When did your world go quiet?

[PalominoOrGreyOrChestnutOrBay]

inspired by a tiktok trend recently, just thought it might be an interesting thread. I’m a regular poster not a journalist or anything like that (MNHQ can verify!).

When did your world go quiet? Basically, what was a time you got a fright and time seemed to stop or go quiet?

mine was I was on my horse and he decided to rear up, over concrete ground, and I felt him wobble back. As soon as I felt that first tilt backwards everything sort of went quiet and it was like an out of body experience (not a good one!). I couldn’t hear anyone around. I just remember the last thing I thought was along the lines of this is it im about to die and it was like everything was in slow motion. Luckily it was all ok but that split second was easily the scariest moment of my life and my world completely stopped.

So, when did your world go quiet?

The day after the Paris bombings, I was in a busy little shpping arcade in Cardiff with DH and DS (who was about 9) when a recorded announcement came over the tannoy telling us to evacuate. My vision went completely red. I've heard people talking about 'seeing red' or 'red mist', but until that moment, I'd always thought it was just a turn of phrase. I grabbed DS by the hand and just towed him through the crowd - I didn't run or push, but just carved a route through. It was a false alarm but I've never been so scared in my life.

When my baby choked and went blue and floppy. I thought that was it. I remember hearing someone scream and realising it was me. I never knew that was actually a thing that happened, just thought it was something people wrote to sound dramatic. Thankfully she survived but only because i smacked her on the back really hard repeatedly.

everyone should watch this as a reminder.

Falling off the horse in front of him (I got trampled), all went slow and I thought “this is going to hurt”.

Watching a person go up in flames. The screams still ring in my ears. Once I could move, my first aid training kicked in.

And on a far more shallow note, watching a friend who was new to Japanese food get the whole wasabi ball and lunging towards him to stop him (did not get there in time).

When DD1 (6) reached out over the river for a bit of blossom off an overhanging branch...and fell in. It was in a bit of river where we swim, though not in April! The survival training from her swimming lessons kicked in and she had got to the bank and out in quick sharp time before we could even grab her. She was absolutely fine but it was a big shock.

When I thought DH was really ill (he was - peritonitis and sepsis, and already showing signs of confusion) and hoiked him out of bed and to A&E instead of letting him (attempt to) sleep. Thank The Archers and Call the Midwife for sepsis being at the front of my mind. He was fine after a week on strong antibiotics on a drip.

When DM collapsed - conscious but hurt herself falling and couldn't get up - and I was 17- I felt really clear headed and called 999 while my DF was flapping about calling the GP. It turned out to be a heart attack so ambulance definitely warranted.

I think it's adrenaline - it makes me quite clear headed. Then when the danger has passed you are exhausted!

When my older children’s father died from a drugs 2 years ago.
We split up 25 years ago after he sold the baby’s nappies. It was the last straw for me.

When I was giving birth to DC2 (Vbac ) I thought I was about to die there was a wall clock in front of my bed and I could see my DC1 face on the clock willing me to keep going. Everything was a blur there were about 10 doctors and midwives around me and I couldn’t even see there faces

Had the very same experience. Time seemed to slow almost to a stop.

When my dad told me that it would be his last Christmas. All I kept repeating was ‘it’s ok - we’ll have a nice Christmas’ as if that was all that mattered. It was like my brain had turned into a stuck record and had stopped on my last thought.

Being the first car at the scene at a multi car and multiple motorbike accident. Everything happened in slow motion and then suddenly sped up to being too fast and we had to try and help these people with no idea what we were doing. It was hell.

Slipped going down the stone steps in my parents back garden. Fell through the air in slow motion, with what seemed like plenty of time to consider the fact that if I smacked my head on the stone steps I could die.

Less dramatically (though would have led to a very nasty injury and trip to hospital), I was staying with my husbands family, and we were making a fry up. BIL managed to tip the frying pan and pour the sizzlingly hot oil out. Time slowed to a crawl as I saw the hot oil head towards my bare foot - and neatly moved out of the way.

When I found out about ex husbands affair

When my car spun on a cliff edge in black ice

When my son was born and rushed to scbu with respiratory distress

That must have been absolutely terrifying!! I've never had that experience of everything going silent but I'm am horsy and can only imagine how awful that experience was for you

This may be horribly outing, but is probably the closest I've come to death.

Walking my 5yo DD to school. Hear the screech of a lorry coming found the corner too fast. Push DD to the other side of me.
Skip lorry tears round the corner .
Massive cast iron radiator falls off out on the skip, and hits the road, right next to us.
It explodes, like a bomb. Huge pieces of shrapnel fly past me and DD. We were in the 'cone of silence', with a V of shrapnel around us.

Time did seem to slow down, and I remember the utter silence whilst the radiator was falling, and then as the piece were flying past us.

The skip lorry driver didn't even bother stopping. We had to phone the police, as there was metal everywhere over the road and pavement. I kept one piece, over 1cm thick iron. That one piece could have killed or maimed us both.

and violent too.

Perhaps the first time I was raped at 14 by my abuser. or any one of the nights he tortured me. Or when I miscarried his baby alone in cemetery. Or perhaps it Or perhaps when I was raped by a gang of men at 17. Or when my church leader drove me home and sexually assaulted me. Or when the police seargant screamed at me in front of my parents. Or when my abuser stood outside my home with a petrol can.

life might be precious but it also sucks a lot

I saw my little sister get run over when i was about 9 and she was about 4 (she's fine now!) I saw her run past and infront of me into the road, and then saw a car infront of me. I couldn't see her and for what felt like ages nothing happened and nothing moved, there was no sound, and then I heard her scream and it was as if the world started turning again. The relief I felt when the scream came to know she was alive.

Accident for me too. Took a really big fall from a height, head first and even now I can see it back almost in slow motion.

I remember the landing, and the crack of my bone in my arm breaking, but there is this moment of prolonged silence afterwards before the chaos around me kicked in. I'm sure it was probably only seconds, but it felt like an eternity as I laid there piled in a heap.

Weirdly, I think the shock I was in helped me get over it, whereas the people I was with at the time still have nightmares about it now. Think I've traumatised them for life!

When my DD was about 3, I had walked on ahead and was at the back of the car loading it. She was with her dad, walking up the steep steps from the beach. The steps led directly onto the busy road where we were parked.

‘D’H appeared at the top of the steps with ONE child, not two. In that less-than-a-second of time my brain began to go through all of these things:

she is tiny and he is not holding her hand whilst walking up to a busy road

if I can’t see her it doesn’t mean that she is behind him - she could be in front of him

if she is in front of him she could be in-between our car and the car in front of us and I can’t see her because she is so small

if that is the case she could be about to walk out into the road

which way should I go?

I decided to run to the left, into the middle of the road, where DD was indeed just about to step out into the path of a huge SUV which would not have had time to stop. It doesn’t bear thinking about if I’d gone towards the path.
Her dad just didn’t understand what he’d done.

I’ve had other experiences of events slowing down (when I was hit by a car as a child I can remember looking in from the bonnet through the windscreen at the people in the car) but in terms of brain splitting decisions slowing down time I think the one above was worst.

I’m so sorry for everyone, but particularly the 13 year old who was filmed being attacked and then left unsupported afterwards. 💐

When my mum died. We tell everyone it was peaceful but it wasn't - those last few minutes of her life felt like an eternity and then suddenly she wasn't in the world anymore and everything was so quiet.

I’m so sorry @Chipsahoy. I hope you have rl support.

I’d stopped in my little Mini to turn right. I saw a double decker bus speeding up behind me and the screech of his brakes. Everything went quiet and I thought ‘I’m dead.’

Walking down the aisle watching soon2be DH's face light up - the rest of the world just fell away.

In surgery being prepped for a C-section with DD1. They couldn't find her heartbeat. A midwife was swabbing my abdomen with Betadine and the surgeon looked at her and said 'Faster'.

The consultant saying 'I'm sorry, but it is cancer'. If it wasn't for DH's arm around me I would have fallen off my chair.

Please tell he/she was ok

Mine is exactly the same. My hubby opened his eyes and looked directly at me before he took his last breath. Time stood still at that moment and I didn't want it to start again 😥

I was in a serious car accident in which a lady unfortunately lost her life. As cars engines tyres and bumpers were flying at our vehicle and we ended up upside down in a ditch I just sat back and accepted that whatever will be will be. Until of course we finally stopped and I got out to help the casualties.

Car crash. I knew the truck that hit us had horn blaring somehow but I couldn't hear it.

And then sound came back before awareness - and a weird bit where it felt like the two halves of my brain were reconnecting - and vision came back last - very tunnel vision to begin with.

After being told to stop being stupid, I wasn’t in labour by the nurses, despite my waters having broken far too early and being hospitalised and on meds to stop the labour, , I insisted on Dr seeing me anyway at 2am, luckily the dr was passing and realised I was not calming down he came in, the cord was in the birth canal and they had less than 5 minutes to do an emergency c section for my much wanted and longed for only child, it took them less than that! I had no screens up and saw the whole operation which was terrifying. Despite being 7 weeks early my little fighter was perfect and luckily healthy but the world stopped and went silent until I heard that beautiful cry.