What it feels like to nearly die (by the people who came close to it)

'I would not say that I felt nothing. I felt comfort. I felt like I was not alone'

(Pixabay)

We all think about it - but so few of us are comfortable talking about it openly.

But what is it really like to die?

Some studies have found that after clinical death (when the heart stops beating), the brain continues to function for a period of time.

There is also evidence to suggest that there is a final 'surge' of consciousness at this point, which may be responsible for accounts 'near-death' experiences where people have reported hearing, feeling or even seeing things even after they are clinically dead.

Brain activity ceases entirely after the final surge, but some people have been revived at this point and are able to recount what was going during the process of dying, and after the were clinically dead.

In response to a question on Q&A web site Quora many people have come together to describe their own experience of death, and all of these experiences are different from one another.

It’s not necessarily bad

Many people shared surprisingly positive accounts of near-death experiences, with one woman saying it was “blissful, serene, exciting, peaceful relaxing… I feel like there isn’t an accurate word (in English) that describes how truly wonderful it feels.”

A man who flat-lined after a cardiac arrest, but was brought back to life by a defibrillator said: “The process of ‘dying’ was remarkably peaceful... I just drifted off. No pain, nothing bad. As far as what happened once my heart stopped, I have no recollection. When I eventually die on a more permanent basis, I can only hope it's as peaceful as the first time.”

Another woman, who has died twice, said of the first time “I do remember being at peace. I would not say that I felt ‘nothing’. I felt comfort. I felt like I was not alone. I saw many colours. Not light, but colour like my eyes were covered with a tie dyed t-shirt or something.

“I died again at the age of 23… and I experience the exact same feeling. A feeling of being surrounded by something familiar. A feeling of peace and safety, and those colours.”

Your senses start to go

Several people described losing some of their five senses, but keeping others. One man said: “As the final moment approached my senses left me one by one, [followed] by the inability to move at all. First thing I noticed gone was my sense of touch, followed by hearing. At this time my sense of smell and taste could also have left me, I have no idea. The last thing to go was my sight leaving me with a field of whiteness.”

Another user described a different sensory experience: “Although I could hear perfectly (the beeping of the monitor as I flat-lined, the code on the PA, the squeak-squeak of the crash cart wheels, everyone talking at once), I had no other sensation. As I was sinking into unconsciousness, I felt very cool, relaxed, no need to breathe, no cause for alarm, no pain of any kind, totally peaceful.”

We might have to wait to find out the rest

As one user outlines, there are three types of ‘death’: clinical, biological and organic.

“In a clinical death, it is only the heart that stops beating, and this is the type that has yielded the near death experience accounts, only because the other two types of death are deeper and more likely irreversible, and, even if people could come back from them, they would not be functional enough to tell their story.

"In a biological death, the organs (such as liver, kidneys, pancreas, etc.) stop functioning.

"In an organic death, the brain starts dying off.

"Though some people are able to recount experiences of clinical and biological death, very few people can describe complete organic death.

"Death is not a sudden event, but rather a progression toward what we currently would call scientifically irreversible.”