How our brains protect us.

[marym625]

I want to warn anyone reading this, it could possibly be a trigger to something you don't want to deal with. Though the reason for the post is to find out about how our brains protect us, it's in reference to near death experiences. If that is a trigger for you, please don't continue.

This post, by PCIntern, http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026091065
has me wondering about how protective our minds can be. PCIntern watched something horrific happen. I am thankful for his sharing with us and hope he is feeling a bit better today.

I don't mean to be morbid. This is not looking for horror stories, though it will obviously illicit some.

I am curious about who remembers what when staring at the real possibility of your own death. For instance, I was a pedestrian and was hit by a car. A hit and run. (If you are interested, I posted the story here http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6096041 ) I don't remember actually being hit. I remember immediately before and when I regained consciousness. I have read that is normal, that many people have the same experience when something horrific happens.

There are also a couple posts from people who faced what they thought was certain death and they felt no fear. Another coping mechanism. Marr, reply #21 on that thread, and a couple of responses, describe what they experienced.

My questions are:

If you ever faced anything that you believed would cause your death, did you experience fear?

If whatever you thought was about to happen, did happen, do recall the actual moment that could have killed you?

I appreciate any responses. I hope this isn't a trigger to something that is too much for anyone to think about. My curiosity is only about our minds protecting us.

[mucifer]

1. When I was in high school I went white water rafting. We fell out of the raft.

I got pulled under the waterfall It felt like I was under for a long time. I remember thinking I could die and also thinking that was ok if I did. Then I gently floated back up.

It was probably not a near death experience tho it was in my mind. It's a popular white water rafting place and I don't remember hearing about people dying while rafting. So my experience might have been different if I was more at risk.

Throughout the years my mindset remains the same. I'm 50 years old. I don't have a strong passion for life the way most people do. I don't have a significant other I don't have kids. I don't care if I die. I don't want to die in a scary way. But, I don't care if I die.

[marym625]

2. sounds like a near death experience to me.

Whether you were truly at risk or not doesn't matter, though it sure sounds like you were. What matters is what you thought.

I don't know if you are saying that your lack of zest for life is due to this experience or if you are thinking your calmness when you thought you might die was due to your lack of zest for life. Either way, I am sorry you feel that way. You are not alone. I often feel that way.

Thank you for sharing your story. I really appreciate it.

[Peregrine Took]

33. I heard local radio host say she fell out on a white water trip and almost drowned...

she said she felt a tremendous feeling of calmness and wasn't frightened at all.

[marym625]

35. She?

You mean mucifer? It was on the radio?

Whatever it is that causes that calmness, I imagine, is a godsend.

Thank you for sharing this.

[mmonk]

3. I was recently in a car accident.

I was told I have retrograde amnesia. I presume it came from a blow to the head but the memory has still not come back.

[marym625]

4. I'm sorry.

I hope you are okay otherwise.

I'm not familiar with that term. Is the amnesia only the accident? Or is there more you can't remember?

Thank you for sharing this.

[madokie]

5. Heres a link to help you understand what it is

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrograde_amnesia

I didn't know either so I had to look it up

[marym625]

7. Thank you.

I was just looking it up.

I hope you have a great day.

[madokie]

14. I hope so too and I wish the same for you and anyone else reading

this. Lets all have a Great day, be merry and be happy

[marym625]

16. Thank you again!

And I am always Mary. Heehee.

[marym625]

9. hmmm.

Wasn't temporary for me. It's been 30 years and I still can't recall being hit.


Thanks again!

[madokie]

15. We both learned something new today

and its still early. If thats not a recipe for a good day I don't know what is or could be.

[marym625]

17. Great attitude!

I will adopt it myself. Thank you.

[mmonk]

6. Just with the accident. I'm ok

and just want to know what happened as it was a single car accident on a familiar road.

[marym625]

8. I would too.

I hope you are able to either remember or someone can tell you. Maybe an animal was in the way and you tried to miss it?

Glad you are okay. Thank you again

[pinboy3niner]

10. I nearly died, but it wasn't a "near-death experience"

I believe that term is reserved for somebody nearly dying AND having a vision or out-of-body sensation in that moment.

That's not what happened to me. I was wounded in Vietnam and nearly died (my "death" was even reported back to my Army Infantry platoon).

When I was hit by AK fire in the jaw and shoulder, my body was thrown into the air and at that moment my brain sped up and I seemed to be suspended, literally "twisting in the wind" for a long time, with everything around me happening in slow motion.

It was extremely difficult to breathe because I was choking on blood and bone and teeth and I knew I had to fight to stay conscious because if I lost consciousness I'd stop breathing and I'd die. I wasn't even sure that I wasn't dying anyway, because I couldn't tell how badly I'd been hit, but I knew I had to fight to stay awake and breathe if I was to have any chance at all.

After a medevac chopper eventually came and took me back to the evac hospital and I was lying on a gurney waiting for one of the operating rooms to be free, I lost consciousness and stopped breathing. Luckily for me, a nurse came back to check on me before it was too late and they were able to do an emergency tracheostomy on the spot to provide an airway.

[marym625]

11. Oh my goodness!

What a horrible thing. I'm so sorry.

I don't know how that wouldn't qualify as near death. It does in my book.

And you seem to remember every moment. The "twisting in the wind" had to increase the horror, the fear. So your mind didn't protect you.

I'm so very sorry. I'm glad you were able to keep your wits about you and save your own life. I imagine you have lasting damage as well.

Thank you so much for sharing this. And thank you for your service.

[Denzil_DC]

12. Most times I've been in such situations

(there've been a few - road accidents, being physically threatened with what appeared to be a firearm, being bitten in the throat by an Old English Sheepdog, mishaps during outdoor or work activities etc.), I did luckily have some control over the outcome.

In my case, each time I went into what I can only describe as "overdrive" to come out of it alive. It was no doubt adrenalin-fueled, but it triggered a heightened state of awareness, just the right side of panic, and I was lucky that my reactions ended up saving me (and in the case of the road accident, two others). On some occasions, once the crisis was over, it took quite a while to process.

The dog attack was by far the worst from that point of view, and I had to make a point of trying to overcome fears of that breed later on, as I didn't want it to be a permanent reaction, which would not only be unfair on all the non-aggressive dogs out there, but might have risked triggering another attack. I'm pretty much over it, but it's made me extremely intolerant of very careless owners of unruly dogs which they let bounce toward you with the owner shouting "He won't BITE!" - You mean he hasn't bitten anyone else, to your knowledge, YET. A pal of mine reckoned such owners' reactions are crazy, as all a dog as excited as that's going to hear is "BITE!" I dunno.

One time, I did nearly drown, but got saved by someone. It all happened so fast that it was pure panic, and I don't think any amount of adrenalin could have saved me.

I think witnessing somebody else have an accident, or at worst dying, when there's nothing you can do to help, or when you've tried to help but failed, is going to be much more traumatizing.

[marym625]

13. You're a hero!

That's amazing. Bravo!

That's quite a few brushes with death. And some pretty powerful mind control. And another example of of how I was wrong about not having the memory because your mind protects you. You remember the dog biting you?

A very similar thing happened to a friend of mine, by a dog that was owned by a mutual friend. A boerboel, part of the mastiff family. Missed his jugular by just centimeters. And the owner kept the dog, even through having 3 kids. Luckily, it hasn't ever bitten again.

I don't blame you for being afraid of that breed. Completely rational reaction. Though you are right about it being dangerous. I hope you can work past it.

I think you are right about seeing something happen. But I don't recall being hit by the car so I don't really know which is harder. I do still hate Saabs. And I am overly aware of, and still have a bit of fear, when crossing the street.

Thank you for sharing this. I'm sorry you have had so many things happen to you. I'm glad you made it through.

How wonderful that you saved the lives of two people.

[Denzil_DC]

20. Heh. Hero, no, I'm (so far) a survivor!

I'm not being argumentative, but I don't see it as mind control, just instinctive reactions with the help of a great deal of luck in some cases (any number of them could have easily gone the other way). One day my luck may run out.

When that dog bit me, initially I didn't know whether it had torn my throat out. (As it happened, it did penetrate my trachea, so I had some tissue emphysema and tidy bruising along with the stitches and mental trauma.) So my instant reaction was to scream - to see if I still could (!), but also because what else can you do when faced with such a large breed? It did back off, thankfully, but it could have easily gone the other way (it was a troubled dog from a troubled home, not in itself horrible, just unstable; the hospital pressured me to identify it, no doubt to have it euthanized, but I refused as I knew the owners, who then arranged for it to go to a properly supervised dog sanctuary, where it lived out its days happily without hurting anyone else, to my knowledge).

I am pretty much worked past it, thanks. It got triggered by crazy neighbors of ours quite a few years later who had a habit of the woman of the house adopting "problem," sometimes previously abused, dogs, then treating them like babies (hubby worked away a lot of the time).

One particular dog had a horrible disposition and had devoured our house's previous occupants' (who were renting us their house) entire menagerie of small birds, but they were too conflict-averse to say anything about it. Then we moved in - fencing was very poor in this rural neighborhood - and we had a running battle with the mutt, where even taking visitors for a walk across the back field was perilous because this animal would come bouncing along barking, and on one occasion I witnessed it nipping one of us on the rear. The problem was that tackling the neighbors about it would have meant going through their yard, hence running the gauntlet of the dog! So we just lived with it (small village and all that).

Then one day my partner and I went for a walk in the woods up the hill at the back of the houses, and saw the female neighbor walking this dog, so we detoured a good 200 or 300 yards out of our way to avoid them, but still the dog comes hurtling toward us, the woman shouting (this is where it came from), "He won't BITE! He won't BITE!"

I wasn't waiting to find out, so I picked up a sizeable stick in self-defense, and when the dog came full at me, with whatever in mind, I sidestepped and thwhacked it heavily full on the side (a great shot, if I say so myself), at which point it yelped and ran back to her. Then she fussed it, "Good boy, it's OK, it's OK," and bellowed irately at me, "DON'T YOU EVER HIT MY DOG AGAIN!!!"

This was one of the few times in my life when I've literally seen red. I let her have it with the whole history of our troubles with this dog and her, the censored upshot being, "Keep control of your fecking dog and it won't get hit!"

It took me quite a few whiskies and a lot of talking to come down after that one. I've not been triggered in that way since, but I am sensibly wary of strange dogs, and that's no bad thing.

A lot of the other things were just situations that developed into serious difficulties, but were of my own making or choosing (the outdoorsy stuff), so I've nobody to blame but myself, which probably makes them easier to cope with, in a funny way (and some of them I can laugh about in retrospect as they were quite ridiculous despite being very scary at the time).

The two lives I "saved" were passengers in my car, so no matter whose fault the crash was (we all agreed it wasn't mine, including the police), micro-judgments I made got us into danger in response to some terrible driving by another, and then got us out the other side miraculously totally uninjured (the car, not so much).

I'm sorry your experience has left you with these lasting fears. I hope talking about it helps. Everyone reacts differently in crises, despite some broad human similarities we can usually all relate to.

[marym625]

23. goodness gracious!

I don't care if it's lassie, a strange dog charging you has to be frightening! What a stupid, foolish woman. Glad you were able to smack the dog away.

Sorry, you saved those people. Deal with it

I'm fine, thank you. Just have a few little fears. Nothing major and probably not bad to have.

Thank you for sharing all this. I really do appreciate it.

[Denzil_DC]

26. And thank you for starting this thread.

You may have guessed from my tone above, that even though I was very angry about the dog thing, I do find some wry humor in it (like, why the hell was she shouting at me, not her fecking murderous mutt?! - it's ridiculous).

I'm lucky (I keep talking about luck, but it's an important factor) that I've had few really dramatic tragedies in my life (I'm not counting death processes etc. among neighbors, friends, and loved ones, of which I've witnessed my share, but they obviously can be as traumatic as anything), so a sense of humor can help sometimes. There are some horrible situations people live through and with where even the darkest humor can't help.

[marym625]

30. Thank you

I appreciate that.

Yes, I caught your humor and I applaud it. It is more than necessary to be able to cope with so many tragic things in life.

Thank you again

[Denzil_DC]

38. Well, here's an old story I posted ages ago

about one of my outdoor adventures/near catastrophes, averted by that "overdrive" thing, that I didn't think I'd be able to find again, which I tracked down on DU2, and I definitely see the funny side in retrospect:

I was fishing a small, remote mountain lake, and waded into the shallows to get a better cast at some rising fish.

After a couple of minutes standing there, I realized I was sinking. Fast. Quicksand! The mud had a tight grip on my legs, and there's no way I could get my waders off to escape as I use a wading boot system.

So I was stood there, rod in hand, nobody for miles, wondering what the heck to do. Could I manage to bend over and guddle around in the mud and untie my bootlaces? No chance.

I rocked backwards and forwards, but the mud just gripped tighter and I was still sinking.

Clarity often comes on these occasions. I rejected the idea that I would just disappear, and my poor wife and family might never know what had happened to me till some other unfortunate angler someday maybe stumbled across something bony underfoot in the shallows.

What to do?

I figured that if the worst came to the worst, as my head disappeared under the mud, I'd stick my hand in the air and hold my rod up as a marker, so it'd be easier to find my remains.

Of course, this flash of realism unleashed my survival instincts, and I recalled advice about trying to swim out of quicksand, so I threw my rod to the shore (it would still act as a marker) and lunged backward and forward, and somehow after an almighty struggle I managed to free myself and lived to tell the tale, albeit extremely grubbily.

But the image of just my hand holding my rod aloft like the Lady of the Lake endures.

[marym625]

42. What a frightening thing.

Jesus christ on a cheese sandwich! You and some others here have survived some really scary, close calls.

Quicksand! Damn! I am glad you were able to get free of it. That you had the presence of mind to remember what to do and the physical strength to do it.

Did you put any kind of warning up for future wanderers?

Thank you for sharing this. Truly amazing

[Denzil_DC]

49. No, I left no warning.

It's a wilderness, though parts of it are quite well walked, much less frequently fished, and I had nothing with which to leave a meaningful marker. There's all sorts of dangers out there, and you can't mark them all.

I've fished around there quite a few times, lots of lovely small waters, and that was the only time I've ever encountered quicksand. Some might say I was an idiot for wading in unknown/unknowable waters without a staff or lifevest. They'd have a point!

One day, if I find the time to go back there (I'm a lot busier nowdays), I may try to find a pole and gauge whether I'd have bottomed out before drowning, just out of curiosity! Still, the whole thing happened in slow motion, so I had time to reflect and even laugh out loud at my predicament and first solution, in between thinking, "Oh boy, you've really done it this time ...."

[marym625]

59. I was just curious.

I didn't mean that question as a criticism.

Maybe the slow motion thing that seems to happen to people is to give you time to think. Not that it would make a difference in the instance of falling but in situations like yours, it helped.

Thank you again for sharing this. Absolutely fascinating.

[Denzil_DC]

64. That's OK, I didn't take it as criticism, Mary.

It never actually crossed my mind to try to do that the time, not that it would have been practicable anyway - I was too busy being relieved!

[marym625]

65. Thank you

Yeah, I imagine that nothing else would be on your mind but relief. That and actually realizing the enormity of the situation. I would probably have just sat down and cried for a couple days before I could move.

[TwilightGardener]

18. My brain's coping mechanism, I've found, is to try to control the situation,

find a way out. I almost drowned in a relative's farm pond when I was seven, I didn't know how to swim but my parents let me go wading and I encountered a deep drop-off (deep meaning probably 6-7 feet). I will always remember desperately feeling around in the murky water, couldn't see, but feeling the slippery mud embankment and grabbing tree roots to haul myself up. Had there been no tree roots, I'd have been a sad local news story in 1977.

When I was 30 my car spun out of control while I was going 70 mph, I hydroplaned on the interstate during a thunderstorm. I remember trying to "steer" my way out of trouble, especially when I found myself going across the grassy median backwards and toward the opposite side of the interstate. My Jeep finally came to rest, upright, in the median, and I was able to four-wheel it back onto the highway and continued on to work for the day--shaking, of course.

I have had moments of blind panic in life, but they're all related to a phobia I have about bees and wasps--I will run screaming and waving my arms like demons are trying to drag me to hell. But true danger, my mind can distinguish, and rather than throw my hands up in panic I attempt to control the situation right up until the end, like busy-work for the brain. I consider that a coping mechanism rather than any sort of skill or advantage--it's usually blind luck that wins the day.

[marym625]

22. wonderful stories

You saved yourself, and probably many others, when you were able to keep the car from going backwards into oncoming traffic. Bravo!

That near drowning story is amazing. I'm pretty sure I would not have had the presence of mind to do that. At least not at the tender age of seven. So glad that you did.

Thank you for sharing this. Glad you are a smart person. With or without the ability to remain calm, if you weren't intelligent, you wouldn't have been around to be in that car.

[TwilightGardener]

24. Well, thanks. But it's nothing I consciously do, it's lizard-brain survival, IMO.

It's a calm rational "Now how do I get out of THIS one?" mentality that I otherwise don't experience in daily life, and probably can't summon at will. Maybe it kicks in for some people at the right time, and for other people, it's unfortunately their time for useless panic--as I've said, luck is usually the key factor in getting out of scrapes, but I'm comforted by the fact that my mind doesn't let me go down without a fight, LOL. Maybe it's why I am most scared, in a primal way, by falls from heights (like that poor girl) or airplane crashes--there's no way out, nothing one can do. Although I would probably flap my arms frantically like Wile E. Coyote on the way down.

[marym625]

29. Haha!

Me too! Well, flying over water is my fear. Talk about no way out. At least if the plane goes down on dry land, you're most likely going to die quickly. It goes down in water, then you could end up not dying right away, having to then survive a crash and die by drowning.

Funny the things we fear.

Whatever it is that your mind has that does that for you, I'm glad you have it. And glad you shared.

[Chemisse]

51. That clarity has been my experience too.

Although nothing so dramatic as yours, I've had my share of brushes with disaster while driving, and it's like my emotions cower in the back seat while I calmly, dispassionately do whatever has to be done. Then afterwards I am shaking like crazy.

It's a good adaptive mechanism for dealing with fight or flight, I think. If we just froze in fright, we would be dead, in many circumstances.

[TwilightGardener]

55. I have an old friend, went to high school with her--she learned to drive

relatively late, I think she was 19 or so, because her family didn't feel she was ready for it emotionally. Turns out that when she's frightened, she literally freezes up/shuts down--she did it behind the wheel at least once after she got her driver's license, had a panic when she began to skid in the snow and just buried her face in her hands and waited for the impact. Funny how there's no real instinct that we all share in a crisis, everyone's wired differently.

[rock]

19. I had a heart attack about a decade ago

that ultimately (several months later) led to surgery (double bypass). During the attack I was not in any particular pain but my hearing weakened so that it sounded like a cheap radio whose battery was running out (you know distorted). My eyesight dimmed and colors faded. As I recall I was seeing in black and white. In any case I remember being giddy and thinking I was knocking on death's door and running away just before he opened it. Quite bizarre. Five years later I had to undergo another surgery (my heart doctor monitored me closely and caught the problem early - a heart valve - and then was nothing dramatic this time).

[marym625]

25. That is really interesting

I wonder if was lack of oxygen that caused all that. It must have felt surreal.

I truly believe that our minds can control our bodies much more than we know. Obviously, at some point, we'll die regardless of what our minds do. But I wonder if the hallucination.of running from death's door somehow helped you survive. If it literally controlled your heart for a moment.


'm glad you survived it. Glad you have a good, caring doctor too. Thank you so much for sharing this.

[rock]

32. Surreal hits it on the nose

Great protection scheme!

[Blue_Tires]

21. I almost drowned at a pool party when I was a kid

yes, I thought I was going to die, and no, I didn't have any fear...I was probably too young to properly comprehend the fear of death...

[marym625]

27. That's very interesting

I don't know if that's what it was, your age. Whatever it was, I'm glad you got' out.

Thank you for sharing.

[Blue_Tires]

43. I was 5 at the time

[marym625]

47. Awe.

[csziggy]

28. I came close to being killed but didn't realize it at the time - later it hit me

I was riding my horse on the side of a rural road when a truck passed me. It was some sort of county road truck with a big boxy thing on the bed, leaking liquid out of the top. My horse freaked out, tried to bolt, so I turned her. She spun out onto the road, slipped and fell. I felt her slipping and tried to kick my right foot free to do an emergency dismount, but my foot stuck in the stirrup and I couldn't get free.

The next thing I knew, I was on the road with my elbow on the center line and the horse was scrambling to her feet. Fortunately, the stirrup slid off my foot so I wasn't dragged. People stopped their cars, someone caught the horse, and they all asked if I were OK. The truck that had scared the horse probably never realized there was a problem and was long gone.

Stupidly I told them I was fine before I tried to stand. They all left, with me sitting on the road, holding the reins. When I tried to stand I found out that my right ankle would not support me. Thankfully the horse was completely calm by then so I could pull myself up by the stirrup and use her as a crutch to get back to the barn. I got help from the barn manager who put the horse up and drove me to the university clinic.

It turned out that as the horse fell, my ankle must have been caught just under the swell of the Western saddle. With that and the stirrup still on my foot, they were protected enough that no bones were broken. The sheath around the small bones of the ankle was completely disrupted - by the time I got to the clinic my ankle was swollen larger than my thigh. By the next day everything below my knee was black and was just a big bag of agony. Back in the mid 70s no one gave university students any kind of effective pain relievers - I got to use aspirin and ice.

A few days later some friends drove me down to one of the local sinkholes. We though it would be nice and since the water in the sinkholes here stays cold all year round, I thought it would be good for soaking my ankle. Not even close - the mild movement of the water HURT. I had to get out and felt very sorry for myself as my friends swam for a little while.

After they took me home I was very depressed. I knew I would be on crutches for a long time and would not be able to ride during that time - and the ride I had been on when I was hurt was the first trail ride I was able to go on after spraining the OTHER ankle. But I got a reality check - on the news that night was a story about a young woman who had been in a similar circumstance. She was riding along a rural highway, her horse was spooked by a truck, spun out onto the road.

The difference was that immediately after the truck that spooked her horse was another truck that hit and killed both her and her horse. I finally realized how close to dying I had been and how completely lucky I was to be alive. I had been in denial before hearing that story and didn't admit to myself that I could have been killed.

[marym625]

31. That's one of the coping mechanisms I'm talking about

The fact you were in denial about how close your brush with death actually was. It kept you mentally and emotionally safe until you could better deal with it.

Although it's great some people stopped to help, I can't imagine leaving before you were off the road. Hell, I can't imagine not helping you off the road. So glad that you were physically able to get back to the barn and had the presence of mind to use the horse to help you up.

Thank you for sharing your story.

[Denzil_DC]

50. Aside from the context of Mary's post,

horse riders are quite common around here, and if I encounter any while driving, no matter what sort of hurry I'm in, I always make a point of slowing right down, being as patient as necessary, and giving them a wide berth while passing with great care.

As is annoyingly so common, as you say, the truck driver probably never realized how close he came to killing or permanently maiming someone. It's reckless driving, and unforgivable.

[csziggy]

57. I was riding in a difficult spot - narrow margin, high bank to the side

Plus it was at the top of a hill so driers had no choice but to give their vehicles gas. So I was taking a chance and knew it but I had put many miles on horses on roads just like that without a serious accident.

Since the truck was county owned I later called the county works department to recommend that they put out a notice to their drivers to be more careful around horseback riders. Their response - send out an insurance guy who made a settlement with me for all medical costs x3. Hopefully the insurance company made the county put out notices but years later school buses had no respect for horseback riders in the same county and one nearly killed a friend of mine.

[Peregrine Took]

34. My brother had his life flash by in about a minute - in detail.

He said it was so strange - real experiences flash flash flash - right up to the day of the accident.

This happened in a near drowning when he had been sunning himself on a cabin cruiser which was hit by a City barge, knocking him off and trapping him under the boat. All he could see what the propeller coming right towards him. He was able to wiggle out of the way somewhat but he lost the inner part of his lower leg in the prop.

Ironically, he filed a suit against the city but the lawyer was incompetent and it turns out he never actually filed the suit and when he remembered to do it - it was too late.

Just one of the many things that went sour in his life.

[marym625]

37. Holy shit!

I hope he went after the lawyer. Did he get anything through insurance from the city?

I have always heard about that happening to people but only in books and movies. Never heard a real person talk about that. Did the memories cause any changes? Though I don't know how he could know if it was the memories or the incident that would cause the changes, if any.

I am so sorry your brother, your family and you have had to deal with this. I hope that your brother is financially able to deal with everything this has cost him and will, I'm sure, continue to cost him.

Thank you for sharing this. I'm sure this is a continuous hardship on your brother and family.

[bigtree]

36. fell off of a 50-60 foot cliff

... had enough time to contemplate my death or the profusion of my certain broken bones upon impact. I felt the wind rushing up under me and I felt for a moment as if I was slowing down or in flight. Anyway, I hit the ground on my heels and ended up with an unlikely minimal set of bruises to my heal and a few other bits.

It's funny, because I saw an episode of Northern Exposure where a lady had fallen off of a cliff and was portrayed as experiencing almost the exact same feeling of buoyancy before landing relatively unharmed, despite the incredible distance of the fall. My own fall happened at what I consider a spiritual place for me where I had meditated for years and years in harmony with the nature (and rocks) that surrounded me. I still think something supernatural took place that day, especially when I've returned and looked at the distance I fell.

To the point of your post, I think my brain relaxed me to the point where I was limp enough to minimize the impact of the fall. That's my rational explanation, anyway.

[marym625]

40. Holy shit!

Just, oh my f'n dog! Holy shit!

Flabbergasted. I don't know what happened that saved you from serious injury or death. I don't know if the way you landed could explain it, coupled with strong muscles and bones, or if there was some bizarre phenomenon in play. But I am glad you came out of it nearly unscathed.

Was the feeling of flight and buoyancy a calming feeling?

Thank you for sharing this incredible story. So glad you are okay.

[bigtree]

41. it was incredibly calming

...I'd swear to this day that I was slowing down as the wind rushed up to meet me.

Lots of time to think, also, it seemed as I was falling, of broken bones and events that day. I haven't experienced many unexplainable events or occurrences in my life - not a strong believer in the supernatural - but that one keeps me just questioning enough about life to keep me from being a total skeptic.

[marym625]

46. It sure is something fascinating

I wonder how long the actual fall was. I'm sure not as long as it felt.

Thank you again. I appreciate your sharing.

[Voice for Peace]

54. this reminds me of the woman who jumped from a plane at 5000 feet and her chute didn't open

she walked away.. landed in a sewage pond but she said something
similar about the buoyancy. She also said it was a miracle.

[Chemisse]

56. Perhaps she was falling long enough to have reached terminal velocity.

Which happens when your drag equals the force of gravity so you are no longer accelerating. Apparently you only feel like you're falling when you are accelerating. When there is no change in motion, you feel like you are floating.

But that sure doesn't account for those who felt this when they fell 60 feet.

Really interesting.

[Voice for Peace]

66. then there was the guy who jumped from a tall building

but the wind refused to let him fall and pinned him against
the building until he changed his mind.

[ND-Dem]

39. I had an experience getting into a sudden snowstorm in the mountains without protective gear.

I felt very calm and unafraid and was able to do what was necessary to survive without fear.

I also had meningitis, and what I remember of it, which I guess was mostly fantasms of the illness, but nevertheless, I felt very safe and happy during that period, and protected by fantastic beings.

Real life is much more horrific these days, and I often feel like I'm trapped between the world of the living and the world of the dead. But so much of our public life today is necrophilic, I'm no longer sure which is which.

[marym625]

44. I am sorry that you are going through this

Obviously, you are learned in survival techniques. I wouldn't have a clue what to do caught in a sudden storm without gear. Do you think your calmness was just a coping mechanism? Or was it due to some training?

Having meningitis, I would think, certainly contributed to the feeling you had of safety. But I do wonder how much of that was just your mind helping you cope with a deadly disease.

I am truly sorry you feel like you do about life. I can't say I don't understand. I do. But I hope it is passing.

I appreciate you sharing such a personal feeling. Thank you so much. I am glad you are here to share.

[ND-Dem]

45. thank you very much for the kind thoughts.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

48. Yes and yes.

I was maybe 8 years old and was running up the steps from our basement to the living area. I was going fast and jumping 2 steps at a time. My foot slipped off a step and I came crashing down onto the stairs, with one tread edge jamming me in the stomach and another hitting me hard across my throat. I had the wind knocked out of me very badly, but my throat also closed right up and I couldn't take in any air. I kept trying to call to my Mom but couldn't get a peep out. I was trying very hard to breath but it just was not happening -- this went on for what seemed like forever. It wasn't until the thought 'If I don't start breathing soon then I am going to die' that I actually began to feel fear. I started to have a panic attack, which got my adrenaline going and, thankfully, started to open up my airway. It took a few minutes for me to get breathing normally and able to climb the stairs and seek out my Mom.

The incident was very, very traumatic and I can steal feel my stomach and throat tense right up even writing about it. I wish I had felt no fear, wish I still didn't carry around the fear, but I understand (intellectually) that it was the fear/adrenaline that saved my life.

[marym625]

60. How frightening!

Especially so young.

What an experience. Yes, I can imagine that the panic brought you to the reality of the situation. Good thing that happened before you passed out. Though maybe that would have relaxed your body enough that breathing would have just started again.

Regardless, I am thankful that you shared this. I'm sorry I brought back such frightening memories.

[ananda]

52. An experience.

There was a moment some years ago when I thought my time had come.
I was stuck at an intersection and couldn't move and saw something
coming right at me. I remember thinking, this is my time.

Then, next thing you know, I remember the thing hitting my car where
I had been sitting, but I'm lying across the front seat and the car
is moving, and I'm alive. I had saved myself without knowing it, in a
complete blackout.

[marym625]

61. Wow!

So you don't remember the actual impact but were obviously conscious. That's amazing. That's what I have read happens often. But from the stories shared here, it is the exception.

I hope you weren't seriously hurt. Thank you for sharing what was obviously a traumatic experience.

[Voice for Peace]

53. in what should have been a deadly car accident, time slowed way way down

fear was completely absent; if anything a sense of
wonder. Car slid on ice at about 70 mph and spun
around and around on the highway, where there was
mercifully only one other car at the time and I
bounced off of them and kept spinning until it
stopped in the median. It didn't feel as though I was
driving the car, more like a benevolent vortex had
captured us and slowly was bringing the car to rest.
Nobody was hurt or even bruised, in either car.

[marym625]

62. This is another amazing story

What happens that you felt no fear, I wonder. Obviously, a very scary situation. And why the slow motion feeling? I am sure there is a scientific explanation but it's the situation that this happens in that fascinate me.

I'm glad no one was hurt. Nearly miraculous frankly. Not that I believe in miracles.

Thank you for sharing this. I am glad you came out unscathed.

[easttexaslefty]

58. Our brains do protect us

The brain only let's a little trauma in at a time. ( at least, that's been the case for me)

[marym625]

63. That was mine as well

But it doesn't happen as often as I thought, judging from the replies here.

Although, it is DU and we're a special bunch.

I don't want you to share anything you don't want to. But can you tell me if this was something that you don't remember? Is that the protection you're referring to?

Seriously, please don't take that as my asking about what the situation was. Thank you for sharing what you have.