# Anyone ever had a NDE (near-death experience)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 7, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123 "2004-01-07T01:36:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Meteorshower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Meteorshower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meteorshower)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/21 "2004-01-08T04:40:42Z")
Not sure if this counts, but here goes! When I was eleven, I lived in a house that had an outdoors swimming pool. On one very nice summer day, my two cousins came to visit. We all decided to play our favorite game : Who can hold their breath under the water the longest. After a couple of rounds, it became clear that I was the best at the game. A typical round would have my oldest cousin and my little sister surfacing for air very quickly. I then used my usual strategy of sticking near the floor of the pool and staring at the dead bugs until I could hear the other cousin give up. I’d immediately kick myself back up, gasp for air and try not look too happy at winning or my little sister would start hating the game. Eventually, my cousins (and my little sister) got kind of tired of playing but I insisted on one last round. We lowered ourselves gently into the water and after a while, I heard my little sister and my oldest cousin re-surfacing. One second, I was in the pool. The next, I ceased to exist. At least, that’s what it felt like. I had no body, couldn’t remember my name or what I had been doing. I was just kind of “existing” in a big mass of black oblivion. I couldn’t even tell myself “what am I doing here?” because I couldn’t really think. I was just…existing. There was a white dot (which I guess could have been a “white light”) but I didn’t feel any attraction (or repulsion) to it. It was far away, and close at the same time in the sense that it was impossible to really decide how close to it I was with my non-existent body. I could have been stuck inside oblivion for a second, or for all of eternity (kind of hard to tell) but I opened my (previously non-existent) eyes and I was staring at the most beautiful, glorious ray of light ever. After a few seconds, I realized that the ray of light just looked pretty because I was staring at it through a lot of water and that it was actually quite ordinary. After suddenly remembering who I was and what I was doing I heard my cousin come up for air. I felt like I could hold my breathe even longer (heck, I felt like I could breathe water if I wanted too) but I still didn’t understand how exactly I had managed to go from staring at the floor of the pool to staring out of the pool. I told myself I must have just “skipped a second”. I felt someone take my hand and I was pulled back to the surface by my oldest cousin who looked slightly freaked out. Apparently, while I was unconscious (or having a NDE, or whatever it was) my second cousin had surfaced for air and everyone had gotten out of the pool. I didn’t immediately come back up like I usually did. After a while, they decided it would be funny to have me come back up, gasping for air and find them all still holding their breathes. So they went back in, held their breathes as long as they could, surfaced and found me still in the pool. I told them I felt fine and dismissed the experience as “weird”. My oldest cousin insisted that we stop playing in the pool for a while and we played in the backyard instead. At supper, after the cousins left, my little sister told the story to my parents and I told them about being stuck in oblivion. They were very concerned. According to them, two weeks earlier, a kid had drowned in a swimming pool that was under direct adult supervision while having a breath holding contest. (Has anything like that ever actually happened? They might have just been trying to scare me…) They told me I was lucky I was alright and banned me from playing that particular game for the rest of my life. When I was older, I heard some stories of NDE’s and thought that some aspects sounded very similar to my experience. I’m not sure If this is what you were looking for, **The Man With The Golden Gun**. If it is, I’d be glad to answer any questions you might have. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/22 "2004-01-08T13:21:13Z")
I’m still waiting for **Ringo** to get his chilly, naked butt in here, and explain the circumstances that led to him waking up naked on a slab in the morgue! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/23 "2004-01-08T13:29:54Z")
When we were at school we had a craze for making ourselves faint. I kind of overdid it one day, and in my unconsciousness I observed a long dark tunnel with a bright light at the end, and could see the distant silhouettes of a couple of regal-looking figures at the end of it. However, there is no evidence to indicate I was near death, nor that what I saw was anything other than a hallucination brought on by lack of oxygen to my brain. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/24 "2004-01-08T14:48:55Z")
Ahem. In the interest of calming this down a bit, I would like to point out that a near-death experience, that is, when your brain experiences [Cerebral Hypoxia](http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/anoxia_doc.htm) or your heart stops briefly, as several posters have described from personal experience, is a very real phenomenon. It is not questioned by medical science. > [@](#): > > Cerebral hypoxia refers to a condition in which there is a decrease of oxygen supply to the brain even though there is adequate blood flow. Drowning, strangling, choking, suffocation, cardiac arrest, head trauma, carbon monoxide poisoning, and complications of general anesthesia can create conditions that can lead to cerebral hypoxia. Symptoms of mild cerebral hypoxia include inattentiveness, poor judgment, memory loss, and a decrease in motor coordination. Brain cells are extremely sensitive to oxygen deprivation and can begin to die within five minutes after oxygen supply has been cut off. > … > During recovery, psychological and neurological abnormalities such as amnesia, personality regression, hallucinations, memory loss, and muscle spasms and twitches may appear, persist, and then resolve. But science diverges from people like **Lekatt** when["NDE Aficionados"](http://www.ndeweb.com) claim that this altered brain state confers on the victim supernatural powers. Such powers are often claimed as the ability to leave the body and observe the scene from a distance, or contact with a remote location or spiritual being, like Jesus or an angel. It is more likely that these effects are an artifact of brain/body misfunction rather than a supernatural event. But no one doubts that the experiences occur under extreme stress. So seeing a light at the end of a tunnel, which I myself experienced when being given an anesthetic, is not unusual, nor hard to explain. Saying God was at the end of the tunnel, literally took you by the hand and said, “return and watch Survivor no more,” takes us into the unproven-claim supernatural world. ---
**Author:** ![TheMusicMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@TheMusicMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMusicMan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/25 "2004-01-08T15:14:52Z")
I was on an airplane when I was about 10 … the plane hit what we were told was an “air pocket”, dropped about 2000 feet straight down. Wheeee. Faces of family and friends flashed in front of my eyes for the couple of seconds we were falling … dunno if this counts as an NDE, but it sure FELT like we were going to die!!! ---
**Author:** ![MinniePurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@MinniePurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MinniePurl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/26 "2004-01-08T15:39:28Z")
My ex-husband had one, or so he says. (He was a pathological liar, which is one of the many reasons I’m glad he’s my EX husband.) He was having a heart cath because he had been having chest pains. He had an allergic reaction to the contrast agent and went into anaphylaxis. He said he had feeling of floating above his body, feeling at peace and being ready to die. He didn’t report any tunnels, lights or beings. After that he found his own particular “religion” for a while. I called it “Dan-ism”, becuse the tenets seemed to be that “God says it’s okay for Dan to do whatever he wants, no matter how much it hurts someone else.” What he’s doing now, I don’t know. After the divorce was final, since we had no kids together, I had no reason to speak to him, and no desire to, since I couldn’t beleive a word he said. As far as I know, he’s still married to the bimbo he still claims he wasn’t cheating on me with when we were married. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/27 "2004-01-08T16:37:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by liirogue \* > \*\*What’s the big deal? So what is **lekatt** believes in them? To him (and others), it has not been proven to be a necessarily scientific phenomenon. If they wish to see something spiritual in it, let them. It’s not like it kills you. Skip the post if you don’t want to read it. > > :rolleyes: \*\* Okay, maybe these will clear up my horror. Here. and Here. Don’t say you weren’t warned. Drops the links and runs ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/28 "2004-01-08T19:14:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MaryEFoo \* > \*\*They gave him a shot of a different anaesthetic, and he lost his sight and fell over (anaphylactic shock I believe). The nurse called out, “Get a Doctor”! My father said, “No, no, get an undertaker”! The nurse said, “Oh, no!” in a horrified tone, and that’s **all** my father was conscious of until he recovered consciousness. No tunnels, no Beings, no messages. \*\* Your father has to have quite a sense of humor (and sick one. :)) in order to say something like that so near-death. I love it. 😃 Sort of makes me remember Oscar Wilde’s last words: “Either this wallpaper goes or I do.” - Adam ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/29 "2004-01-08T20:37:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Meteorshower \* > \*\*Not sure if this counts, but here goes! > > When I was eleven, I lived in a house that had an outdoors swimming pool. > > On one very nice summer day, my two cousins came to visit. We all decided to play our favorite game : Who can hold their breath under the water the longest. > > After a couple of rounds, it became clear that I was the best at the game. A typical round would have my oldest cousin and my little sister surfacing for air very quickly. I then used my usual strategy of sticking near the floor of the pool and staring at the dead bugs until I could hear the other cousin give up. I’d immediately kick myself back up, gasp for air and try not look too happy at winning or my little sister would start hating the game. Eventually, my cousins (and my little sister) got kind of tired of playing but I insisted on one last round. > > We lowered ourselves gently into the water and after a while, I heard my little sister and my oldest cousin re-surfacing. One second, I was in the pool. The next, I ceased to exist. At least, that’s what it felt like. I had no body, couldn’t remember my name or what I had been doing. I was just kind of “existing” in a big mass of black oblivion. I couldn’t even tell myself “what am I doing here?” because I couldn’t really think. I was just…existing. > > There was a white dot (which I guess could have been a “white light”) but I didn’t feel any attraction (or repulsion) to it. It was far away, and close at the same time in the sense that it was impossible to really decide how close to it I was with my non-existent body. > > I could have been stuck inside oblivion for a second, or for all of eternity (kind of hard to tell) but I opened my (previously non-existent) eyes and I was staring at the most beautiful, glorious ray of light ever. After a few seconds, I realized that the ray of light just looked pretty because I was staring at it through a lot of water and that it was actually quite ordinary. > > After suddenly remembering who I was and what I was doing I heard my cousin come up for air. I felt like I could hold my breathe even longer (heck, I felt like I could breathe water if I wanted too) but I still didn’t understand how exactly I had managed to go from staring at the floor of the pool to staring out of the pool. > > I told myself I must have just “skipped a second”. I felt someone take my hand and I was pulled back to the surface by my oldest cousin who looked slightly freaked out. > > Apparently, while I was unconscious (or having a NDE, or whatever it was) my second cousin had surfaced for air and everyone had gotten out of the pool. I didn’t immediately come back up like I usually did. After a while, they decided it would be funny to have me come back up, gasping for air and find them all still holding their breathes. So they went back in, held their breathes as long as they could, surfaced and found me still in the pool. > > I told them I felt fine and dismissed the experience as “weird”. My oldest cousin insisted that we stop playing in the pool for a while and we played in the backyard instead. > > At supper, after the cousins left, my little sister told the story to my parents and I told them about being stuck in oblivion. They were very concerned. According to them, two weeks earlier, a kid had drowned in a swimming pool that was under direct adult supervision while having a breath holding contest. (Has anything like that ever actually happened? They might have just been trying to scare me…) They told me I was lucky I was alright and banned me from playing that particular game for the rest of my life. > > When I was older, I heard some stories of NDE’s and thought that some aspects sounded very similar to my experience. I’m not sure If this is what you were looking for, **The Man With The Golden Gun**. If it is, I’d be glad to answer any questions you might have. \*\* Thanks for sharing your experience. I believe it was a (pre) near death experience. You were almost out of the physical, but not enough to go on and experience the tunnel, light, and beings who usually say “it’s not your time, go back.” This last item, or something similar, is what determines a real NDE. Thousands of people have experienced NDEs. There are hundreds of accounts on the internet in many NDE sites. Yes, they are real. Scientific studies support their validity. My site has over 150 examples and a frequently asked questions section that puts to rest all the skeptical arguments. But don’t take my word for it. Research them, study them, talk to people who have had them and see for yourself. NDEers have nothing to hide. Most will be glad to answer your questions as long as you show respect for them and their experiences. [http://ndeweb.com](http://ndeweb.com) contains a message board, and links to others sites. Love ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/30 "2004-01-08T20:45:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\*Okay, maybe these will clear up my horror. > > Here. > > and > > Here. > > Don’t say you weren’t warned. > > Drops the links and runs \*\* Your links are off-topic. But why would I mind if others read them? Strange. Love ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/31 "2004-01-08T20:46:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lekatt \* > \*\*But don’t take my word for it. \*\* . . . As if we were suddenly going to start doing that . . . ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/32 "2004-01-08T20:56:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Musicat \* > \*\*Ahem. In the interest of calming this down a bit, I would like to point out that a near-death experience, that is, when your brain experiences [Cerebral Hypoxia](http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/anoxia_doc.htm) or your heart stops briefly, as several posters have described from personal experience, is a very real phenomenon. It is not questioned by medical science.But science diverges from people like **Lekatt** when["NDE Aficionados"](http://www.ndeweb.com) claim that this altered brain state confers on the victim supernatural powers. Such powers are often claimed as the ability to leave the body and observe the scene from a distance, or contact with a remote location or spiritual being, like Jesus or an angel. > > It is more likely that these effects are an artifact of brain/body misfunction rather than a supernatural event. But no one doubts that the experiences occur under extreme stress. > > So seeing a light at the end of a tunnel, which I myself experienced when being given an anesthetic, is not unusual, nor hard to explain. Saying God was at the end of the tunnel, literally took you by the hand and said, “return and watch Survivor no more,” takes us into the unproven-claim supernatural world. \*\* Science, of course, will never be able to measure spiritual events. That doesn’t mean they are invalid. From reading your post, I suggest you study a bit more as to what NDEs are, your description is inaccurate and incomplete. Love ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/33 "2004-01-08T21:13:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*When we were at school we had a craze for making ourselves faint. I kind of overdid it one day, and in my unconsciousness I observed a long dark tunnel with a bright light at the end, and could see the distant silhouettes of a couple of regal-looking figures at the end of it. > > However, there is no evidence to indicate I was near death, nor that what I saw was anything other than a hallucination brought on by lack of oxygen to my brain. \*\* How could there be any evidence of a personal experience? The old “lack of oxygen” argument fell about 30 years ago. Love ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/34 "2004-01-08T23:27:02Z")
I’m shocked! I’m stunned! I’m flabbergasted! I’m… No I’m not. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/35 "2004-01-08T23:40:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\*Okay, maybe these will clear up my horror. > > Here. > > and > > Here. > > Don’t say you weren’t warned. > > Drops the links and runs \*\* While I agree he does have some strange ideas, I don’t think that justifies so many of you in this thread making such rude comments. Obviously, these are beliefs that **Lekatt** holds dear, and are probably in the same category as religion (ie, you can debate it all you want, people are still gonna believe or not). ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/36 "2004-01-08T23:53:58Z")
> [@](#): > > The old “lack of oxygen” argument fell about 30 years ago. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/37 "2004-01-09T00:05:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by liirogue \* > \*\*While I agree he does have some strange ideas, I don’t think that justifies so many of you in this thread making such rude comments. \*\* Ah, but those hundreds of thousands of _other_ threads do justify so many of us in _this_ thread making such rude comments . . . ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/38 "2004-01-09T00:14:36Z")
I have been dead several times I am told and I got none of that on any occasion. I feel so ripped off. I don’t ever remember dreaming either which may be related, I just do not receive those sorts of messages from my brain. I would be interested in knowing the general dream lives of those who do experience NDEs ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/39 "2004-01-09T00:17:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lekatt \* > \*\*Your links are off-topic. > But why would I mind if others read them? > Strange. > Love \*\* I don’t know, because you assert that God exists, simply because of a phenomena experienced by thousands of people? Who’s brains have essentially ceased normal functioning? And that you assert that these phenomena, even though not fully proven to be caused by anything, but significantly better explained by science than by the supernatural - are some sort of communication with the afterlife? Really, that severely damages your credibility. The closest I’ve come to an “NDE” was when I was very small. I fell from a jungle gym, a pretty long distance for me at the time, and hit my head. When I awoke, I couldn’t see anything for a moment. I then saw sparks that resembled the sparks I see when I shut my eyes tightly, but more intense. Then my vision returned slowly, out of a haze, followed by my hearing. It certainly doesn’t prove anything supernatural. It might explain some of my strange posts, however. ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123/40 "2004-01-09T01:45:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Thylacine \* > \*\*I have been dead several times I am told and I got none of that on any occasion. I feel so ripped off. > > I don’t ever remember dreaming either which may be related, I just do not receive those sorts of messages from my brain. I would be interested in knowing the general dream lives of those who do experience NDEs \*\* Science thinks we dream every night, because of REM. They may be correct or not. Who can tell what goes through anothers thoughts. It’s the same with NDEs. Some remember theirs and others don’t until, sometimes years, later. Mostly they know they are different. Don’t feel the same way about things as they used to feel. We are here to learn, and that learning occurs from many directions. We need to stop assuming we know everything and start trying to figure it out. Love [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-had-a-nde-near-death-experience/223123.md?page=3)