. You had to be conscious for these surgeries to get your heart to react appropriately.

The first time it was just nothingness. Black. Just nothing. I can't even explain how long it felt like nothingness. And then I remember waking up with them over me saying we lost you for a second there, are you okay?

The second time is the hard one to share. I woke up in a type of subway feeling thing but everything was white. The subway, the tunnel walls we were speeding through. I didn't have a body per say, it felt like I was the subway at times, and the. At times it was like i was just looking out a window at the tunnel wall.

It came to a stop and it was just black nothingness again. And then I heard a voice of a much older man.

He said "Are you ready to go?" And I just had nothing. Like I didn't know how to speak. "We're going now if you're ready..." And something inside me felt so ready to go. Like I was a magnet to it... this unknown destination in the black nothingness ahead.

I remember finally saying "o..ok". He said another time with a slightly different tone. "We'll be leaving here. You are ready to go?"

And finally something in me snapped, and I remembered I had a life, and people I'd leave behind. And my first thought was "I can't leave my girlfriend. I couldn't do that. And my Mom and Dad. My puppies. I can't leave any of them. My family, my friends.."

And I made a decision I couldn't leave. I didn't even have to say it. Once I decided I couldn't leave and I was for sure staying I woke up and came to consciousness with the medical team all around me.

-silverstars13

10.

Not me personally but my grandmother after giving birth to my uncle was clinically dead for a bit. She told me that she felt herself rising out of her body and she ended up in the top corner of the room with a view over her bed and the doctor. It was then that she willed herself back to her body and was alive again.

Edit: After looking through this thread, it seems as though this has happened to a lot of people. I always just thought she was a bit crazy, as this was the story she told me for her justification for believing that there is a God/afterlife, but I guess there is truth in her story.

-Spanner_25

09.

Overdosed on caffeine (have a weak heartbeat). Before it actually happened, I was hallucinating/dreaming and couldn't see clearly. All my fear faded away in an instant. Then it all just went black, and it felt like I was asleep but I didn't remember when I actually fell down and blacked out. Woke up when my heart restarted wanting to stay in that sleepy state.

-thejunkiephilosopher

08.

When I was a really young kid, I had a serious case of epiglottitis, which left me clinically dead for a moment. It felt like a dream where I was in the sky, kinda like an angel/cupid looking down at myself in the hospital, with doctors and nurses surrounding me, my mother crying. I didn't seem to care very much, but I remember thinking that I want to go back.

I was very young (maybe 3), but I still remember this quite vividly, it seemed like an out-of-body experience. For sure this was influenced by the fact that my parents are catholic and I enjoyed looking at cupids in paintings, because they looked a bit like me when I was young. That's at least what I tell myself.

-JAnomalism

07.

My dad clinically died for over a minute as a result of an iodine drip during a procedure, despite a documented severe iodine allergy. He described it as an out of body experience in which there was complete silence and he was the spectator in the upper corner of the room, watching the staff scramble to revive him. He said he had no concept of time or of the panic below, he just observed in total peace. He saw one nurse (finally) notice his bracelet and alert everyone of what the issue was. They cut the drip and continued their efforts to revive him.

During this time, even though he was watching the end of his life, he felt an extreme peace, and was pain free for the first time in years. He was aware that he was dying, and he was ready and content. Everything got bright and he started to float upwards, until he saw a man that he didn't recognize who told him it wasn't his time yet.

All at once, he was jolted back into his body and came to. Once stable, he described what he witnessed and even thanked the particular nurse that noticed his allergy alert bracelet. They were all baffled that he knew such detail.

I can only hope that when he did pass away four years ago, it was an even more peaceful experience than this. It gives me peace knowing death was something that he had faced already, so he wasn't scared of it when it came again.

-kganthecats

06.

I was hit by a car while riding a bicycle without a helmet when I was 17. I suffered a traumatic brain injury including a brain bleed which led to a condition called status epilepticus. Not dead, but close. My heart worked, but I was without oxygen for a long time. I woke up in the hospital nearly two weeks later in severe pain - I had one hell of a headache.

I had a weird recollection of a dream-like state where I dreamed in 8 bit - kinda like Mario? Except it was a field of flowers and a bunny rabbit. It was quiet. I felt nothing. I was riding my bike one minute...and completely gone the next. It was a traumatic event I still have issues with nearly 15 years later.

-agirlandhergame

05.

I nearly drowned in the ocean as a kid. A lifeguard on his very first day of training saw me thrashing from 1/4 mile away and was able to get to me after I had filled my lungs with saltwater and sank. I do remember him gripping my arm before completely blacking out (drowning, btw, is a very comfy way to go, after the struggle and convulsive intake of water, there is a warm serenity...).

With my heart and lungs stopped, I was pronounced "dead" on the beach by trained lifeguards but they kept up the CPR until the paramedics came and shocked me back to "life".

To this day I remember everything, both physically and mentally about the incident vividly - way way clearer than any other childhood memory. But the period I was pronounced to be "dead" was a black hole of non-conscious nothingness.

*So this is kind of interesting: the scariest thing during the whole incident was after I was shocked back to "life" and was too weak to move, I could feel the paramedic undoing the drawstring of my shorts - "OH MY GOD, HE'S GOING TO SHOW EVERYONE MY PEEPEE!!!" my feeble brain registered, before I once again blacked out.

-imsoggy

04.

Coded after attempting suicide with Ativan (which is stupid.) My son had passed away three years before, and I remember going to a place without time and watching him grow up without the neonatal Marfan syndrome and hydrocephalus that killed him. I should point out that I lost consciousness before code was called, so I don't remember rising out of my body. I do remember slamming back into it after being shocked, though. That was no fun.

My life changed completely afterwards. I left my wife, who wasn't helping me in my own struggles with Marfan syndrome, got the guts to come out as trans and found a great woman who supports me and is totally in love with me. I don't worry about anything but love and taking care of the people around me-life is too short for anything else. A visit with my son sorted it all out.

I experienced watching my son grow from two to adulthood. I had full memories of milestones and everything in between. Not to mention a sense of peace I had been missing since his death. Most of all I felt that I was accepted for who I am. It's hard to explain losing consciousness wanting to die and waking up having a reason to live.

-ShellaStorm

03.

When I was 9 I used to have fainting spells. One time I fell down the stairs and lost consciousness. My mom said I went as stiff as a board. I remember, as if floating near the ceiling, watching my mom run to the phone and calling 911. I could see my dad start to do CPR on me. Then I looked behind me and saw a bright light and heard a voice say "it's not your time".

Then I went back into my body as I heard my dad yell "come on, damn it!" I was really scared when I came to, and it took me a while, like years, to figure out what I had experienced. I can't explain what happened. I felt calm though while I was out. I don't know if I was really dead or just unconscious and my mind made it all up. The other story I have I know was real.

-monkeynose08

02.

I remember medics banging on my chest telling me not to give up, I remember hearing everything everyone was saying. I even remember thinking dude stop hitting my chest. I remember being put in the ambulance and being in the emergency room.

When I told my mom later that I heard all of them and remember everything, she told me there was no way I could have because I was completely unresponsive when they found me..it definitely had a profound effect on me. It's made me actually more afraid of death because I personally believe your brain lives long after after your body stops. Which is extremely terrifying.

-st8ovmind

01.

I've died twice this year. It was much like time travel. One minute I was, then I wasn't, then I was again. No sense of time really, I could have been dead for 1 second or 1 century. There was a sense of confusion and time slowing down as I died, then just nothing.

Jobs That Seem Easy But Are Actually Incredibly Challenging

Reddit user CeleryLover4U asked: 'What's a job or profession that seems easy, but is incredibly challenging?'

Woman stressed at work
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

When we hear about other people's jobs, we've surely all done that thing where we make assumptions about the work they do and maybe even judge them for having such an easy or unimportant job.

But some jobs are much harder than they look.

Redditor CeleryLover4U asked:

"What's a job or profession that seems easy but is incredibly challenging?"

Customer Service

"Anything customer-facing. The public is dumb and horrendous."

- gwarrior5

"My go-to explanation is, 'Anyone can do it, but few can do it for long.'"

- Conscious_Camel4830

"The further I get in my corporate career, the less I believe I will ever again be capable of working a public-facing job. I don’t know how I did it in the past. I couldn’t handle it in the present."

"I know people are only getting worse about how they treat workers. It is disturbing, embarrassing, and draining for everyone."

- First-Combination-12

High Stakes

"A pharmacist."

"You face the public. Your mistake can literally kill someone."

- VaeSapiens

"Yes, Pharmacist. So many people think their job is essentially the same as any other kind of retail worker and they just prepare prescriptions written by a doctor without having to know anything about them."

"They are very highly trained in, well, pharmacology; and it's not uncommon for a pharmacist to notice things like potentially dangerous drug interactions that the doctor hadn't."

- Worth_University_884

Teaching Woes

"Two nuggets of wisdom from my mentor teacher when I was younger:"

"'Teaching is the easiest job to do poorly and the hardest job to do well,' and 'You get to choose two of the following three: Friends, family, or being a good teacher. You don't have enough time to do all three.'"

"We all know colleagues or remember teachers who were lazy and chose the easy route, but any teacher who is trying to be a good teacher has probably sacrificed their friends and their sleep for little pay and a stressful work environment. There's a reason something like half quit the profession within the first five years."

- bq87

Creativity Is "Easy"

"Some creative professions, such as designers, are often perceived as 'easy' due to their creative nature. However, they may face the constant need to find inspiration, deal with criticism, and meet deadlines."

- rubberduckyis

"EVERYBODY thinks they are a designer, up until the point of having to do the work. But come critique time, mysteriously, EVERYBODY IS A F**KING DESIGNER AGAIN."

"The most important skill to have as a designer is THICK SKIN."

- whitepepper

Care Fatigue Is Real

"Care work."

"I wish it could be taken for granted that no one thinks it's easy. But unfortunately, many people still see it as an unskilled job and have no idea of the many emotional complexities, or of how much empathy, all the time, is needed to form the sorts of relationships with service users that they really need."

- MangoMatiLemonMelon

Physical Labor Generally Wins

"I’m going to say most types of unskilled labor and that’s because there’s such little (visible) reward and such a huge amount of bulls**t. I’ve done customer service, barista, sales, serving, etc; and it was all much harder than my cushy desk job that actually can be considered life or death."

- anachronistika

Their Memory Banks Must Be Wild

"I don't know if I'd call it incredibly challenging, but being one of those old school taxi drivers who know the city like the back of his hand and can literally just drive wherever being told nothing but an address is pretty impressively skilled."

"Not sure if it's still like this, but British cabbies used to be legendary for this. I'm 40 and I don't think most young people appreciate how much the quality of cab service has gone down since the advent of things like Uber."

"Nowadays it's just kind of expected that a rideshare/cab driver doesn't know exactly where you're trying to get and has to rely on GPS directions that they often f up. Back when I was in college, cabbies were complete experts on their city."

"More even than knowing how to get somewhere, they could also give you advice. You could just generally describe a type of bar/club/business you're looking for, and they'll take you right to one that was spot on. Especially in really big cities like NYC."

- Yak-Mak-5000

Professional Cooking

"Being a chef."

- Canadian_bro7

"I would love to meet the person who thinks being a chef is easy! I cook my own food and it’s not only OK to eat but I make a batch of it so I have some for later. So, to make food that is above good and portion it correctly many times a day and do it consistently with minimal wastage (so they make a profit), strikes me as extremely difficult."

- ChuckDeBongo

Team Leading, Oof

"Anything that involves a lot of people skills and socializing. I thought these positions were just the bulls**t of sitting in meetings all day and not a lot of work happening but having to be the one leading those meetings and doing public speaking is taxing in a way I didn’t realize."

- Counterboudd

Not a Pet Sitter At All

"Veterinary Technician."

"Do the job of an RN, anesthesiology tech, dental hygienist, radiology tech, phlebotomist, lab tech, and CNA, but probably don’t make a living wage and have people undervalue your career because you 'play with puppies and kittens all day.'"

- forthegoddessathena

Harder Than It Looks!

"Sometimes, when my brain is fried from thinking and my ego is shot from not fixing the problem, I want to be a garbage man... not a ton of thinking, just put the trash in the truck, and a lot of them have trucks that do it for you!"

"But if the robot either doesn't work or you don't have one on your truck, it smells really bad, the pay isn't what it used to be, you might find a dead body and certainly find dead animal carcasses... and people are id**ts, overfilling their bags, just to have them fall apart before you get to the truck, not putting their trash out and then blaming you, making you come back out."

"Your body probably is sore every day, and you have to take two baths before you can kiss your wife..."

"Ehh, maybe things are not so bad where I am."

- Joebroni1414

Twiddling Thumbs and Listening

"Therapist here. I’ve always said that it’s pretty easy to be an okay therapist—as in, it’s not that hard to listen to people’s problems and say, 'Oh wow, that’s so hard, poor you.'"

"But to be a good therapist? To know when your client is getting stuck in the same patterns, or to notice what your client isn’t saying? To realize that they’re only ever saying how amazing their spouse is, and to think, 'Hmm, nobody’s marriage is perfect, something’s going on there'?"

"To be able to ask questions like, 'Hey, we’ve been talking a lot about your job, but what’s going on with your family?' And then to be able to call them on their s**t, but with kindness and empathy? Balancing that s**t is hard."

"Anybody can have empathy, but knowing when to use empathy and when and how to challenge someone is so much harder. And that’s only one dimension of what makes being a therapist challenging."

- mylovelanguageiswine

Constant Updates

​"For the most part, my job is really easy (marketing tech). But having to constantly stay on top of new platforms, new tech, updates, etc etc is exhausting and overwhelming and I really hate it."

"Also, the constant responsibility to locate and execute opportunities to optimize things and increase value for higher-ups. Nobody in corporate roles can ever just reach a point of being 'good enough.' More and better is always required."

"Just some of the big reasons I’m considering a career change."

- GlizzyMcGuire_

Performing Is Not Easy

"Performing arts and other types of art. People think it’s a cakewalk or 'not a real job,' not realizing the literal lifetime of training, rejection, and perseverance that it takes to reach a professional level and how insanely competitive those spaces are."

- ThrowRA1r3a5

All About Perception

"I suspect everything fits this. Consider that someone whose job is stacking boxes in a warehouse has to know how to lift boxes, how many can be stacked, know if certain ones must be easily accessible, know how to use any equipment that is used to move boxes around."

"Not to mention if some have hazardous or fragile materials inside, if some HAVE to be stacked on the bottom, if a mistake is made and all the boxes have to be restacked, etc."

"But everyone else is like, 'They're just stacking boxes.'"

- DrHugh

It's easy to make assumptions about someone else's work and responsibilities when we haven't lived with performing those tasks ourselves.

This gave us some things to think about, and it certainly reminded us that nothing good comes of making assumptions, especially when it minimizes someone else's experiences.

Left-handed person holding a Sharpie
Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

Many of us who are right-handed never even think about how the world is designed to cater to us.

It probably doesn't even cross your mind that 10% of the world's population is left-handed.

Because of this, there tends to be a stigma for being left-handed since society tends to associate the left with negative things.

For example, the phrase "two left feet" applies to those who are clumsy and therefore, incapable of dancing.

Curious to hear more about the challenges facing those with the other dominant hand, Redditor johnnyportillo95 asked:

"What’s something left-handed people have to deal with that right-handed people wouldn’t even think about?"

If only manufacturers appealed to an ambidextrous world.

Furniture Obstacle

"Those desks or couch chairs that have a small desk attached. They do make left handed/sided ones but they are few and far between."

– Prussian__Princess

"And they’re only on one side of the lecture hall, and it’s never a good seat. There is ONE front row, lefty desk in the entire room and it’s in the far corner, obscured by an ancient overhead projector."

– earwighoney

Everyday Objects For Everyday People

"as a left-handed person myself, one thing we often deal with is finding left-handed tools or equipment. many everyday objects, like scissors or can openers, are designed with right-handed people in mind, which can make certain tasks a bit more challenging for us lefties. we also have to adapt to a right-handed world when it comes to writing on whiteboards or using certain computer mice."

– J0rdan_24

Dangerous Tools

"The biggest risk is power tools. I taught myself to use all power tools right handed because of risks using them left handed."

"Trivial, I love dry boards but they are super hard to write on."

– diegojones4

It's hard to play when you're born with a physical disadvantage.

Sports Disadvantage

"Allright, Sports when you are young. Every demonstration from PE teachers are right handed. You cant just copy the movements they teach you you need to flip them and your tiny brain struggoes to process it. As well, 98% of the cheap sports equipment the school uses is right handed."

– AjCheeze

No Future In Softball

"I tried to bat right handed for so long in gym class growing up because the gym teacher never asked me what my dominant side was and the thought never occurred to me as a child to mention it! Needless to say I never became a softball star."

– Leftover-Cheese

Find A Glove That Fits

"In softball and baseball we need a specific glove for our right hand that's often impossible to find unless you own one, and we have to bat on the other side of the plate."

– BowlerSea1569

"I was one of two left-handers in a 4-team Little League in the 1980s. Nobody could pitch to me. I got a lot of "hit by pitch" walks out of it."

– Jef_Wheaton

These examples are understandably annoying.

Shocking Observation

"Having right handed people make comments whenever they see us write, like we’re some kind of alien."

– UsefulIdiot85

"'Woah! You're left-handed????'"

"I find myself noticing when someone is a lefty, and sometimes I comment on it, but I try not to. I'm primarily left-handed (im a right handed wroter but do everything else left), and every single time I go to eat with my family, someone says, "Oh hey, give SilverGladiolus22 the left hand spot, they're left-handed," and inevitably someone says, 'Wait, really?' Lol."

– SilverGladiolus22

Can't Admire The Mug

"We never get to look at the cute graphics on coffee mugs while we’re drinking from them."

– vanetti

"I just realized…I always thought the graphics were made so someone else could read them while you drink. Hmmm."

– Bubbly-Anteater7345

"I'm right-handed and I often wondered why the graphics were turned towards the drinker instead of out for others to see."

– Material-Imagination

The Writing On The Wall

"Writing on whiteboards is a nightmare. I have to float my hand, which tires out my arm quickly, and I can't see what I've already written to keep the line straight."

– darkjedi39

"Also as a teacher, it means I'm standing to the left of where I'm writing, so I'm blocking everything I write. I have to frequently finish writing, then step out of the way so people can see, instead of just being able to stand on the right side the whole time."

– dancingbanana123

Immeasurable

"Rulers."

"How the f'k is no one talking about rulers? It's from 30cm to 0 cm to me, or I have to twist my arms to know the measure I want to trace over it."

– fourangers

Just Can't Win

"EVERYTHING. The world has always been based around people being right handed. As a Chef, my knife skills SUCKED until I worked with a Left Handed Chef. Then it all made sense."

"Literally, everything we do must be observed, then flipped around in our heads, then executed. This is why Lefties die sooner, on average, than Righties."

"I had to learn how to be ambidextrous, just to complete basic tasks (sports, driving a manual, using scissors, etc). I am used to it now, and do many things right handed out of necessity, as wall as parents and teachers 'forcing' it upon me."

"But, at least we are not put to death anymore, simply for using the wrong hand (look it up, it happened)."

"Ole Righty, always keeping us down."

– igenus44

The world doesn't need another demographic to feel "othered" for being different.

But if you're right-handed and tend to make assumptions about left-handed people, you may want to observe the following.

Ronald Yeo, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Texas-Austin told CNN:

"We shouldn’t assume much about people’s personalities or health just because of the hand they write with."
"And we certainly shouldn’t worry about lefties’ chances of success: After all (as of 2015), five of our last seven U.S. presidents have been either left- or mixed-handed."

Word.

Dog lying down on a bed
Photo by Conner Baker on Unsplash

Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.

While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.

Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.

Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.

For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.

Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:

"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"

The Tiny Issue Of Water...

"Absolutely not."

"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649

Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...

"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."

"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."

"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."

"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep

The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...

"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."

"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3

Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen Giphy

What Do You Mean Allow?

"I have no choice."

"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412

"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle

Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show

Hug GIF by The BarkPost Giphy

Who Needs An Alarm Clock?

"I let my two cats sleep with me."

"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."

"And so do I."

"We've all developed a lil routine."

"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_

Whose Bed Is It Anyway?

"Yes."

"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."

"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor

"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."

"Would not come out."

"Got some food and some water in dishes."

"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."

"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."

"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."

"She was too busy eating."

"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."

"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."

"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."

"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."

"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."

"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."

"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."

"She would not go."

"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."

"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588

sleepy kitten GIF Giphy

Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...

"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."

"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."

"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle

Saying No Just Isn't An Option...

"'Let'."

"Lol."

"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren

Felines Only!

"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz

Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official Giphy

Is That My Hair On That Pillow?

"My dog is perfect."

"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."

"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."

"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester

It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.

Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...


Close up of an owl tilting their head to side, looking bewildered
Photo by Josh Mills

The old wives' tales.

They are the stories of legend.

I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.

Where did they originate?

WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!

You don't hear about them as much anymore.

It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.

But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.

Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:

"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"

"Wait an hour to swim after eating."

What a crock!

So many summer hours wasted.

I want revenge for that one.

Say Nothing

Giphy

"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."

LonelyMail5115

"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."

I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA

Say Something

"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."

Severe_Airport1426

"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."

crappycurtains

"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."

AlbinoShavedGorilla

Body Temps

"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."

chriseo22

"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."

"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."

apocalypticradish

Arms Down

"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."

Fatmouse84

10 Years Actually

Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine Giphy

"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."

REDDIT

"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."

Gecko-911

I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.

This tale is haunting.

High/Low

Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace Giphy

"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."

LeastFormal9366

"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."

IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI

The Cursed

"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."

"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."

SmoreOfBabylon

Stay In

"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."

"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."

worldbound0514

Dreams and Facts

"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."

"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."

mattshonestreddit

"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."

Darthdemented

Cracked

Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office Giphy

"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."

Choice-Grapefruit-44

"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."

MacyTmcterry

I love my knuckles.

Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.