People Revealed What Being In A Coma Is Like, And It Sounds Pleasantly Terrifying


Have you ever wondered about what being in a coma would be like? Probably, because most humans are terrified of not being alive, and slipping into a coma is maybe the closest thing to being dead that we can imagine. And if you’re one of those people who is actively terrified of death, then it’s likely that you’ve even googled “what does it feel like to be in a coma” only to be met with so many results that looking through more than two might just give you another panic attack you weren’t looking for.

Don’t worry! You never have to search out your darkest fear — oblivion — again, because a new thread on Ask Reddit has the low-down on exactly what it’s like to be completely unconscious (that’s what we’re calling it to make it less scary, okay?) for an extended period of time with no guarantee that you’ll ever come back. (Actually, that doesn’t make it sound any more cheerful, does it?)

Here’s the good news: Being in a coma seems to be fairly pleasant, if not eventful. The bad news? No one’s seeing tunnels of light or chilling with the grandparents they wish they’d spent more time with until someone says that it’s time to go back and get out of bed.

Take this story of a medically-induced coma, for instance:

I was in a medically induced for 2 weeks and I had no perception of time. I was in an accident, put into the coma by doctors, then awoke on a later date. The drugs gave me crazy dreams for the next month in the hospital but I have no memory of anything during the time I was in the coma.

Or this one, in which someone reveals that you don’t feel anything when you’re out, but that memories are still formed:

I was in a coma for a week after surgery. To me it was instant. The odd part. My mom talked to me while I was in the coma and I remember the things she said. She talked about raising me, the funny things I did, etc.When my mom passed away in 2007, she fell asleep first. We knew she wouldn’t wake up again. So I talked to her about how amazing she was as a mom. I talked for hours until she took her last breath. I hope she heard me. I wasn’t always a good son.

Of course, some people have very vivid dreams:

My dad was in and out of a coma for about eighteen months. He had a ‘dream’ of being a Chinese watchmaker in an 18th Century fishing town, which was extremely long and complex. The memories from his ‘dream’ are so vivid and span such a large amount of time that he thinks it was actually him revisiting a past life.

But even if there aren’t dreams, it’s apparently not so bad if you’re someone who enjoys naps:

I was in a coma after a big head concussion resulted from a car accident. It’s no different than being asleep, the only difference is that you wake up thirsty like you’ve never been before and for some reason I couldn’t drink any water and I was only allowed to suck a clean wet sponge to “calm” my thirst. I was in a coma for 2 days which isn’t too long but as I said before: it isn’t any different than taking a long nap.

And it might be an especially nice vacation for anyone who’s ever dreamed of messing some stuff up and/or punching a medical professional:

I was in a coma for four or five days. I woke up two days into it and pulled out my vent and feeding tube and punched a nurse. I don’t remember that at all. Then when I came out again I was in the process of trying to punch a different nurse. Then I realized where I was and calmed down. Last thing I remember was getting put onto a helicopter. Then I woke up. No in between.

Who’s gonna check you for that? You were out! You can’t be held responsible.

And you know what else you can’t be held responsible for? Anything you do while you’re waking up, because apparently coming to is nothing like the gentle eye-flutterings the movies show you. Nothing:

…I don’t remember anything while in the coma. After about 12 days on ECMO my lungs had recovered enough for them to remove it and begin to wake me up. I’m not sure for how long they were reducing the medication but I didn’t wake up quickly. I drifted in and out of consciousness for what my girlfriend said was about 24 hours before I reasonably awake. I know now that what I was having were dreams and hallucinations, but my god I was LIVING it at the time. These are the dreams.

I was at a train station, and I looking for a drug dealer to buy some ice from. I had never bought or used ice in my life, and I didn’t know how to go about getting some. So I was loitering around the station, not doing anything just looking for signs of someone dealing. I was feeling as nervous as hell and I had the feeling that people were noticing me. I started to feel increasingly paranoid and scared. Two police approach me tell me and tell me they know what I’m doing. They point to a car full of people and say “those people are going to kill you.” I ask the police if they can help me and the say no, you brought this on yourself, we can’t do anything. Now I’m really frightened, i’ve never been so scared in my life. I ask the police again if they can help me and they laugh and shake their heads and say no…

I’m now in a pub. It’s the only pub that I can go to because it has a special chair that allows me to drink water. I’m unbelievably hot and thirsty. The chair looks kind of like a dentists chair. It allows me to sit back so the barman can put a tube down my oesophagus and give me a drink. I can’t swallow because of the other tube in my throat. I feel so grateful that he is giving me a drink. The water cools my burning hot chest. I feel happy and content, I don’t want to leave the chair.

I remember being awake and seeing a christmas tree on fire through a gap in the curtains. I woke up at one stage and saw that the curtain was dirty and thought, I’d better change that, then fell trying to get out of bed. The nurses said my girlfriend will be in at 9:00am. I kept looking at the clock and seeing that it was 9:00, so i’d ring the bell and ask the nurse if my girlfriend was here yet. They would tell me, no, it’s only (insert time). I did this 4 times. The Dr. said I had ICU Syndrome.

Of course, if you’re looking for a way to really experience what a coma might be like without ever having to go through one, you may want to consider moving to The Sooner State:

Never been in a coma, but I do live in Oklahoma, so I imagine it’s pretty similar.

Sounds not-so-bad and all-too-terrifying at the same time! (But also very terrifying. Please try to avoid being hit in the head with heavy objects!)

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