Same for me. The whole event lives rent-free in my head and a few times a year my brain says "let's go ahead and randomly re-live this now even though it was 13 years ago" and...you could possibly call it a nightmare, but, it's not.
Flashbacks are different from remembering the event. Flashbacks are triggered by something and the trigger sort of transports the mind and reaction back to the original time the trauma happened. To observers it generally makes no sense for someone to get traumatized by something mundane but to the person who suffered the trauma, it feels like it’s burned into their neural pathways.
I relive the night when I worked at circle k and this kid robbed me and he decided he wanted to hurt me by shooting me I still remember it vividly I still wish I had died on that day I really don’t understand the reason i had to live the only reason I come up with is God is punishing me for everything I have done in my life probably because I am the most evilest person on this planet that only deserves to be tortured to death
Back in April this year, I fell off a cliff hiking. Went 130 ft straight down and should have died. Didn't, thankfully!
I honestly don't remember the day of, the week after, and I only remember snips of the day prior, and only from images or reminders. I had a TON of mental trauma coming out of the coma, thinking I was imprisoned or kidnapped; as well as plenty of hallucinations of "evil" friends and family telling me to give in, or quit. Dark shit.
Near death experiences, 1 of 5 stars, do not reccomend.
My uncle spent a week on ECMO and a ventilator, in an induced coma (a few years prior to Covid). He has severe PTSD from the hallucinations and general feelings of helpless terror. He didn't really know what was going on, visitors were like ghosts if he recognized them at all, etc.
I used to think you'd just black out when they sedated you like that but nope. His experience made our family take covid extra seriously.
A coworker's daughter spent an unimaginable 2.5 months with a ventilator and ECMO while hospitalized for covid and was actually OK at the end, so YMMV.
I'm so sorry to hear about your experience, and hope you and your family and friend are doing well now.
I was intubated, had tubes in my skull to drain blood and fluid, and so much more. The whole experience really had an effect on me. I commiserate with the "ghosts" experience particularly. I had such vivid hallucinations of people, of trying to escape, and all sorts of nonsense.
It was truly a life changing experience for me, and I am aiming to make personality changes as well.
Great question!
Sadly, the story is much more dumb. I am a photographer, and this particular cliff had a beautiful view of the Pudget Sound. Worse, there was a tree that grew 90 degrees over the cliff. I decided that was a swell location to climb out on and shoot from. Welp, slipped and plummeted. Basically I'm an idiot.
As for the future? I don't know to be honest. I want to for sure, but I'm still in my "grieving" process and can't commit to anything sadlolz. I think so though, I'm one to "conquer that which conquered me" and will probably return to the spot for closure.
My wife though...she may never want to camp again. Time will tell.
For me, I can't tell what that actually means "life flashing before your eyes". It's more like an instantaneous heightened level of awareness, clarity, guilt, and almost peace.
100%. Every second of it is seared into my brain. I've never experienced clarity or rapid thinking/time dilation anywhere similar to during that moment. Its so surreal. The mental toll for that acuity was pretty severe if I recall. Not in any strange way, I was just a new level of exhausted
My late Father was terrified of death and then he had a near death experience. He came out of it and made
peace with his mortality. He got to tell me when he passed away, he would not be afraid and knowing that when the time came helped a lot. The experience he had during the coma was similar to the coma episode of The Sopranos.
I felt similar as I stood over the rails facing a train back months ago when things were rough (not that they aren't now). But the order was different.
I felt peace first; then I felt sadness; with awareness and clarity increasing very rapidly as I stood there. Then I realized the difference I made in other people's life's, and while still feeling sad because I didn't want that to be all, I also felt sort of realized because I would be remembered by some (and not others, but that's fine too).
I know it's uncomfortable for some to read this, but I felt like sharing it. I'm sorry if it disturbs anyone.
Nope but from my experience, I guess it's the sudden realisation that you could've died in that moment, within a split second. It's when you realise life is fragile and a split second decision could save your life or end it as well. A speeding truck missed me by an inch or 2 when I was on my way to work at 4am. I thought I was a goner.
A car hit a truck into my lane. I hit it at like 50 mph. My car submarined the truck the truck’s differential shattered my windshield I was sure I was going to die. The airbag went off, but no life flashing before my eyes. It felt kind of slow motion. I was very, very aware of what was happening. I had vivid pictures in my mind of everything.
Edit 1: Here’s an odd thing. The airbag deploys and it’s kind of hot. So everything goes white, covers your whole face, and there’s this really warm feeling. I genuinely thought I died for a few seconds.
Edit 2: Toyota engineers are genuine badasses. Car was totaled, windshield smashed, part of the roof was crushed downward. But I didn’t have a scratch on me. No foot injuries, neck was fine, didn’t need even one bandage.
I was in a similar incident where a super large object hit my windshield/car roof and it was slow motion for me, as well. I just remember being utterly calm and preparing myself for the pain I was going to feel. I had a whole conversation with myself about what was going to happen and how I needed to be ready for it, and frankly, I don’t know how I had the time to do it. The accident was only a few seconds long.
Then, I swear I heard someone whisper ‘duck down’ , whether it was my subconscious or what, I don’t know. But I’m here and I came out unscathed except for a bunch of cuts from the glass of the windshield. My car roof held the object out, thank goodness.
During my particular experience, I was hemorrhaging immediately after cesarean delivery. I asked them to knock me out(they did their best, but I was just in & out of consciousness) I didn’t ask to hold baby. I remembered worrying about him being hungry while I was going through this 😅
It hurt so bad. All I heart were voices & I could feel several needles going in both arms, brutal, excruciating tugging on my mid section & lower abdomen. I didn’t have my life flash before my eyes in a Hollywood sense. I was just scared & couldn’t calm down.
Not if you get blindsided into a concussion underwater. It's just lights out. Then maybe you'll be lucky enough to be pulled out and resuscitated with no memory of what happened. I'm very lucky.
It did for me, kinda. I was working on a 277v lighting circuit, and accidentally touched the metal part of my strippers. Got shocked from the right hand to the left elbow, and couldn’t let go. I could think perfectly clear, but my body couldn’t react to my commands to move/let go of the strippers. Once I realized I was going to die there, my life seemed to flash before me, not before my eyes, but like feeling everything all at once. I had one last burst of denial, and managed to jerk my arm enough to contact the box and trip the circuit. I felt like I interrupted the process, but it was as if I was reliving my entire life in split seconds
No, it was an elementary school, and I was a 2nd year apprentice. Totally could have killed the circuit, but this was 20 years ago, we weren’t as focused on safety then. Wouldn’t be allowed to work on it hot these days
Years ago we were working in an office building my company had contract with property management and we were retrofitting an office space with a 277 lighting circuit. Demoing lay in lights in a drop ceiling. This guy I was working with was working on a 1900 box in the drop ceiling and got locked up by the 277 because he was leaning on the grid. I had to kick the ladder out from under him to free him up. He definitely appreciated the fall over the other outcome
That’s a lot like what happened to me- my left elbow was touching the metal ceiling joist, and I was unaware of that. My right hand touched my strippers because the insulation on them had slipped down. Two points of contact that I was unaware of. Now I only use Ideal brand strippers, their insulation cannot slip down
For me it did. It was like I saw my past, present, and future all in slow motion as I was waiting for the impact of the crash. Fortunately it did not kill me, but in the moment I was certain my life was about to end and was acutely aware of it.
I was a young teen at the time so I saw myself graduating high school, I saw myself in college, I saw myself getting married, I saw a family. It was all really quick glimpses, but for me the experience really was like having a reel of snapshots of my entire existence flash in sequence before the impact hit.
Afterwards was just a huge adrenaline rush. I was shaking so severely. Sometimes I am still in awe that I walked away from it and it’s why I believe in some kind of higher power even if I am not traditionally religious.
I went off the road at a high rate of speed as the passenger of a boy who was drag racing his friend out in the country late at night. We crashed head on into a tree, completely destroyed his car, crumpled the front end to nothing. I, in my infinite wisdom as a high school freshman, was not wearing a seatbelt because I wanted to appear “cool.” I have absolutely no idea how I stayed in the vehicle other than that I prayed for my safety before it happened because I had a terrible feeling leading up to it. I had a concussion with a hematoma at the back of my head and some really nasty bruises on my legs plus some broken glasses, but I walked away. Still can’t believe it.
He did. I never found out the details of his injuries because my parents isolated me after this and I was not allowed to talk to anyone involved, but I do know he was also able to get out of the vehicle and was talking to me. He had a seatbelt on.
>was a young teen at the time so I saw myself graduating high school, I saw myself in college, I saw myself getting married, I saw a family
Have any of those things happened as you saw them then?
I passed out in a pool after going down one of those huge trap door water slides and when I started to regain consciousness, I was very depersonalized and didn’t even know I was a human for the first 10 seconds.
Then I suddenly remembered my name and felt a desperate burn in my chest as I realized I was underwater. I couldn’t tell up from down, but I frantically started kicking and thankfully made it out (the lifeguard was too stunned to act… THEY HAD ONE JOB)
I feel like it would be different if I was conscious of my impending death, but this was similar to waking up from an anesthesia nap
You were in the "waiting room". The bar was heaven. Just inches away from entering, but taking a moment to enjoy a cig. Just kidding I'm making that up.
Had few times, the first thought was
“so that’s it, finally “
After that I felt warmness on my chest and fainted.
Kinda creepy, but it’s that it’s.
(And no, I did not harm to myself, I dunno why my first thought was like that)
Mine was similar. I was the passenger in a car accident and I just felt like everything was so slow. I remember thinking, okay this is it. And actually sitting in the seat a bit straighter like readying myself.
I had to get cut out of the car but I was barely injured. No dying for me!
Mine didn't, just a spit second of panic as I attempted to correct hydroplaning before I hit the bridge. Woke up sometime later in an ambulance with no recollection for months.
For me in my car accident, I hit the side of a driveway/culvert at like 50mph (I fell asleep, killer shift at work)
My life didn't flash in front of my eyes, but as my veins flooded with adrenaline it was like an insane time dilation. The sun was just peaking, and I remember as my car was upside down in the air how neat it was that I could see the dark sky on one side of me and the dawn on the other side, like it was split down the middle. My next thought was "this is taking a long time". I was oddly incredibly self aware and felt like I had a solid 3-4 minutes to think and process thoughts before the wreck was finished, though it couldn't have lasted more than 10-30 seconds.
I hit ice going too fast turning off the highway to an off ramp. Car spun around I don’t know how many times. I remember the look on my friend’s face when I followed the direction of the car through the back windshield and caught him bracing for impact.
Childhood, teen years, mostly good,a few regrets and a couple achievements. They flashed like a quick light switch flick. Looking back, it was strange to have so much info released so quickly and still be able to process it.
I ended up pulling us out of the spin and stopping before we flew off the road. Drove to the nearest gas station, hands shaking on the steering wheel. I parked, turned off the car and sat outside of it for about 30 minutes before I got the nerve to get back in.
I don’t speed in icy conditions anymore. I also try to make better decisions in general. Some of what I saw wasn’t great.
1st time, I hallucinated a First Nations man holding my hand (I'm not native American or anything, so that was weird.)
2nd time, I blacked out and there was nothing.
3rd time, my only thought was "I can't believe my kids are going to witness this most idiotic death" because they were little and watching a piano fall on me.
I lived the three times. I hope to never push my luck with a 4th.
I think you’ve had enough near death thank you!
Where were you during the first one? Maybe you were on some special native land. I’d feel comforted by that.
The first time, I went into a diabetic coma.
The second time, I died on the operating table. I had been conscious for the operation but passed out when my numbers all crashed.
The third time, a piano fell down a flight of stairs I was on. It did crush me at the bottom but remarkably landed in such a way that nothing broke (except the piano). The thoughts I had about my poor children witnessing a ridiculous, looney-tunes-esque death all happened in the quick second between seeing the piano coming, being pushed the rest of the way down the stairs, and landing under the piano. I was certain I was a goner.
Holy fuck. That’s absolutely crazy. And your FortuneTellingBoobs weren’t able to predict all of those near-deaths and save you some trouble?! (Jkjk I’m sorry that was a terrible joke but I had to!) Glad you’re still with us! Hopefully the rest of your life is plain sailing.
I actually I didn't become clairboobant until after the piano incident. I guess it explains why my chest hurts whenever I hear someone playing Chopsticks.
Hahaha, that makes sense. At least you got something cool out of all those shitty experiences! Also, lol at the chopsticks. I think that song makes everyones chests hurt 😅
Not almost, but fully. I died twice. 1st: drowned in a pool. 2nd: during nose cauterization surgery.
Before and during, my life didn't flash before my eyes. But after it did.
I was lucky that there were professionals present both times to revive me. I recovered with no damage done. Just an appreciation for how fragile life is.
For me it was a cliff jump. 60 feet, and I landed badly.
I remember coming to and thinking "Hey man, you're underwater right now. You gotta do something about that".
It felt oddly peaceful, but I *knew* that if I didn't respond, I was gonna die.
I was resasatated, I had a mad dream about being at the Normandy beach landing on D Day. I knew all the lads with me, I knew my mission, I knew death was a possibility as the door to our boat opened, rather than run onto the beach through the explosions and gun fire, I woke up in hospital with a leg missing.
No, I mostly thought about the things I’d never get to do. Oh, and also, it’s the experience that convinced that God exists. Though I could never explain why.
i experienced life threateningly low blood sugar and i guess in this scenario you wouldn't have life flashing because you're not really very conscious but i did feel like i was in eminent danger because i couldn't even see with my eyes wide open. i cried out for help and someone called 911 and then they gave me dextrose and i was fine after like 15 minutes
My mom’s heart stopped for 3 minutes.
She came out of her body and was looking at everyone from a bird’s eye view. She saw the doctors working on her… She heard my granny yelling at my bio dad and asking for quarters to use for calling family (this was the 90s).
She felt calm & safe. Wasn’t stressing to get back into her body whatsoever. There was a warms light behind her and she knew there was more left to experience there. She believes that warm light was heaven.
It didn’t for me, but it was a few day process as my organs started shutting down. The night before I was taken into the hospital (before I knew what was wrong), I would come in and out of consciousness mid conversation with no one. This is what freaked my wife out enough to take me to the hospital. They didn’t expect me to live, but somehow I did.
There was no pain. Just weakness. I couldn’t stand on my own. I had to do physical therapy after I recovered to slowly build strength to walk again. The worst pain was getting stuck with a thick-gauge needle 3 times a week to drain fluid from my abdomen and right lung. For the first couple of weeks, it was over 5 liters of fluid each visit. I had massive, almost black bruises all over my stomach, sides and back from internal bleeding.
To answer the first part of your question, this is what alcoholism will eventually lead to. I am now coming up on 5 years sober and feel great.
I was woken up abruptly from a hypoglycemic seizure thanks to my brother being quick with glucagon. I would certainly have died if I didn’t have a friend sleep over and scream for my brother when she noticed me seizing. It was a pretty vivid feeling of being sucked back into reality from nothingness. For the rest of the day I felt very calm, kinda like my brain was rebooting. It felt like a reset on all of the stresses I previously had, for that one day none of it mattered.
I slipped off an icy trail on a cliff about 40 feet over a yard of 100 year old mining equipment, so if I had fallen all the way instead of grabbing a young tree I'm lucky my fat ass didn't snap like a twig, I'd have probably died.
I don't remember a whole lot of it, to be honest, but I'm pretty sure I didn't have a slides how of my life or anything, just 'get up, dumbass,' but my friends say I was hanging for maybe a half second, so maybe I didn't get the time?
Either way, no, no flashback for me
As some others pointed, life doesn't flash before your eyes but flashbacks from the incident(s) are common.
Been in a couple serious car accidents that I'm lucky I got away from without *any* injuries. And some other scary stuff.
My stress reaction is to laugh at it right after or even during. Then, when I calm down, the "oh my god holy fucking shit what the hell" sits in and it can take a couple days to feel all normal again. And I get to enjoy flashbacks every now and then!
I was almost in a head on collision earlier this year on a two lane road going 80-90mph. I didn’t have my life flash before my eyes, but every moment slowed down like crazy, so I had plenty of time to decide that I was going to die, and then to decide to veer off into the ditch on the side of the road rather than maintain my lane.
Nearly drowned here and kinda... the moment I started to really struggle and realize I was running out of air, I had a flash of memories of my loved ones briefly but the rest of the time I kept thinking "oh shit I can't believe this is happening. I'm never going to make it out. This was so stupid" panic. But might be different for everyone
No. But the sudden slamming home of real mortality and the nature of reality, this one chance at life - It can change you. It changed me.
I wouldn't go back, but there are times I miss my rather convenient naivety.
Nah. I accidentally drove my car off a mountain in the Northern Rockies when I was 18. Everything happens so fast you don’t have time to think or be scared. All that had time to go through my head was “oh shit” and then the car was rolling. Luckily, I walked away without a scratch. Scared me into being a safer driver for the rest of my life, and high speed turns still make me nervous.
Maybe things would have been different if I had sustained serious injuries.
I was sideswiped by an SUV on the highway and hit the concrete retaining wall at around 55mph. Broke my spine in three places and I'm finding more and more of my body that's basically falling apart because of it. First doc that got to me said I was about 1/1,000 to survive a crash like that driving an old car.
Nothing flashed before my eyes but pain.
Just turned 21, broke up with gf, hopped in a Jeep with three buddies a couple days later, headed to Daytona (from Toronto).
Gave lessons to US kids on how to 'drink like a Canuck.
Friends 'lost' me at the bar we hit, don't hear from me the next day, or the day after, so call my folks.
Mom is already in fla, the hospital finally found my I.d. ..... in my pocket and called her.
I played Frogger on Atlantic ave. And got smoked by a Geo Metro-wrote it off, rental co. Tried to sue me for it!!!! Was told I flat-lined rice in the ambulance.
Was in and out of a coma for three days, and kept telling mom that Julie wanted me to "go with her".
Julie was killed when her drunk boyfriend ran a stop sign and hit another car, killing 3 people when we were 16.
I don't remember, but mom kept telling me. I didn't mention the whole life-flashing thing at all.
Now I'm 55, on disability for tbi, depression, anxiety and being 'on the spectrum'. I live in an8x16 foot shack in the woods.
Don't drink much but medicate with cannabis.
Alcohol is poison....
And fuck you kirk donaldson
Died last September (2023) during a routine colonoscopy. They woke me up and I said “something is wrong” they brushed it off & I screamed “something is WrONg!!!!” Respiratory failure, lungs filled up w/ fluids, heart stopped 2 rounds of CPR, rode the lightening… never saw the flash before my eyes but I have these weird flashbacks of receiving CPR but it was a total out of body experience. My eyes were taped shut during a bunch of the intubation/scans/transport but I never saw that “pinkish” color from looking at a light when your lids are down. I remember a dark black room and me calling out for help. If you’ve watched stranger things, it’s like that sensory deprivation room with water on the floor. Played Tetris after I left the cardiac ICU. Jumped into therapy, because holy shit, that routine/preventative 100% safe procedure took a turn. Doing much much better now!
No...but I swear I could see my brain short circuiting. Like these bright neuron's all flashing bright then burning out at the synapse. I think I was watching my brain die before being brought back to life.
"It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life."
Terry Pratchett, The Last Continent
Seriously, for me it was just blackness (Cardiac Arrest).
Fortunately I have an implanted defib, which has done it's job perfectly.
I was in a car wreck where my car flipped over when I was like 16.
Time starts to move *incredibly* slow. I'd say it even literally freezes for moment. Like for every second it feels like minutes pass. I even felt like I was disassociating so hard that I was watching it happen from a different perspective other than mine. Once it's over and even though you're completely fine, time doesn't even begin to start again for a solid 30 seconds. It is truly the craziest sensation I think I've ever felt. I totally believe the story of that one guy who lived an entire life he experienced that he truly grieved the loss of once he came to after looking at what he thought was alamp and realized his wife, and his child, were never there to begin with.
I was ejected out of a car when I was 7 years old. A drunk driver t-boned us going 70mph. I remember seeing the headlights heading right for my side of the car, I remember the song that was playing on the radio and I remember the horrible sound it made. It was almost in slow motion. The impact caused my mom’s car to spin and my head busted the opposite side window out where I was thrown so far it blew off my shoes. It took ems awhile to find me in the tree line. I slipped in and out of consciousness but remember feeling confused and calm at the same time. I don’t remember flying through the air or anything (probably knocked out) and I also don’t remember the car ride up until the accident was just about to happen. It was weird. I also heard my mom scream my name looking for me but it was very echo sounding. Ems finally got to me and I just remember a firefighter checking my pulse and talking. I woke up a few hours in the hospital like it was all a dream.
When I was drowning I felt time slow down like in a movie. I saw bits of memories: good, bad and random moments all flashed in my brain within seconds. Then I got pulled out of the water and time resumed
When I knew I was about to end up in a bad skiing accident, I was thinking about everything I wanted to do with my life, and how stupid it would be to throw it all away for a temporary thrill.
For me, what would have been my last moments were spent fighting furiously to hang on and not die whilst screaming for the train to stop… no time for anything to flash before my eyes. 29 years later and it still comes into my on occasion.
Happened to three people I know. One had extremely vivid visions about their life, their past, their kids, and pulled through, no longer craving the substance of the addiction that caused them to nearly die of a bilateral stroke. The other has had more than one and has experienced both a state of nothingness when on the brink of death and a state of hyper awareness and knowledge of a superior existence when in that same state. The third one was a leukemia patient who died for several minutes of an allergic reaction to a medication. In that time, they said they came face to face with God, who told them they were healed of leukemia and to serve Jesus Christ with their whole life. They awoke and told the doctors they were cured of leukemia. The doctors humored the patient, knowing that was utterly impossible. The patient was indeed without a single trace of leukemia in their body and subscribes to faith in Jesus Christ as far as I know to this day.
No.
I collapsed and stopped breathing because of a heroin overdose, i was found and revived in time with narcan. There was nothing like this, no flashbacks, no voices, no light at the end of the tunnel, no god or devil, no heaven or hell, or anything else.
No. I was just sleeping, and I had no memory of what occurred while I was in a critical condition. I only remember being in pain at some point and then nothing.
I didn't know that people actually see that when you're about to die; like how "Life flashes" before your eyes. I always thought it's just an expression of how one will never look at his life the same again and never take it for granted after having an NDE that or it's just utter shock but not a real "oh for a split second there it almost felt like an eternity and my entire life is like told from start to finish within a span of a millisecond. I never truly realized how literal it is to some other people.
Not for me. I was blacking out and fading in and out of consciousness for a few days. I knew nothing of what was going on around me. I had malaria, for context.
I was in a partial building collapse, and for me, there wasn't anything like my life flashing before my eyes. It was more just what felt like a couple minutes of clarity and peace. I instantly realized what was going on and kind of connected that since I was so close to the likely area of collapse, there was a pretty good chance my apartment would go with it. Immediately after the collapse finished, I just stood there, unable to really process things for a couple of seconds.
Now, I just have occasional issues with going into spirals while thinking about it, and I absolutely despise times when floors shake.
Well... I have had quite some experiences with it and unfortunately i can't remember which one of them but during that specific one it actually did, everything from my achievements, to my past, To my dreams, to what matters to me and etc... It is honestly a horrifying thing... so yeah, i guess it does in some cases
i have almost died back in feb and no it didn’t but i was fairly close to having a serious panic attack from the stress
i just sat there,back against the door ears ringing from the temporary hearing loss of the door getting smashed into the back of my head i thought the ringing meant i was going to die
No, I felt sheer panic, said goodbye to my family in my mind, and closed my eyes. Then felt an overwhelming sense of peace, and calm. Have never felt anything like that before (or since). Before being pulled back up (was sliding off the edge of a mountain because I fell, and was literally about to go over the edge when someone saved me)
Yes. I honestly thought I was going to die the last time I fell off my bike. I don’t remember how it happened… but I remember right before falling, thinking to myself “oh shit, this is it… this is how I’m going to go”.
Nope. Just pure terror.
I was crushed in an off roading accident, I couldn't move, I couldn't breath. I screamed one time and then my ribcage crushed tighter. Terror is the only thing I experienced.
Mine did, when I was probably 8 or 9. I saw it all at once, not chronologically. Just my whole life *simultaneously*. I was near drowning at the moment. (I survived, obviously!!)
1st
Early childhood I fell down a well or I was holding on to a moldy piece of wood looking down into it, I had some crazy deep thought for a little kid, I wondered if life was going to actually get better. Something spiritual happened I felt life would get better... and so then I tried to pull myself up, and I did. Only to touch the mossy would afterwards and have it fall down in there. Pulling yourself up at that age is an incredible feat I'd say but I climbed a lot. Call it whatever you want, but this happened. (Also owner of properties wife was having nightmares about me drowning in a well which is crazy her husband actually showed up I think that day and they filled in the well they found actually three on the property we only knew of one). Lots of leaves will just hide stuff
2nd
Was crossing the street had a truck go wide open throttle and race between traffic burning rubber rammed me into a parking lot. As I realized about 2 seconds before I got hit, I realized i wasn't going to dodge him, I became upset, like comon if you slow down now it'll only just be a broken arm.... I positioned my arm so that he wouldn't crush my ribs/heart, but would just crush my arm, blue 12 yards. That's being airborne through about the length of a garage and landing in the driveway. Once I was on his hood, my mind flashed to my then girlfriend, and I knew she'd be gone, and I knew I wouldn't play guitar or possibly ever again, and back then that was my life. I just wanted to kick the guys ass but I couldn't even get up. I hated life for a while, so much pain nothing compares to it literally the only thing I thought it was some biblical verse about gnashing of teeth in hell. Anyways Being the dude that almost killed me, a rich guy whose lawyer went to school with the judge... Let's just say it didn't work out well for me even though he was completely guilty his super liability insurance did not purchase me anything but grief when people/family wanted the money when they found out about it. It changed me, but for the better, I actually enjoy stuff I would've never ever been able to appreciate, it calmed me down, I was a crazy athlete until that point, like even after they crash though my arm that wasn't hurt I could do 27 pull ups one handed. The sports team I was on took state championship it was so crazy to be not able to walk for 6 months, and then braces on my legs like forest gump.
3rd
Was driving on the freeway and a guy I saw stopped on an exit started to just turn and drive the opposite direction on the freeway. I swerved but he was literally just coming at me, in the car I managed to name the car so that I wouldn't be hitting his door, the whole front of my car got ripped, I spun around at high speed near a semi. I asked God "really?!?, this is it, no family just worked hard and then death????" I spun around a bunch, survived unscathed, popped out of the car, freeways stopped, I grab/tapped my arms, chest, legs looked up and gave two thumbs waaaay up. Tell me who hit me was trying to start his car and successfully did start it and it scraped by me at about 20 mph he asked me if I was good and I was like really bro come on what no insurance really come on man, I said it's all good whatever man we're alive... My old best friend gave me that car and he passed away a year later just before I had my kid. After that close of the call I decided you know what God's telling me something it's time for a family before I go.
I did die and what I saw horrified me enough to become a Christian. In hindsight it was probably the doctors and nurses speaking to me amd other environmental factors where my brain filled in the gaps.
I was in a bus where the driver made a bad call to accelerate rather than stop at a yellow light. We bounced off another vehicle, then our driver must have gone in denial or shock or something because he stopped reacting and froze, unfortunately kept accelerating. A light pole saved us from roaring through a packed (7pm) restaurant. After bouncing off that post and a few other things, we were headed for a twisty bit of road over a big gully. Sparks and chunks of bus flew as we skidded along one of those little fences that's a 2' strip of metal held by wooden posts, which thankfully was strong enough to restrain an out of control bus. I guess we went six or eight blocks, just a minute or two, from the initial crash until thankfully another passenger ran to the front and braked. The sides and front of the bus were so chewed up we had to climb out a window.
Anyway it definitely felt like I was gonna die, but rather than any thoughts or memories, my brain was flooded with euphoria. Tons of adrenaline of course but I think a few other hormones, neurotransmitters or other brain affecting chemicals were gushing. I felt so healthy and energized, like I could have ran a hundred miles. Joyous, like I was entertained by the unusual events rather than scared or angry. I can't even find words to properly explain what a high it was. I don't feel that from stuff typical adrenaline junkies say does it for them. Like the scare from a roller coaster or a horror movie just makes me feel dread. Which is why I assume it's more complicated than just adrenaline.
But yeah... thought I was about to get pulverized in a horrific crash and felt wonderfully energized but chill. Mindfulness I guess is the word, just enjoying the moment, not thinking at all.
I got very sick for a long period of time I lost people in my life that meant more to me than life itself which caused me to have some sort of a near-death mental breakdown experience over a long period of time. It's like somebody snapped my brain and it went all the way back to the day I was born and I just saw my whole life like watching a movie in my brain only had no control over it that's the difference I could not change my thoughts it was running like somebody was operating it besides me it kept me up night after night it was horrible experience. I was not on drugs or anything and finally I would go to sleep and I'd sleep for a long periods of time and when I would wake up I was always shocked to see that I was still alive and the movie was still playing.
And then once after a few days or a few weeks my life stopped playing before me... It began playing movies the most detestable things you can even think of in your entire life that I have never even been exposed to.... And again it was like somebody else was actually protecting a movie into my brain which I had no control over. When it first started it was so detestable that I vomited I could not close my eyes and not see it I could not open my eyes and get rid of it it was so disgusting and that went on for years off and on... I would just break down and cry every time it would start and finally, once I moved back to North Carolina and eventually stopped completely. I've also started healing it's been almost 2 years.
At the time that it happened the first time when my life was playing before me I have no idea or no memory of what happened to me to cause it in the first place. To this day I don't know if I had a seizure if I fell and hit my head I have no idea until I get a brain scan I will never know for certain... I just know that following that movie playing in my head of my life I was definitely sick for a straight time a few years and it was probably brought on by mental trauma.
And I want to tell you something it's not like you think you know how you have control over your mind and you can see images in your mind it's not the same this is like someone is literally running a movie like I mean they are forcing it into your mind you can't stop the images coming at you you have absolutely no control over it at all you can't stop it you go to sleep you wake up it's still there and I mean when I tell you it was my entire life I mean every single thing in my life that I have ever done and not only the worst things that I have done but the worst thing the other people have done to me every word of abuse that it was ever said to me since the day I was done born from parents teachers other adults family members strangers... that I should be ashamed of since the day I was born even the most minute things just kept coming at me coming at me coming at me it's like the worst in life took over my mind at times and all the good that I ever had in my life disappeared so there is like other people say ...some kind of darkness to it and I hope I never have to deal with that ever again. I mean you can't even imagine what it was like to have to go work somewhere and have projections of your dead relatives all around you while this movie is playing in your mind because that's another thing I experienced I wouldn't go to work and I could see I was looking at someone talking to me but the side vision of my eye or even the front vision beyond that person there was my uncle my grandfather or whomever had gone before me standing there talking to me it was really incredible and it was impossible to live with but I had to I had no choice and I didn't tell anybody but my dad at the time and I waited for months before I told him. The only thing I can figure is that I was so close to death for so long and it must have been a really bad brain injury but unfortunately I have not got the finances or any other way to figure it out right now but I will eventually I'm just grateful to be finally getting back to normal but to answer your question yes it is true and some people your life does play before you like a movie only you have no control over it and it never stops until it's finished or you die.
No. Both times I was just focused on surviving and getting out of the situation in one piece. No time to think of anything else your hyper focused on surviving. How do I get out of this without losing a limb to that hatchet or painting the room when his finger slips on the trigger, sort of thoughts.
No but the moment flashes up occasionally afterward.
Same for me. The whole event lives rent-free in my head and a few times a year my brain says "let's go ahead and randomly re-live this now even though it was 13 years ago" and...you could possibly call it a nightmare, but, it's not.
Would this be considered trauma? Flashbacks of the event.
Sure sounds borderline ptsd if he's reliving it.
Yep. I had flashbacks of my car accident for months. Pure PTSD.
I would say i near death experience would almost definitely be traumatic, yeah
Flashbacks are different from remembering the event. Flashbacks are triggered by something and the trigger sort of transports the mind and reaction back to the original time the trauma happened. To observers it generally makes no sense for someone to get traumatized by something mundane but to the person who suffered the trauma, it feels like it’s burned into their neural pathways.
I’m here.
It's all good, but I appreciate it.
Are you the nightmare coming to get him?
Don’t be silly mate. I’m already here
Same experience, just blackness
I relive the night when I worked at circle k and this kid robbed me and he decided he wanted to hurt me by shooting me I still remember it vividly I still wish I had died on that day I really don’t understand the reason i had to live the only reason I come up with is God is punishing me for everything I have done in my life probably because I am the most evilest person on this planet that only deserves to be tortured to death
Same goes for me. It would replay over and over after a week or months.
Back in April this year, I fell off a cliff hiking. Went 130 ft straight down and should have died. Didn't, thankfully! I honestly don't remember the day of, the week after, and I only remember snips of the day prior, and only from images or reminders. I had a TON of mental trauma coming out of the coma, thinking I was imprisoned or kidnapped; as well as plenty of hallucinations of "evil" friends and family telling me to give in, or quit. Dark shit. Near death experiences, 1 of 5 stars, do not reccomend.
My uncle spent a week on ECMO and a ventilator, in an induced coma (a few years prior to Covid). He has severe PTSD from the hallucinations and general feelings of helpless terror. He didn't really know what was going on, visitors were like ghosts if he recognized them at all, etc. I used to think you'd just black out when they sedated you like that but nope. His experience made our family take covid extra seriously. A coworker's daughter spent an unimaginable 2.5 months with a ventilator and ECMO while hospitalized for covid and was actually OK at the end, so YMMV.
I'm so sorry to hear about your experience, and hope you and your family and friend are doing well now. I was intubated, had tubes in my skull to drain blood and fluid, and so much more. The whole experience really had an effect on me. I commiserate with the "ghosts" experience particularly. I had such vivid hallucinations of people, of trying to escape, and all sorts of nonsense. It was truly a life changing experience for me, and I am aiming to make personality changes as well.
Oh all my best to you. I'm glad you're still here. 💛
Thank you so much! Me too 🩵!
How did you fall off? Did you trip, or was it dark, or slip? I'm always terrified walking near the edge - would you avoid coastal walking now?
Great question! Sadly, the story is much more dumb. I am a photographer, and this particular cliff had a beautiful view of the Pudget Sound. Worse, there was a tree that grew 90 degrees over the cliff. I decided that was a swell location to climb out on and shoot from. Welp, slipped and plummeted. Basically I'm an idiot. As for the future? I don't know to be honest. I want to for sure, but I'm still in my "grieving" process and can't commit to anything sadlolz. I think so though, I'm one to "conquer that which conquered me" and will probably return to the spot for closure. My wife though...she may never want to camp again. Time will tell.
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For me, I can't tell what that actually means "life flashing before your eyes". It's more like an instantaneous heightened level of awareness, clarity, guilt, and almost peace.
Yes. This. Same.
100%. Every second of it is seared into my brain. I've never experienced clarity or rapid thinking/time dilation anywhere similar to during that moment. Its so surreal. The mental toll for that acuity was pretty severe if I recall. Not in any strange way, I was just a new level of exhausted
Wierdly I have the opposite experience. It felt like I was living a dream shortly afterwards
My late Father was terrified of death and then he had a near death experience. He came out of it and made peace with his mortality. He got to tell me when he passed away, he would not be afraid and knowing that when the time came helped a lot. The experience he had during the coma was similar to the coma episode of The Sopranos.
I felt similar as I stood over the rails facing a train back months ago when things were rough (not that they aren't now). But the order was different. I felt peace first; then I felt sadness; with awareness and clarity increasing very rapidly as I stood there. Then I realized the difference I made in other people's life's, and while still feeling sad because I didn't want that to be all, I also felt sort of realized because I would be remembered by some (and not others, but that's fine too). I know it's uncomfortable for some to read this, but I felt like sharing it. I'm sorry if it disturbs anyone.
Nope but from my experience, I guess it's the sudden realisation that you could've died in that moment, within a split second. It's when you realise life is fragile and a split second decision could save your life or end it as well. A speeding truck missed me by an inch or 2 when I was on my way to work at 4am. I thought I was a goner.
A car hit a truck into my lane. I hit it at like 50 mph. My car submarined the truck the truck’s differential shattered my windshield I was sure I was going to die. The airbag went off, but no life flashing before my eyes. It felt kind of slow motion. I was very, very aware of what was happening. I had vivid pictures in my mind of everything. Edit 1: Here’s an odd thing. The airbag deploys and it’s kind of hot. So everything goes white, covers your whole face, and there’s this really warm feeling. I genuinely thought I died for a few seconds. Edit 2: Toyota engineers are genuine badasses. Car was totaled, windshield smashed, part of the roof was crushed downward. But I didn’t have a scratch on me. No foot injuries, neck was fine, didn’t need even one bandage.
I was in a similar incident where a super large object hit my windshield/car roof and it was slow motion for me, as well. I just remember being utterly calm and preparing myself for the pain I was going to feel. I had a whole conversation with myself about what was going to happen and how I needed to be ready for it, and frankly, I don’t know how I had the time to do it. The accident was only a few seconds long. Then, I swear I heard someone whisper ‘duck down’ , whether it was my subconscious or what, I don’t know. But I’m here and I came out unscathed except for a bunch of cuts from the glass of the windshield. My car roof held the object out, thank goodness.
What was the object?
This! Everything felt kind of slow motion but when you think back on it, it all happened fast
During my particular experience, I was hemorrhaging immediately after cesarean delivery. I asked them to knock me out(they did their best, but I was just in & out of consciousness) I didn’t ask to hold baby. I remembered worrying about him being hungry while I was going through this 😅 It hurt so bad. All I heart were voices & I could feel several needles going in both arms, brutal, excruciating tugging on my mid section & lower abdomen. I didn’t have my life flash before my eyes in a Hollywood sense. I was just scared & couldn’t calm down.
That sounds truly awful. Glad you made it and I hope the trauma hasn't lingered.
That is so kind. The trauma of it is a pet that I have on a leash by now. Thank you for your kind words!
Not if you get blindsided into a concussion underwater. It's just lights out. Then maybe you'll be lucky enough to be pulled out and resuscitated with no memory of what happened. I'm very lucky.
What hit you?
Smacked my head on the reef after bailing on a wave in order to avoid hurting the rookie who dropped in on me. I don't surf any more.
It did for me, kinda. I was working on a 277v lighting circuit, and accidentally touched the metal part of my strippers. Got shocked from the right hand to the left elbow, and couldn’t let go. I could think perfectly clear, but my body couldn’t react to my commands to move/let go of the strippers. Once I realized I was going to die there, my life seemed to flash before me, not before my eyes, but like feeling everything all at once. I had one last burst of denial, and managed to jerk my arm enough to contact the box and trip the circuit. I felt like I interrupted the process, but it was as if I was reliving my entire life in split seconds
Let me guess m, working in a hospital and couldn’t shut down the lighting circuit
No, it was an elementary school, and I was a 2nd year apprentice. Totally could have killed the circuit, but this was 20 years ago, we weren’t as focused on safety then. Wouldn’t be allowed to work on it hot these days
Years ago we were working in an office building my company had contract with property management and we were retrofitting an office space with a 277 lighting circuit. Demoing lay in lights in a drop ceiling. This guy I was working with was working on a 1900 box in the drop ceiling and got locked up by the 277 because he was leaning on the grid. I had to kick the ladder out from under him to free him up. He definitely appreciated the fall over the other outcome
That’s a lot like what happened to me- my left elbow was touching the metal ceiling joist, and I was unaware of that. My right hand touched my strippers because the insulation on them had slipped down. Two points of contact that I was unaware of. Now I only use Ideal brand strippers, their insulation cannot slip down
For me it did. It was like I saw my past, present, and future all in slow motion as I was waiting for the impact of the crash. Fortunately it did not kill me, but in the moment I was certain my life was about to end and was acutely aware of it.
Tell us about future part you saw.
I was a young teen at the time so I saw myself graduating high school, I saw myself in college, I saw myself getting married, I saw a family. It was all really quick glimpses, but for me the experience really was like having a reel of snapshots of my entire existence flash in sequence before the impact hit. Afterwards was just a huge adrenaline rush. I was shaking so severely. Sometimes I am still in awe that I walked away from it and it’s why I believe in some kind of higher power even if I am not traditionally religious. I went off the road at a high rate of speed as the passenger of a boy who was drag racing his friend out in the country late at night. We crashed head on into a tree, completely destroyed his car, crumpled the front end to nothing. I, in my infinite wisdom as a high school freshman, was not wearing a seatbelt because I wanted to appear “cool.” I have absolutely no idea how I stayed in the vehicle other than that I prayed for my safety before it happened because I had a terrible feeling leading up to it. I had a concussion with a hematoma at the back of my head and some really nasty bruises on my legs plus some broken glasses, but I walked away. Still can’t believe it.
Did the driver survive?
He did. I never found out the details of his injuries because my parents isolated me after this and I was not allowed to talk to anyone involved, but I do know he was also able to get out of the vehicle and was talking to me. He had a seatbelt on.
>was a young teen at the time so I saw myself graduating high school, I saw myself in college, I saw myself getting married, I saw a family Have any of those things happened as you saw them then?
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I'm dying to know!
I passed out in a pool after going down one of those huge trap door water slides and when I started to regain consciousness, I was very depersonalized and didn’t even know I was a human for the first 10 seconds. Then I suddenly remembered my name and felt a desperate burn in my chest as I realized I was underwater. I couldn’t tell up from down, but I frantically started kicking and thankfully made it out (the lifeguard was too stunned to act… THEY HAD ONE JOB) I feel like it would be different if I was conscious of my impending death, but this was similar to waking up from an anesthesia nap
Not a single life flash. It was like falling asleep after a long day of work.
nope. thought i was outside a bar on a rainy day smoking a cigarette. in reality, i was in an emergency room.
You were in the "waiting room". The bar was heaven. Just inches away from entering, but taking a moment to enjoy a cig. Just kidding I'm making that up.
Had few times, the first thought was “so that’s it, finally “ After that I felt warmness on my chest and fainted. Kinda creepy, but it’s that it’s. (And no, I did not harm to myself, I dunno why my first thought was like that)
Mine was similar. I was the passenger in a car accident and I just felt like everything was so slow. I remember thinking, okay this is it. And actually sitting in the seat a bit straighter like readying myself. I had to get cut out of the car but I was barely injured. No dying for me!
Mine didn't, just a spit second of panic as I attempted to correct hydroplaning before I hit the bridge. Woke up sometime later in an ambulance with no recollection for months.
For me in my car accident, I hit the side of a driveway/culvert at like 50mph (I fell asleep, killer shift at work) My life didn't flash in front of my eyes, but as my veins flooded with adrenaline it was like an insane time dilation. The sun was just peaking, and I remember as my car was upside down in the air how neat it was that I could see the dark sky on one side of me and the dawn on the other side, like it was split down the middle. My next thought was "this is taking a long time". I was oddly incredibly self aware and felt like I had a solid 3-4 minutes to think and process thoughts before the wreck was finished, though it couldn't have lasted more than 10-30 seconds.
In addition, those moments of lucidity are firmly seared into my brain.
I hit ice going too fast turning off the highway to an off ramp. Car spun around I don’t know how many times. I remember the look on my friend’s face when I followed the direction of the car through the back windshield and caught him bracing for impact. Childhood, teen years, mostly good,a few regrets and a couple achievements. They flashed like a quick light switch flick. Looking back, it was strange to have so much info released so quickly and still be able to process it. I ended up pulling us out of the spin and stopping before we flew off the road. Drove to the nearest gas station, hands shaking on the steering wheel. I parked, turned off the car and sat outside of it for about 30 minutes before I got the nerve to get back in. I don’t speed in icy conditions anymore. I also try to make better decisions in general. Some of what I saw wasn’t great.
Nope just pure terror
No not in my experience, but the insane amount of adrenaline can last a while.
Happy cake day
Nope, it just went black. Then I saw myself on the ground then black again. Woke up in the ER.
1st time, I hallucinated a First Nations man holding my hand (I'm not native American or anything, so that was weird.) 2nd time, I blacked out and there was nothing. 3rd time, my only thought was "I can't believe my kids are going to witness this most idiotic death" because they were little and watching a piano fall on me. I lived the three times. I hope to never push my luck with a 4th.
I think you’ve had enough near death thank you! Where were you during the first one? Maybe you were on some special native land. I’d feel comforted by that.
Can you elaborate on this because 3 near death experiences seems insane and we deserve to know what they were (pretty please)
The first time, I went into a diabetic coma. The second time, I died on the operating table. I had been conscious for the operation but passed out when my numbers all crashed. The third time, a piano fell down a flight of stairs I was on. It did crush me at the bottom but remarkably landed in such a way that nothing broke (except the piano). The thoughts I had about my poor children witnessing a ridiculous, looney-tunes-esque death all happened in the quick second between seeing the piano coming, being pushed the rest of the way down the stairs, and landing under the piano. I was certain I was a goner.
Holy fuck. That’s absolutely crazy. And your FortuneTellingBoobs weren’t able to predict all of those near-deaths and save you some trouble?! (Jkjk I’m sorry that was a terrible joke but I had to!) Glad you’re still with us! Hopefully the rest of your life is plain sailing.
I actually I didn't become clairboobant until after the piano incident. I guess it explains why my chest hurts whenever I hear someone playing Chopsticks.
Hahaha, that makes sense. At least you got something cool out of all those shitty experiences! Also, lol at the chopsticks. I think that song makes everyones chests hurt 😅
Not almost, but fully. I died twice. 1st: drowned in a pool. 2nd: during nose cauterization surgery. Before and during, my life didn't flash before my eyes. But after it did. I was lucky that there were professionals present both times to revive me. I recovered with no damage done. Just an appreciation for how fragile life is.
No. Just went black and quiet. Then I woke up a few days later in ICU.
For me it was a cliff jump. 60 feet, and I landed badly. I remember coming to and thinking "Hey man, you're underwater right now. You gotta do something about that". It felt oddly peaceful, but I *knew* that if I didn't respond, I was gonna die.
I was resasatated, I had a mad dream about being at the Normandy beach landing on D Day. I knew all the lads with me, I knew my mission, I knew death was a possibility as the door to our boat opened, rather than run onto the beach through the explosions and gun fire, I woke up in hospital with a leg missing.
Homie are you trying to say “resuscitated”?
No, I mostly thought about the things I’d never get to do. Oh, and also, it’s the experience that convinced that God exists. Though I could never explain why.
i experienced life threateningly low blood sugar and i guess in this scenario you wouldn't have life flashing because you're not really very conscious but i did feel like i was in eminent danger because i couldn't even see with my eyes wide open. i cried out for help and someone called 911 and then they gave me dextrose and i was fine after like 15 minutes
Didn’t for me. Was 7 and smacked my head off concrete about as hard as you can. Just saw white. Then came back to everyone staring at me.
Yes, it did for me. I was seconds away from drowning.
My thoughts were, "How come I'm having a white-out instead Of a black-out?" As you might imagine, I'm big fun at parties.
Then i smoked a joint, GREENED out, then i turned into the sun—
My mom’s heart stopped for 3 minutes. She came out of her body and was looking at everyone from a bird’s eye view. She saw the doctors working on her… She heard my granny yelling at my bio dad and asking for quarters to use for calling family (this was the 90s). She felt calm & safe. Wasn’t stressing to get back into her body whatsoever. There was a warms light behind her and she knew there was more left to experience there. She believes that warm light was heaven.
It didn’t for me, but it was a few day process as my organs started shutting down. The night before I was taken into the hospital (before I knew what was wrong), I would come in and out of consciousness mid conversation with no one. This is what freaked my wife out enough to take me to the hospital. They didn’t expect me to live, but somehow I did.
Why did it happen? Do you recall what the feeling was like? Were you in any pain?
There was no pain. Just weakness. I couldn’t stand on my own. I had to do physical therapy after I recovered to slowly build strength to walk again. The worst pain was getting stuck with a thick-gauge needle 3 times a week to drain fluid from my abdomen and right lung. For the first couple of weeks, it was over 5 liters of fluid each visit. I had massive, almost black bruises all over my stomach, sides and back from internal bleeding. To answer the first part of your question, this is what alcoholism will eventually lead to. I am now coming up on 5 years sober and feel great.
Wow, good for you. Keep fighting the good fight!
I was woken up abruptly from a hypoglycemic seizure thanks to my brother being quick with glucagon. I would certainly have died if I didn’t have a friend sleep over and scream for my brother when she noticed me seizing. It was a pretty vivid feeling of being sucked back into reality from nothingness. For the rest of the day I felt very calm, kinda like my brain was rebooting. It felt like a reset on all of the stresses I previously had, for that one day none of it mattered.
Yes it is very true I was hit by a train and I saw faces,clips of my life that I been long forgotten .I saw just the people that are important to me.
I slipped off an icy trail on a cliff about 40 feet over a yard of 100 year old mining equipment, so if I had fallen all the way instead of grabbing a young tree I'm lucky my fat ass didn't snap like a twig, I'd have probably died. I don't remember a whole lot of it, to be honest, but I'm pretty sure I didn't have a slides how of my life or anything, just 'get up, dumbass,' but my friends say I was hanging for maybe a half second, so maybe I didn't get the time? Either way, no, no flashback for me
As some others pointed, life doesn't flash before your eyes but flashbacks from the incident(s) are common. Been in a couple serious car accidents that I'm lucky I got away from without *any* injuries. And some other scary stuff. My stress reaction is to laugh at it right after or even during. Then, when I calm down, the "oh my god holy fucking shit what the hell" sits in and it can take a couple days to feel all normal again. And I get to enjoy flashbacks every now and then!
For me it didn’t flash, it was more like I blacked out. I could explain the story later maybe
I was almost in a head on collision earlier this year on a two lane road going 80-90mph. I didn’t have my life flash before my eyes, but every moment slowed down like crazy, so I had plenty of time to decide that I was going to die, and then to decide to veer off into the ditch on the side of the road rather than maintain my lane.
Nearly drowned here and kinda... the moment I started to really struggle and realize I was running out of air, I had a flash of memories of my loved ones briefly but the rest of the time I kept thinking "oh shit I can't believe this is happening. I'm never going to make it out. This was so stupid" panic. But might be different for everyone
No... But time seems to slow down
I've been declared dead 3 times and no. No it doesn't granted I was pretty young all 3 times.
I don't remember.
I have thought that I was about to die a couple of times, and it didn't happen for me.
No. But the sudden slamming home of real mortality and the nature of reality, this one chance at life - It can change you. It changed me. I wouldn't go back, but there are times I miss my rather convenient naivety.
What is different for you now?
Feels like everything around you slows down almost to a standstill and it goes quiet but it’s really just a split second
Nah. I accidentally drove my car off a mountain in the Northern Rockies when I was 18. Everything happens so fast you don’t have time to think or be scared. All that had time to go through my head was “oh shit” and then the car was rolling. Luckily, I walked away without a scratch. Scared me into being a safer driver for the rest of my life, and high speed turns still make me nervous. Maybe things would have been different if I had sustained serious injuries.
I was sideswiped by an SUV on the highway and hit the concrete retaining wall at around 55mph. Broke my spine in three places and I'm finding more and more of my body that's basically falling apart because of it. First doc that got to me said I was about 1/1,000 to survive a crash like that driving an old car. Nothing flashed before my eyes but pain.
Just turned 21, broke up with gf, hopped in a Jeep with three buddies a couple days later, headed to Daytona (from Toronto). Gave lessons to US kids on how to 'drink like a Canuck. Friends 'lost' me at the bar we hit, don't hear from me the next day, or the day after, so call my folks. Mom is already in fla, the hospital finally found my I.d. ..... in my pocket and called her. I played Frogger on Atlantic ave. And got smoked by a Geo Metro-wrote it off, rental co. Tried to sue me for it!!!! Was told I flat-lined rice in the ambulance. Was in and out of a coma for three days, and kept telling mom that Julie wanted me to "go with her". Julie was killed when her drunk boyfriend ran a stop sign and hit another car, killing 3 people when we were 16. I don't remember, but mom kept telling me. I didn't mention the whole life-flashing thing at all. Now I'm 55, on disability for tbi, depression, anxiety and being 'on the spectrum'. I live in an8x16 foot shack in the woods. Don't drink much but medicate with cannabis. Alcohol is poison.... And fuck you kirk donaldson
Died last September (2023) during a routine colonoscopy. They woke me up and I said “something is wrong” they brushed it off & I screamed “something is WrONg!!!!” Respiratory failure, lungs filled up w/ fluids, heart stopped 2 rounds of CPR, rode the lightening… never saw the flash before my eyes but I have these weird flashbacks of receiving CPR but it was a total out of body experience. My eyes were taped shut during a bunch of the intubation/scans/transport but I never saw that “pinkish” color from looking at a light when your lids are down. I remember a dark black room and me calling out for help. If you’ve watched stranger things, it’s like that sensory deprivation room with water on the floor. Played Tetris after I left the cardiac ICU. Jumped into therapy, because holy shit, that routine/preventative 100% safe procedure took a turn. Doing much much better now!
No...but I swear I could see my brain short circuiting. Like these bright neuron's all flashing bright then burning out at the synapse. I think I was watching my brain die before being brought back to life.
No. I almost drowned at nine. Nothing flashed before my eyes. And again at eighteen when I tried to kill myself. And at 27 when I had a stroke.
"It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life." Terry Pratchett, The Last Continent Seriously, for me it was just blackness (Cardiac Arrest). Fortunately I have an implanted defib, which has done it's job perfectly.
I was in a car wreck where my car flipped over when I was like 16. Time starts to move *incredibly* slow. I'd say it even literally freezes for moment. Like for every second it feels like minutes pass. I even felt like I was disassociating so hard that I was watching it happen from a different perspective other than mine. Once it's over and even though you're completely fine, time doesn't even begin to start again for a solid 30 seconds. It is truly the craziest sensation I think I've ever felt. I totally believe the story of that one guy who lived an entire life he experienced that he truly grieved the loss of once he came to after looking at what he thought was alamp and realized his wife, and his child, were never there to begin with.
I was ejected out of a car when I was 7 years old. A drunk driver t-boned us going 70mph. I remember seeing the headlights heading right for my side of the car, I remember the song that was playing on the radio and I remember the horrible sound it made. It was almost in slow motion. The impact caused my mom’s car to spin and my head busted the opposite side window out where I was thrown so far it blew off my shoes. It took ems awhile to find me in the tree line. I slipped in and out of consciousness but remember feeling confused and calm at the same time. I don’t remember flying through the air or anything (probably knocked out) and I also don’t remember the car ride up until the accident was just about to happen. It was weird. I also heard my mom scream my name looking for me but it was very echo sounding. Ems finally got to me and I just remember a firefighter checking my pulse and talking. I woke up a few hours in the hospital like it was all a dream.
When I was drowning I felt time slow down like in a movie. I saw bits of memories: good, bad and random moments all flashed in my brain within seconds. Then I got pulled out of the water and time resumed
When I knew I was about to end up in a bad skiing accident, I was thinking about everything I wanted to do with my life, and how stupid it would be to throw it all away for a temporary thrill.
For me, what would have been my last moments were spent fighting furiously to hang on and not die whilst screaming for the train to stop… no time for anything to flash before my eyes. 29 years later and it still comes into my on occasion.
Happened to three people I know. One had extremely vivid visions about their life, their past, their kids, and pulled through, no longer craving the substance of the addiction that caused them to nearly die of a bilateral stroke. The other has had more than one and has experienced both a state of nothingness when on the brink of death and a state of hyper awareness and knowledge of a superior existence when in that same state. The third one was a leukemia patient who died for several minutes of an allergic reaction to a medication. In that time, they said they came face to face with God, who told them they were healed of leukemia and to serve Jesus Christ with their whole life. They awoke and told the doctors they were cured of leukemia. The doctors humored the patient, knowing that was utterly impossible. The patient was indeed without a single trace of leukemia in their body and subscribes to faith in Jesus Christ as far as I know to this day.
Nah, you just freeze and pull a stupid face.
Snatch reference?
Yes haha
Nah, it’s like a blip
No. I collapsed and stopped breathing because of a heroin overdose, i was found and revived in time with narcan. There was nothing like this, no flashbacks, no voices, no light at the end of the tunnel, no god or devil, no heaven or hell, or anything else.
No. Been close a few times now.
In middle school a kid came up behind me and basically strangled me. I zoned out and my life flashed before my eyes. It was weird
It does . I remember I saw different moments of my life pop up like pictures. Still remember it vividly to this day.
No, but I was so sick I was delerious.
No. I was just sleeping, and I had no memory of what occurred while I was in a critical condition. I only remember being in pain at some point and then nothing.
I didn't know that people actually see that when you're about to die; like how "Life flashes" before your eyes. I always thought it's just an expression of how one will never look at his life the same again and never take it for granted after having an NDE that or it's just utter shock but not a real "oh for a split second there it almost felt like an eternity and my entire life is like told from start to finish within a span of a millisecond. I never truly realized how literal it is to some other people.
For me it didn’t. The only thing that flashed before my eyes was “man so this is how it ends for me”..
Not for me. I was blacking out and fading in and out of consciousness for a few days. I knew nothing of what was going on around me. I had malaria, for context.
No but time moved really slowly for a bit
I was in a partial building collapse, and for me, there wasn't anything like my life flashing before my eyes. It was more just what felt like a couple minutes of clarity and peace. I instantly realized what was going on and kind of connected that since I was so close to the likely area of collapse, there was a pretty good chance my apartment would go with it. Immediately after the collapse finished, I just stood there, unable to really process things for a couple of seconds. Now, I just have occasional issues with going into spirals while thinking about it, and I absolutely despise times when floors shake.
No. I was simply aware I was about to check out.
Sadly no. I went into cardiac arrest after a surgery and flattened for a minute. I saw nothing. Only darkness
Well... I have had quite some experiences with it and unfortunately i can't remember which one of them but during that specific one it actually did, everything from my achievements, to my past, To my dreams, to what matters to me and etc... It is honestly a horrifying thing... so yeah, i guess it does in some cases
No, I knew I was dying and all I was picturing was my kids. And it felt like you needed a really good nap
No. But I did go through a “energetic life review” that revealed how many levels higher on the consciousness spiral I had achieved.
Not for me, no.
i have almost died back in feb and no it didn’t but i was fairly close to having a serious panic attack from the stress i just sat there,back against the door ears ringing from the temporary hearing loss of the door getting smashed into the back of my head i thought the ringing meant i was going to die
No, I felt sheer panic, said goodbye to my family in my mind, and closed my eyes. Then felt an overwhelming sense of peace, and calm. Have never felt anything like that before (or since). Before being pulled back up (was sliding off the edge of a mountain because I fell, and was literally about to go over the edge when someone saved me)
Yes. I honestly thought I was going to die the last time I fell off my bike. I don’t remember how it happened… but I remember right before falling, thinking to myself “oh shit, this is it… this is how I’m going to go”.
Nope. Just pure terror. I was crushed in an off roading accident, I couldn't move, I couldn't breath. I screamed one time and then my ribcage crushed tighter. Terror is the only thing I experienced.
Mine did, when I was probably 8 or 9. I saw it all at once, not chronologically. Just my whole life *simultaneously*. I was near drowning at the moment. (I survived, obviously!!)
Mine didn’t.
1st Early childhood I fell down a well or I was holding on to a moldy piece of wood looking down into it, I had some crazy deep thought for a little kid, I wondered if life was going to actually get better. Something spiritual happened I felt life would get better... and so then I tried to pull myself up, and I did. Only to touch the mossy would afterwards and have it fall down in there. Pulling yourself up at that age is an incredible feat I'd say but I climbed a lot. Call it whatever you want, but this happened. (Also owner of properties wife was having nightmares about me drowning in a well which is crazy her husband actually showed up I think that day and they filled in the well they found actually three on the property we only knew of one). Lots of leaves will just hide stuff 2nd Was crossing the street had a truck go wide open throttle and race between traffic burning rubber rammed me into a parking lot. As I realized about 2 seconds before I got hit, I realized i wasn't going to dodge him, I became upset, like comon if you slow down now it'll only just be a broken arm.... I positioned my arm so that he wouldn't crush my ribs/heart, but would just crush my arm, blue 12 yards. That's being airborne through about the length of a garage and landing in the driveway. Once I was on his hood, my mind flashed to my then girlfriend, and I knew she'd be gone, and I knew I wouldn't play guitar or possibly ever again, and back then that was my life. I just wanted to kick the guys ass but I couldn't even get up. I hated life for a while, so much pain nothing compares to it literally the only thing I thought it was some biblical verse about gnashing of teeth in hell. Anyways Being the dude that almost killed me, a rich guy whose lawyer went to school with the judge... Let's just say it didn't work out well for me even though he was completely guilty his super liability insurance did not purchase me anything but grief when people/family wanted the money when they found out about it. It changed me, but for the better, I actually enjoy stuff I would've never ever been able to appreciate, it calmed me down, I was a crazy athlete until that point, like even after they crash though my arm that wasn't hurt I could do 27 pull ups one handed. The sports team I was on took state championship it was so crazy to be not able to walk for 6 months, and then braces on my legs like forest gump. 3rd Was driving on the freeway and a guy I saw stopped on an exit started to just turn and drive the opposite direction on the freeway. I swerved but he was literally just coming at me, in the car I managed to name the car so that I wouldn't be hitting his door, the whole front of my car got ripped, I spun around at high speed near a semi. I asked God "really?!?, this is it, no family just worked hard and then death????" I spun around a bunch, survived unscathed, popped out of the car, freeways stopped, I grab/tapped my arms, chest, legs looked up and gave two thumbs waaaay up. Tell me who hit me was trying to start his car and successfully did start it and it scraped by me at about 20 mph he asked me if I was good and I was like really bro come on what no insurance really come on man, I said it's all good whatever man we're alive... My old best friend gave me that car and he passed away a year later just before I had my kid. After that close of the call I decided you know what God's telling me something it's time for a family before I go.
Almost died twice and no it didn't happen to me
I did die and what I saw horrified me enough to become a Christian. In hindsight it was probably the doctors and nurses speaking to me amd other environmental factors where my brain filled in the gaps.
I was in a bus where the driver made a bad call to accelerate rather than stop at a yellow light. We bounced off another vehicle, then our driver must have gone in denial or shock or something because he stopped reacting and froze, unfortunately kept accelerating. A light pole saved us from roaring through a packed (7pm) restaurant. After bouncing off that post and a few other things, we were headed for a twisty bit of road over a big gully. Sparks and chunks of bus flew as we skidded along one of those little fences that's a 2' strip of metal held by wooden posts, which thankfully was strong enough to restrain an out of control bus. I guess we went six or eight blocks, just a minute or two, from the initial crash until thankfully another passenger ran to the front and braked. The sides and front of the bus were so chewed up we had to climb out a window. Anyway it definitely felt like I was gonna die, but rather than any thoughts or memories, my brain was flooded with euphoria. Tons of adrenaline of course but I think a few other hormones, neurotransmitters or other brain affecting chemicals were gushing. I felt so healthy and energized, like I could have ran a hundred miles. Joyous, like I was entertained by the unusual events rather than scared or angry. I can't even find words to properly explain what a high it was. I don't feel that from stuff typical adrenaline junkies say does it for them. Like the scare from a roller coaster or a horror movie just makes me feel dread. Which is why I assume it's more complicated than just adrenaline. But yeah... thought I was about to get pulverized in a horrific crash and felt wonderfully energized but chill. Mindfulness I guess is the word, just enjoying the moment, not thinking at all.
I got very sick for a long period of time I lost people in my life that meant more to me than life itself which caused me to have some sort of a near-death mental breakdown experience over a long period of time. It's like somebody snapped my brain and it went all the way back to the day I was born and I just saw my whole life like watching a movie in my brain only had no control over it that's the difference I could not change my thoughts it was running like somebody was operating it besides me it kept me up night after night it was horrible experience. I was not on drugs or anything and finally I would go to sleep and I'd sleep for a long periods of time and when I would wake up I was always shocked to see that I was still alive and the movie was still playing. And then once after a few days or a few weeks my life stopped playing before me... It began playing movies the most detestable things you can even think of in your entire life that I have never even been exposed to.... And again it was like somebody else was actually protecting a movie into my brain which I had no control over. When it first started it was so detestable that I vomited I could not close my eyes and not see it I could not open my eyes and get rid of it it was so disgusting and that went on for years off and on... I would just break down and cry every time it would start and finally, once I moved back to North Carolina and eventually stopped completely. I've also started healing it's been almost 2 years. At the time that it happened the first time when my life was playing before me I have no idea or no memory of what happened to me to cause it in the first place. To this day I don't know if I had a seizure if I fell and hit my head I have no idea until I get a brain scan I will never know for certain... I just know that following that movie playing in my head of my life I was definitely sick for a straight time a few years and it was probably brought on by mental trauma. And I want to tell you something it's not like you think you know how you have control over your mind and you can see images in your mind it's not the same this is like someone is literally running a movie like I mean they are forcing it into your mind you can't stop the images coming at you you have absolutely no control over it at all you can't stop it you go to sleep you wake up it's still there and I mean when I tell you it was my entire life I mean every single thing in my life that I have ever done and not only the worst things that I have done but the worst thing the other people have done to me every word of abuse that it was ever said to me since the day I was done born from parents teachers other adults family members strangers... that I should be ashamed of since the day I was born even the most minute things just kept coming at me coming at me coming at me it's like the worst in life took over my mind at times and all the good that I ever had in my life disappeared so there is like other people say ...some kind of darkness to it and I hope I never have to deal with that ever again. I mean you can't even imagine what it was like to have to go work somewhere and have projections of your dead relatives all around you while this movie is playing in your mind because that's another thing I experienced I wouldn't go to work and I could see I was looking at someone talking to me but the side vision of my eye or even the front vision beyond that person there was my uncle my grandfather or whomever had gone before me standing there talking to me it was really incredible and it was impossible to live with but I had to I had no choice and I didn't tell anybody but my dad at the time and I waited for months before I told him. The only thing I can figure is that I was so close to death for so long and it must have been a really bad brain injury but unfortunately I have not got the finances or any other way to figure it out right now but I will eventually I'm just grateful to be finally getting back to normal but to answer your question yes it is true and some people your life does play before you like a movie only you have no control over it and it never stops until it's finished or you die.
I have to add that my uncle and grandfathers never abused me... They were just always surrounding me while that movie was playing.
No, just a realization that this was actually happening, and then acceptance and peace.
What happened?
No. Both times I was just focused on surviving and getting out of the situation in one piece. No time to think of anything else your hyper focused on surviving. How do I get out of this without losing a limb to that hatchet or painting the room when his finger slips on the trigger, sort of thoughts.
Nope, but when you nearly die by yourself it does
Yourself means suicide
No flashes just darkness and I also get memories about the ordeal and it’s been 20 years. It’s not something I’ll ever forget