Prox

I was in the coma for only about ten days, but the recollection I have made it feel like a period of years - longer, even. Basically, the coma itself felt similar to a dream, but with a conscious 'knowledge' I wasn't going to wake up, and that all thoughts and actions I took were utterly inconsequential.

It's taken a while to actually piece together what I 'dreamt' during that time, but all the bits I recall were strangely...spiritual. There was a lot of coming to terms with my religious beliefs, and facing what it meant to be dead. In retrospect, I notice this is very similar to reports of the effects of DMT on the brain, so it's entirely likely my brain flooded itself with DMT as a response to being 'dead'.

I'll go a bit more into detail in the post below, though.

I question a lot of those memories, though - it took a while for it all to come back, and it came back in bits and pieces. Furthermore, I have no recollection of about three or four days before I went into hospital, or about four or five hours after being told I woke up. I'm told I was conscious for a good while before my memories actually began.

Having survived, though, I've been left with insight into what it would have meant to actually die. I kind of see it as being given a 'second life', in which I'm aiming to undo 21 years of laziness, improperly spent effort, and wasted opportunities. Basically, I guess, having seen the responses of friends and loved ones, I've taken a step back and wondered what they would have thought of my life up to that point, and how I'd have been remembered. I'm actually extremely thankful for that experience.

When I first woke up, it was hard to actually recall what I dreamt. It has slowly come back in bits and pieces, but I have no understanding of the order or how much of it is misremembered - I guess mostly like a typical sleep-dream.

However, the dreams I had were very different in nature to standard dreams. There was certainly some severe time dilation; I'd say it felt like years, but in reality it simultaneously felt like eternity as well. In addition, the first 'half' of that 'eternity' was coming to terms with being dead; I was incredibly confused, and couldn't access my memories in the same way as being in a waking state. Further, every time I tried to retrace my steps and work out how and why things weren't 'normal', as one tends to do in a dream, everything went black and reset.

Basically, that 'eternity' didn't end until I finally accepted I wouldn't ever wake up. But the moment that happened, everything went vivid and lucid. I was aware I wasn't awake, and was able to explore my memories and experiences - but yes, it definitely came with a vey strong spiritual nature.

From what I've read, many people who have a near-death experiences talk about having had a 'religious' experience, which often seems strangely in-tune with what religious beliefs they hold strongest. This is believed to be related to a neurochemical called DMT, which also carries the effect of forcing people to undergo 'death'. My experience in the coma was no different; I underwent a 'Christian death', wherein I found myself trying to justify why I deserved to be 'freed' from the state to an indescribable religious figure; and was trying to explain myself from a Christian perspective.

I still question these dreams and experiences, and I would say it woke me up to my spiritual side, but as a student of psychology and psychophysiology, I am aware that a lot of my experiences can be explained chemically. What I went through seems very in line with what I've read about other people's near-death experiences, and almost identical to reports of the effects of DMT on the brain, whether introduced naturally or unnaturally.

Hope that answers your question!

There's no excuse to be lazy; you will regret it.

No, Barmah forest virus, but it became especially aggravated by treatment using the wrong medications - the virus doesn't usually get as far south as I live, so there were several misdiagnoses made at first.

...Seven.