Discussion Has anyone here experienced a kind of Near Death Experience that was nothingness? Or unconsciousness? Or something similar?

[RayoSinSol]

Has anyone here experienced absolute cessation of consciousness after attempting death, or dying incidentally?

If so, can you describe it to me?

 

[SNOB]

I've overdosed on sleeping tablets and opiates multiple times. You don't know anything then just wake up. I'm assuming that's what it's like

 

[Winston]

Haven't attempted CTB yet, but have been under anesthesia for surgery. Such a state is beyond dreamless sleep- absolute oblivion. One moment you are awake, the drugs kick in and then it is as before you were born. You do not exist. I take comfort in believing that is what death is like.

 

[mr nobody]

I attempted via the CO method a few weeks ago. I passed out within minutes and was unaware of anything u til I woke up in the hospital. I had severe CO poisoning and was minutes away from death.

 

[Iwantoutrightnow]

I was in a coma for 2 weeks and told I was 'lucky' to be alive. I remember being in the ambulance and then the next thing I remember was 2 weeks later coming round and being extubated. I don't know anything of the 2 weeks in between. I didn't hear anything, feel anything or sense anything that I can recall. Nothingness is impossible to explain, I hope this is what death will be like

 

[mr nobody]

This is a concept we all struggle with or to understand. Mostly because it is impossible to perceive "nothingness." This state of nothingness is the complete opposite of what we have been doing while being alive and conscious. To be nothing means we cannot think, see, hear, feel, smell, taste, or sense anything. It's not possible to imagine this because in doing so we are thinking.

 

[Average Joe]

Not having experienced a near death experience form my previous attempts I do like to believe that death is just like going under general anaesthetic. Not realising you are dead, not even darkness. Just nothing. It is pretty terrible that some people (including myself) find that experiencing nothing is better than living

 

[RayoSinSol]

This is a concept we all struggle with or to understand. Mostly because it is impossible to perceive "nothingness." This state of nothingness is the complete opposite of what we have been doing while being alive and conscious. To be nothing means we cannot think, see, hear, feel, smell, taste, or sense anything. It's not possible to imagine this because in doing so we are thinking.

Personally, I would prefer to be absolutely nothing after I die. I just harbor some fear that maybe this universe really is a test of some kind, after which there will be a resulting judgement, regardless of what criteria that judgement might be based on.

I don't adhere to any religion specifically - I just wanted to find some evidence that there might actually be nothingness after death, because, personally, I'd prefer nothingness. I can't tell if maybe there's just more information about Near Death Experiences than Near Death Non-Experiences, or if search engines are biased, or what. I just wanted to find some information on people who experience NOTHING rather than Something, after death, so I can feel more sure about my choice to die.

 

[Average Joe]

Personally, I would prefer to be absolutely nothing after I die. I just harbor some fear that maybe this universe really is a test of some kind, after which there will be a resulting judgement, regardless of what criteria that judgement might be based on.

I don't adhere to any religion specifically - I just wanted to find some evidence that there might actually be nothingness after death, because, personally, I'd prefer nothingness. I can't tell if maybe there's just more information about Near Death Experiences than Near Death Non-Experiences, or if search engines are biased, or what. I just wanted to find some information on people who experience NOTHING rather than Something, after death, so I can feel more sure about my choice to die.

Come to think of it I had an ex girlfriend who tried to hang herself, I'm sure she was pronounced dead for a short short time and she told me that there was no "vivid dreams", or "a light at the end of the tunnel". She compared it to sleep where she was completely unaware of anything.

Also I think some people follow a religion because it gives them some reassurance that there is life after death.

 

[BPD Barbie]

Had attempts and surgeries over the years. It's like you just dont know anything, no sense of time, no feelings, just nothing at all.

 

[RayoSinSol]

Had attempts and surgeries over the years. It's like you just dont know anything, no sense of time, no feelings, just nothing at all.

What were your methods of attempting to end your life?

 

[BPD Barbie]

What were your methods of attempting to end your life?

I first took paracetamol when I was a young teenager then later on took an asthma drug called uniphylin, think that's how it's spelt. Almost succeeded with that one.

 

[RayoSinSol]

I first took paracetamol when I was a young teenager then later on took an asthma drug called uniphylin, think that's how it's spelt. Almost succeeded with that one.

I was just asking because I wonder if NDE's are maybe the result of the particular way people died. It's really pertinent to me because I just want death as an escape so badly, but I just have my own personal fears, as the result of indoctrination and stuff to work through.

 

[mr nobody]

Your consciousness is a product of specific parts of your brain. Once those parts stop functioning, your consciousness will cease. From everyone, including myself, that has experienced a near death, they can attest to not remembering any sort of awareness during this time. It would be very unlikely and seemingly impossible (based on what we know about our brain) that you suddenly gain consciousness after your brain stops functioning altogether.

 

[RayoSinSol]

Your consciousness is a product of specific parts of your brain. Once those parts stop functioning, your consciousness will cease. From everyone, including myself, that has experienced a near death, they can attest to not remembering any sort of awareness during this time. It would be very unlikely and seemingly impossible (based on what we know about our brain) that you suddenly gain consciousness after your brain stops functioning altogether.

There seems to be so much more information on search engines like Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo about near death experiences where there was something rather than nothing. I'm just trying to decipher if that is the result of bias, or lack of active research into the experiences of people who experienced nothing after death, or xyz.

 

[mr nobody]

One other thing to note is that dreams are also a product of your brain. Sometimes we will dream when we are unconscious. These near death experiences where people experienced something could just have been some dream. Their brain is still active so it's possible.

 

[Lunarhour]

I find this Nde to be most interesting.

 

[funeraleveryday]

yes. when i was 18 i suspension hung myself. i fainted after about 10 seconds. i remember thinking i was dreaming and sleeping in bed, feeling little to no pain, and everything fading into a warm nothing. it was really disturbing waking up and realizing that was not the truth, but i can't help but think back on how comfy a death it would have been if nobody intervened. unfortunately i woke up after my mom "saved" me

 

[Gaius_Baltar]

Your consciousness is a product of specific parts of your brain.

I don't think there is a great deal of consensus about that statement ... it seems logically and intuitively true but i would rather like some scientific proof

if you have evidence that this is the case, it would solve the hard problem of consciousness quick smart .... there is every possibility that consciousness is not secreted by the mind and that it is rather something of some sort that the mind simply taps into... (i know this all sounds a bit wooo but my thoughts on the subject have swung from an unfounded belief that nothing can survive death towards a far better founded 'who in buggery knows?' ...certainly the scientists do not )

 

[RayoSinSol]

I don't think there is a great deal of consensus about that statement ... it seems logically and intuitively true but i would rather like some scientific proof

if you have evidence that this is the case, it would solve the hard problem of consciousness quick smart .... there is every possibility that consciousness is not secreted by the mind and that it is rather something of some sort that the mind simply taps into... (i know this all sounds a bit wooo but my thoughts on the subject have swung from an unfounded belief that nothing can survive death towards a far better founded 'who in buggery knows?' ...certainly the scientists do not )

I get what you're saying and I think it's as valid a possibility as anything, which is why I started this thread....

No matter how far science goes, there's always more we will just be guessing at in this universe.

There's a lot of information online about NDE's, from sites that seem to have a bit of a "there is an afterlife" bias.

I'm selfish. Okay? Hehe- I'm not even frontin' on that...I have selfish motives just like anyone else. I'm more afraid of there being an afterlife than there not being one. I just wanted to hear some stories about people who experienced nothing after death, for me to look at and consider just as much as NDE's where people do experience something.

It just seems like maybe the study of NDE's is generally more often run by people looking to find and report on evidence of afterlife rather than non-afterlife stories, so just typing NDE's into google or bing or DuckDuckGo there's a flood of websites talking about all kinds of afterlife NDE's and only some Reddit posts where I can find stories about people who experienced the opposite.

I'm not here to debate anything; I just want to see if there's some hope that I won't have to experience anything after I die. Because,

—>personally <— ‍ ...I have no desire to experience anything else after this life is over.

Maybe we all get our own personal experiences of death, or maybe we're all destined for an afterlife, or maybe something else. IDK. I'm just trying to gather evidence, as some kind of fucked up coping mechanism, before I jump into the unknowable.

 

[Thatdude]

I will tell you a secret. The fact of the matter, you will never find out what death is like until you die. Near death or whatever is stupid to look at. When you die, you aren't coming back. Meaning, you can listen to a thousand different things and a million being the same. Who is to say that is what you will experience? You might have a preferred one. But there is no way to tell which of any is right until you die.

 

[Una]

As @Thatdude said - only those that have died really know. Which, in my view, precisely is the point of both life and death ... it is all a mystery and a miracle in the same time!

Ever since humans became aware of themselves the same two essential questions have been pondered, in their simplified form - what is the point/meaning of life and what happened after we die. As overall human knowledge developed, the theories and proposed answers to both of those questions changed, and then changed time and time again. In our times, science and technology have made huge leaps forward and that brought new insights. At present there is just about as many serious and credible scientists who offer evidence to support their views that our conciseness ceases when we die, as there is those, equally serious and credible scientist who offer evidence to support their views that our conciseness continues after we die. Which neatly brings us right back where we started all those millenniums ago ... we do not know. Despite all our amazing advances in all areas of human endeavor ... no clue! In my humble opinion - that is the point - we cannot know, we take our chances. Both at birth and death.

In a way of 'just another information' here is the video I found interesting:

 

[BridgeJumper]

I took 60 pills and jumped off a bridge. The fall knocked me out so bad I couldnt move my limbs, and I drowned. There was nothing, and then I was on the ground throwing up water, being slapped repeatedly with some people screaming around me.
It kinda freaked me out cause I was like 'But WHAT if death is just like this, nothing, but forever??'

 

[RayoSinSol]

I took 60 pills and jumped off a bridge. The fall knocked me out so bad I couldnt move my limbs, and I drowned. There was nothing, and then I was on the ground throwing up water, being slapped repeatedly with some people screaming around me.
It kinda freaked me out cause I was like 'But WHAT if death is just like this, nothing, but forever??'

LMAO. I misread that at first and I thought you were saying you had an NDE of being slapped while people screamed around you forever! Haha haha. Whew. If that's what Hell turns out to be like I'll just be confused but also laughing my ass off for all eternity.

Thanks for the story. Jumping off a bridge is one method I just don't know I could pull off personally. Whew! Amazing you survived.

 

[mr nobody]

I don't think there is a great deal of consensus about that statement ... it seems logically and intuitively true but i would rather like some scientific proof

if you have evidence that this is the case, it would solve the hard problem of consciousness quick smart .... there is every possibility that consciousness is not secreted by the mind and that it is rather something of some sort that the mind simply taps into... (i know this all sounds a bit wooo but my thoughts on the subject have swung from an unfounded belief that nothing can survive death towards a far better founded 'who in buggery knows?' ...certainly the scientists do not )

What do you mean? The field of neuroscience is a largely studied science. It is the study of the human brain. Scientists have been able to map different parts of the brain that are responsible for various functions of the human body including consciousness. However, when we refer to consciousness, there are many factors involved. This includes all of our sensory abilities, awareness, alertness, perception, etc. So there aRe multiple areas of the brain at work. The cerebral cortex is known to be responsible for awareness so that's a major region. Also, with the use of drugs we can be rendered unconscious, which proves that it is a product of the brain, as the anesthesia is altering a specific known function of the brain. Additionally, we can see that as we damage portions of the brain, a person's consciousness can be affected severely. People with brain damage have severe altered bodily functions including sensory and motor skills. Scientists and doctors are also able to perform imaging on brains to see which areas are active during specific functions or actions. If consciousness was separate from the brain then we wouldn't be so affected by brain damage.

 

[Thatdude]

I find this Nde to be most interesting.

Nice video, and I wanted to comment on this earlier but I was a bit tired. Anyways he does contradict the experience multiple times. Maybe it's just how he is just telling his experience, and that is why. But based on what he said, I wouldn't put much faith in what he said is true.
Also, something to note is how he most likely was on serious drugs if the war part of the story is true. Like lets say he was clean before hand. Even now if you were to be shot up like that. You would be on serious drugs just for the pain. And at that time who knows if he was on drugs prior. Like look what LSD does.

Lastly, I wouldn't put much faith in anyone's version. The fact is, when you're dead you can't come back. Near death isn't death. That's like saying someone is about to eat ice cream for the first time, and they know what ice cream already is like. You only know what it is like once you had it. And once you had it, you can't unhad it.
For all we know death could be a pitch black nothing, death could be the end, death could be like the book says, this could be a simulation, or even death could be a gateway to an isekai (look it up). Because this is something we can't prove and we won't know anytime soon unless we die. It is best to assume all theories are both right and wrong. Pick what makes you the most happy, and run with it.

P.S. While it is hard to just distrust everything unless there is evidence. That guy, how do you know he was even in war? I'm not saying he lied, but I am saying is there is a lot of people who do lie.

What do you mean? The field of neuroscience is a largely studied science. It is the study of the human brain. Scientists have been able to map different parts of the brain that are responsible for various functions of the human body including consciousness. However, when we refer to consciousness, there are many factors involved. This includes all of our sensory abilities, awareness, alertness, perception, etc. So there aRe multiple areas of the brain at work. The cerebral cortex is known to be responsible for awareness so that's a major region. Also, with the use of drugs we can be rendered unconscious, which proves that it is a product of the brain, as the anesthesia is altering a specific known function of the brain. Additionally, we can see that as we damage portions of the brain, a person's consciousness can be affected severely. People with brain damage have severe altered bodily functions including sensory and motor skills. Scientists and doctors are also able to perform imaging on brains to see which areas are active during specific functions or actions. If consciousness was separate from the brain then we wouldn't be so affected by brain damage.

You basically hit the nail on the head why most everyone doesn't remember or wasn't dreaming when they went under in surgery. Being under the knife doesn't = to what death will be like. Like it might be the same. But IMO it's stupid to just use that to assume.

I think it's best to look at it as we all are machines and our brain is a computer. Mess with a machine in 1 way or another, you can change a lot. Since all we are is our brain. Like who we are at this point. Then any slight change will change us. But lets assume we have a soul (and I believe we do since what is the difference between a live and dead person, and why can't you just bring someone back?). Since we know so little about this. Is the soul attached to our current self, or is our soul just here for the ride? How does it make us who we are? As I mention, you mess with the brain and you can change a person. So does the soul change too?
These are questions that should be asked, but I don't think they have answers without you dying or some taboo experiments.

Interesting video. Something I would like to see is some of the studies. I will take a look later to see if I can find some.
It's too bad they block people from commenting on the video. Sometimes someone has something that voids everything that is being said quickly. Like I have no idea if the study he was talking about used too small numbers, used greater numbers but didn't add people who they didn't like their reply, and so on.
I have heard and read some of the things he has talked about. I will even go as far as saying he didn't get deep enough. Like people having a out of body experience where they were able to read a sticky note on the opposite side of a light while people were trying to bring the person back. Things like this is also why I think we have a soul. But we clearly don't know what ways or how it interacts with us in this state.

Any case, that is interesting.

Update: I can't find the studies. I can't even find much about the person. Like there is only 1 or 2 points I found showing he is a doctor. And another look at the video, I notice he gives % of how people die, but not for after.

 

[Gaius_Baltar]

The field of neuroscience is a largely studied science. It is the study of the human brain. Scientists have been able to map different parts of the brain that are responsible for various functions of the human body including consciousness.

sure, it is very well-studied... but scientists really are no closer to understanding the nature of consciousness than they were several hundred years ago... philosophy still has a large part to play in the study of consciousness .... and a very large number of eminent neuroscientists and neurologists believe it exists separately from the brain

you can include mildly wacky neurologists like peter fenwick and far more level-headed researchers like donald hoffman ....

it is true that brain damage affects personality but this does not necessarily mean that consciousness ceases to exist.... i suspect most people confuse consciousness with perception ....

an analogy with other organs can help here....

when the eye dies, this does not cause the electromagnetic spectrum to simply vanish ... the eye simply can not see filter it or react to it. .... nevertheless, the energy remains ... the same could be said of sound waves when the ears fail...

some argue that consciousness may behave in the same way.... simply because the brain which perceives and filters and interprets it ceases to exist does not necessarily cause consciousness itself to cease... ergo ... consciousness may well be independent of the brain as a totally external property no different to other universal properties..

i am sort of playing devil's advocate but i find this idea just as appealing as the idea of consciousness emerging from the activity of neurons ... there really is no proof of either being true but i am glad that people are working hard on the matter ...

it is a subject that we are all naturally fascinated by .. it goes to the heart of existence ... i have about as much religion in my body as christopher hotchens had in his middle finger...this is about as spiritual as i get .... i am keeping an open mind

 

[RayoSinSol]

What do you mean? The field of neuroscience is a largely studied science. It is the study of the human brain. Scientists have been able to map different parts of the brain that are responsible for various functions of the human body including consciousness. However, when we refer to consciousness, there are many factors involved. This includes all of our sensory abilities, awareness, alertness, perception, etc. So there aRe multiple areas of the brain at work. The cerebral cortex is known to be responsible for awareness so that's a major region. Also, with the use of drugs we can be rendered unconscious, which proves that it is a product of the brain, as the anesthesia is altering a specific known function of the brain. Additionally, we can see that as we damage portions of the brain, a person's consciousness can be affected severely. People with brain damage have severe altered bodily functions including sensory and motor skills. Scientists and doctors are also able to perform imaging on brains to see which areas are active during specific functions or actions. If consciousness was separate from the brain then we wouldn't be so affected by brain damage.

I see what you're saying, but I also get the point of view Gaius_Baltar is coming from.

There's a vast mystery about what actually...affects the creation of consciousness in this universe.

Yes, the brain is very well-mapped, but no one can say they know entirely 100% for sure if consciousness is something that was created in another dimension beyond what humans can perceive, which led to the creation of consciousness in our physical universe's reality.

That possibility is the basis of religion, and I try not to step on the beliefs that people have, that fuel them through this world.

I'm averse to organized religion, personally, as I've feared the kind of aggressive proselytizing force that it presented me in my youth.

I fear the idea of a group of people telling me "if you don't believe what I believe, you will surely be tormented forever" ...when they're just as human as me, and have as little an idea of the deeper workings of the universe as I do.

But I'm trying to learn to accept the truth in religious peoples' skepticism of science, because it has some truths behind it. Scientists are always competing amongst each other to provide more solid proof to support theories of the universe, while religions tend to just believe one thing, based on pure, human intuition, and stick to it through everything.

It's appealing, and it's secure. And it's also more willing to accept the mystery of the universe, which extends far beyond the things we know or have researched, than some scientists are.

I sort of understand it. I try to understand, anyway.
Out of compassion and empathy. And also admitting that I'm human, and, like anyone, deep down I have as little an idea of why we are here in the way we are, as any one of the other billions of other humans on this planet.

The brain is pretty well-studied, but how do even the best scientists know for sure that our brains aren't just physical vehicles of a code sent to this world from somewhere beyond our comprehension?

I think it's pretty arrogant to pretend to be entirely sure from either side.

For me, I guess I just have to accept that the nature of death is unknowable. I have to weigh the option of living in uncertainty against the possibility of entering the unknowable sphere of death. That's my own thing.

Please, don't make this thread about a fight between science and religion because I've seen enough of that, and it gets us nowhere.

 

[Parsifal64]

Has anyone here experienced absolute cessation of consciousness after attempting death, or dying incidentally?

If so, can you describe it to me?

Of course not. The question contains its own answer.

 

[RayoSinSol]

Of course not. The question contains its own answer.

Can you explain this comment to me? I legitimately don't understand which part is the answer.