Poll: Have you ever had a brush with death or felt you very nearly did?

a reply to: KTemplar

What doesn't kill us Right!

Amen to that!

While what he did was clearly a very very wrong and a unfathomably stupid decision, it also takes a lot of courage to admit that when many may have just pretended nothing happened. I'm not sympathising with what was attempted, but I believe that those who are aware of their wrong doings aren't lost completely.

Glad you've been able to move on and stay positive, as we all should

a reply to: constant_thought

I agree and Thank You

a reply to: constant_thought

a few times i am lucky to be alive my experiences have changed my out look on life

a reply to: constant_thought

I'll bite - 2 times to my memory that were brushes.

To start off my first tale, let me just say that I'm the sort of person to suffer through my illnesses: I never take medicine, even when I know it can help. A couple years ago, it was my turn to get the flu - It started off like normal with the usual flu symptoms (aka: Feeling nasty for a couple days). And then, I went through the worst fever break I ever felt.

I was tired that day, so I went to bed early - I woke up a few hours later feeling exhausted, and noticed that I was boiling even with the AC running. It kept getting worse, because the more the fever grew, the weaker I became, until I couldn't even get out of the bed due to being so dizzy. It felt like my skin was being burned off of me, and I think I even lost consciousness a couple times. At one point, I even thought dying might not be as bad as that. When I woke up, the fever subsided, and I actually had to pinch myself to make sure I was still alive.

The other time I posted on here a while back - I was driving on a road with a sharp curve on it, and noticed that the road I was on was not plowed on the curve, and I couldn't break in time. I distinctly remember there being other cars on the road, and just as I started fishtailing into an uncontrolled spin, time came to a halt (in my case, everything around me stopped except for my thinking skills). Before the spin, I remember seeing two guys turn and watch.

While time was stopped, I remember telling myself to aim for a ditch on the side of the road, away from traffic. As soon as I had the thought, time accelerated back to normal, and after a few spins, I slid along the side of the ditch and came to a stop. Now, if you want a bit of a mystery - After I realized I was alive, and that I could get out of the car, the two guys came running up shocked and were asking me when I spun out. I told them that I saw them watching me spin, and they claimed they never saw it. Regardless, they pulled me out, and I found out both were mechanics, and they said my car could be driven home.

-foss

a reply to: constant_thought

I investigated and tried several medications in my 20s, one of which was propranolol. (From what I remember, propranolol was originally developed for use in cardiac patients, and like many medications, was found to be useful in anxiety disorders.)

After several rounds trying various meds, I decided the only way for me to deal with anxiety/panic is to just deal with it.

This is not always fun or easy, but it's the only way for me.

Lots of times!

One in particular was when I was rushing somewhere in the morning around 7 a.m. on a Sunday. Driving down a large hill in my neighborhood, which also had a slight curve to it, one lane each way with a turn lane in the middle. Road was wet from rain. I come upon a stopped SUV delivering newspapers on this main road, slam on my brakes and realize there's no room to stop, thinking I'm going to slam my old beater mustang into this huge SUV and die. But my brakes lock, the road is wet, I start turn into it, and I spin around but going down hill, three times, each time bracing to slam into the SUV as I spun, or into oncoming traffic or hit by the car behind me, or rolling over, etc.

Everything was in slow motion. And I realized my tail end of the car did not slam into the SUV. I ended up backwards, in the turning lane, with my car dead. No traffic either way. So lucky.

I start my car, turn it around and drive down the hill on the way to my destination, thinking, how did that happen that my car touched NOTHING.

And I tripped at the top of the stairs as a kid and thought "this is it, this is how I die - and boy this is going to hurt." But I "flew" down the stairs from the top, as if I were carried, and I was set on my feet at the bottom, without touching the railing, walls, or steps. It was amazing.

a reply to: constant_thought

I never had a brush with Death, but we once had to share a cab.

Death was a lousy tipper.

had quite a few on my motorcycle. i ride on a twisty two lane mountain road for fun on the weekends and sometimes get in a little trouble.

going through turns and a car is halfway in your lane going the other direction. or passing cars when you see its clear ahead and some car somehow was hidden behind some bushes and you almost have a head on collision. time doesnt slow down ever for me, but natural instinct kicks in and in a blink of a eye its over and i somehow saved myself.

originally posted by: Galadriel

And I tripped at the top of the stairs as a kid and thought "this is it, this is how I die - and boy this is going to hurt." But I "flew" down the stairs from the top, as if I were carried, and I was set on my feet at the bottom, without touching the railing, walls, or steps. It was amazing.

Yes, reminds me of a car accident I had where a young man hit me broadside into a yard. My only thought was " so this is how I die" but there was a peace with it. I have never feared death since. Reminded me of a book I can't remember at the moment but a jewish girl was to board a train alone and she was worried about the ticket. Her father told her you will get the ticket when the train comes.

So for me you get the peace when it is your time...or you think it is.

And yes, now that it has been mentioned, time did seem to slow down.

I drowned once.

I was about 6 and taking swimming lessons at the YMCA. My class was usually swimming on one side of the pool so I grew accustomed to swimming there. I was using a little swim assisting paddle board to help me stay afloat holding it forward and kicking my way across the pool.
One day I got confused because I was used to the deep end and I forgot about my little paddle.
I jumped in and sunk like a rock to the bottom.
Next thing I remember I woke up on the side of the pool. A lifeguard apparently dove in and pulled me out and resuscitated me.

Edit: Another time, I was about 9 years old. I was doing a handstand on the couch after dinner. Lost my balance and fell to the side and broke a glass candy jar on my foot. My father was livid that I broke his moms candy dish. My foot was hemorrhaging blood. We could only get it to stop bleeding after 3 fully soaked towels. A 3 inch shard of glass was stuck in my foot that I pulled out. Mom was so angry at me, told me to go to my room. Went to my room leaving a trail of blood. I thought I was going to die that night. They really should have called an ambulance.

Last year August I was hit by a car while riding a bicycle. It was a hit and run and if it wasn't for a couple guys who knew me and got help for me while I was lying in the road, I probably would have been finished off by the next car to come down the road. My injuries were pretty bad, the head injury would have had me lying in the road until I got wipe out completely. Unfortunately the two guys didn't really see the accident, and I never knew who hit me, they got away and the local cops were useless, they wouldn't even try to find the car that hit me.

Well I survived and I'm nearly back to normal now, recovery was six months I'll never get back, who knows what complications I'll have from this down the road. However, it changed my attitude about life. Now I don't really care about my own selfish endeavors and expectations for my life as I could have died that night. I still have personal goals and work toward them, but what I want from my life doesn't matter to me much any more because I'm just amazed to be alive at all. If I never make anything out of the rest of my life and die poor and unfulfilled, so what, I could be dead now. I'm just glad to still be around and experience a second chance at life no matter how my plans work out eventually.

Now when things don't go like I planned, so what, I don't get frustrated and angry that I can't get a chance at doing something more with my life, so what, I am as good as dead had things been just a little different. Hopefully things will go my way, but I don't get upset if they don't cause at least I'm still living. A brush with death was a good thing for me I as my selfishness and ego are put in their place now. It almost seems like my life isn't mine anymore, so I just let things happen and go with the flow regardless of my expectations from life. How can I complain about life now when I was as good as dead but still live?

a reply to: constant_thought

Not that I know of, but that would be really cool! But nope more likely I was a stupid teenage and had crappy luck to boot lol