Observations placeholder
Suicide attempt by taking an assortment of pills
Identifier
014255
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
Dr Peter Fenwick - Life at Death | |
One young man tried to kill himself by taking an assortment of pills - Librium, Demerol, Valium, Dilantin. As a result of this ingestion, he remained unconscious for four days. He remembers finding himself in a gray area: |
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While the young man was in this state, he said he felt good: |
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He also was aware of music: |
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He also reported that everything, including the music, sounded "hollow and metallic - echoey" and that these acoustical sensations were associated with the watery grayness. He felt the grayness going through him, filling him and this felt good to him. After a while, he became aware of a voice: |
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The young man tried to get to where the voice was: |
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During his experience he had seen images of people he knew. These people somehow seemed to represent the possibility of a good life; they seemed to care. He described this as "like playing back a recording of my life." The issue was joined: |
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And resolved: |
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And afterward: |
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This testimony sums up the essential features of his experience. In the course of his interview, he also indicated that although he never clearly saw his physical body on the bed, he did have a sense of bodily detachment and felt he had no weight at all – he was just pure mind. Neither did he have any sense of time. When he momentarily returned to body consciousness (before drifting back into the grayness), he found the sensory world greatly enhanced – the colors were clearer and more vibrant. The only thing scary about his experience was his fear (which was eventually vanquished) of returning to his body. His experience in the grayness was decidedly pleasant and, judging from its immediate aftereffect, very positive and powerful in its emotional impact. |
The source of the experience
Ordinary personConcepts, symbols and science items
Symbols
Science Items
Activities and commonsteps
Activities
Overloads
Analgesics - opioids [pharmaceuticals]Anti-arrhythmia drugs
Benzodiazepines
Depression