To ask if you've ever had a near death experience and what went through your mind?

Covid. I felt so peaceful, like I could just fall asleep and slip away and it was all ok.
Then I realised it was Christmas Eve and I have 4 dc that I wasn't willing to leave so forced myself to snap out of it.
But I hope when I'm old and senile and surrounded by my children and grandchildren, that is exactly how I will go.

The calmness which we feel, doesn't mean you lack the will to survive. Not at all. The fact that you survived your near death episode, is testament to that

I also had this experience, when I went into septic shock after a ruptured appendix. I felt a wonderful peace, às if I was floating on a warm ocean. I had no fear. My take away from it, was an acceptance that one day I will die, and I'm not afraid of it.

@Meadowfinch I thought I'd be the only gunshot victim on this thread!!!

I always thought I had no crisis or survival instinct but I learned I can be calm and think rationally which saved my life. I recall thinking I can't die on the streets of London and promptly went about calling an ambulance and finding someone to help me.

I also survived an ectopic pregnancy as well that needed an emergency operation 2 days before my wedding.

Flowers for all of us on this thread.

Thank you to everyone who is sharing experiences in this thread, it's weirdly comforting for me that so many people had peace in their not-final moments after I had a traumatic bereavement last year.

But I'm still going to skip white water rafting 😂

A number of years ago I had an episode where I became very unwell really quickly. I rember thinking, as I passed out, oh this is it. I was perfectly calm and felt all warm and cosy. I wasn't at all afraid. Infact as I came round I was quite irritated with the people who were helping me. I was also weirdly, still holding onto the Mars Bar I had been about to eat when I passed out. Which is fairly typical, never give up the chocolate.

I choked on a piece of meat at a restaurant. Totally blocked my airway, I couldn't breathe at all. It was complete blind panic. Stood up and only my husband realised I was choking. Slapped me on the back hard three times and it flew out but it was horrendous and I've been absolutely terrified of choking ever since.

"I don't want to die today. It is my Birthday." Everything slowed down & I sorted myself out.

Sepsis. I was going into septic shock and knew I was going to die, I was surrounded by doctors and nurses trying to find veins and take blood etc and I was thinking 2 things: 1. you need to find a proper doctor (they all seemed very young and panicked) and 2, what a mess my flat was and how someone would have to clean it up.

My mum was in the room (will never forgive myself for the stress this must have caused her) and said a passing consultant heard the commotion and came in and took charge. I'm fine obviously! I did sort out my flat and all my financial papers once I was better so I won't have to worry about that in another NDE. Another thanks to the NHS, even though they tried to send me home twice before realising I had sepsis. Always ask!

I choked on a pea and thought it was the end, I was going to go out of my house and knock on doors. It was awful. I’m happy to hear some things are more peaceful. I really didn’t want to die, I do remember that.

TW: DV

I had a row about money with the BF I was living with. He'd spent his half of the rent money on blow and expected me to pay it for him.

He got very aggressive and shouty, grabbed the 5 fivers that I'd put on the mantelpiece, pinned me down on the bed, crumpled the money up and rammed it into my mouth and choked me. I struggled, but it was futile and I stopped. I felt really calm, not scared at all, just thinking "Well, this is how it ends then", but I also remember wondering if he'd leave the £5 notes in my throat afterwards.

Being a naive and stupid 20 year old, I stayed with him for another 2 years after that.

i had a brain tumour and suffered every complication with swelling on my brain.
they sent me for a ct scan and as I was waiting in the room. I had the feeling I could hold on any longer it was so intense
so hard. But as soon as I thought a way out of the pain is to die. I had an immense sense of peace and tranquility
it was so peaceful and calm.
I woke up in intensive care and had had a stroke.
I am not afraid of dying now as I know it is so peaceful and safe and lovely.

In my 20s my heart stopped during surgery. I didn't think it important to mention my arrhythmia ( I do now). I do recall a calmness that I can't explain, I wanted to stay there in that calm. Then there were jolts, and I could feel needles, of whatever reverses anaesthetic I assume.

When I came around again I couldn't understand why there were so many people around me.

I don't know what they did to me, but I was not able to lift my head off a pillow for about 2 weeks after.

But that calmness stays with you. I'm not afraid of when it's my real time to go.

My ex did the same

All I could think was 'my babies' (my children where a lot older than a baby at the time but will always be my babies)

Thankfully he let go just as I was about to pass out

Being choked. I remember fighting as hard as I could against his hands whilst bargaining in my head for one more dawn with any deity who may have been listening. In that moment I would have done anything to live (and I did, he let go the minute I stopped fighting and then I let him hurt me over and over again til the sky burned with the dawn I'd begged to see). I still have nightmares despite lots of therapy and was diagnosed with Ptsd afterwards. The disconnect between how desperate to stay alive I was then and how too regularly afterwards I've wanted to die is still very hard to deal with. As is the guilt and feelings of cowardice.

Then years later, I lost consciousness during an emcs when my blood pressure crashed as they lifted dc1 out. I felt so peaceful, drifting out to sea knowing that I'd brought my cargo safe to harbour. That my role was over and I could just sleep forever until the anesthetist ruined it by pinching me very hard and giving me some sort of adrenaline.

I was 14 and we were n holiday in Yugoslavia. My dad was a strong swimmer, i'm not. I never went out of my depth for that reason . Suddenly I couldn't fee the bottom any more. I started panicking and was bobbing up and down trying to attract dads attention but he didn't notice. Suddenly by sheer chance i found the bottom again. It's stayed with me.

Not really a nde but I'm currently fighting cancer for the second time. The first time, my bowel perforated due to the cancer and they operated on me at midnight as they said I wouldn't survive the night otherwise. I remember thinking really calmly waiting to go into surgery, "Well if i die, i die I won't know anything about it" When i came around i fought with everything I had to get better for me and my family and I'm doing it again now.

I've had a few T/C seizures and couple other incidents. I have no recall whatsoever of any of them. It's like it didn't happen in my mind. I had no idea

Oh no, I forgot to put the bins out

Drowning, caught in a huge wave when surfing. I felt incredibly calm when spinning and realised that I wasn’t going to be able to get to the surface. Resigned. Then someone grabbed hold of me and hauled me to the surface.
Even now I don’t think of it as a bad experience, just very lucky that someone was brave enough and close enough to help me.

I nearly drowned as a child, around 7/8. I was quite panicked at first and then was very calm. It was quite peaceful and not at all a scary experience for me.

It sounds like from what pp have said its one of the less unpleasant ways to go.

Was also very peaceful and calm after loosing a dangerous volume of blood due to pph

I'm pretty sure that was Touching the Void. I vaguely remember the film, but can recall that bit where he was trying to crawl back to base camp and that stuck in a loop in his head!

DH had a cardiac arrest and only remembers being in the hospital being checked then awake with them telling him he’d had the arrest. No light at the end of a tunnel etc.

I had a superinfection (bacterial on top of covid pneumonia) two years ago and kidney failure as well. I can only vaguely remember fearing I wouldn't wake up when they were about to put me under to go on the ventilator - after that nothing, till I woke up what I thought was later that day, but transpired to be in fact a week later. Very scary stuff. I was only thinking of my dd though, if not for her I wouldn't have been so fearful and just accepted it. Sorry if that's offensive but it's true.

Yep, lost just under 4L blood during childbirth. The mood changed in surgery and all I could think was "Oh dear" as they took the baby off me and gave me oxygen. We've not had another