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That day was during the end of October. Halloween was coming soon. I had been renting a small apartment, together with a girlfriend. My friend had left in the morning to spend a prolonged weekend with her love, and so I had the apartment for myself. It was a Saturday. It was close to 2:00 in the afternoon and I decided to take a shower as I was going out with a friend, who would show up soon. I went to the bathroom taking my telephone along, and just before entering the water, my mother called me. We talked a few minutes and while hanging up I put the telephone on the washing machine, which was standing right beside the shower. I cleaned myself and wanted to take my shaver. I wanted to put the showerhead from one hand into the other, but both hands remained glued to the showerhead. I had no pain but I felt that something strange happened. My hand seemed to grow at sight and I started to panic. I couldn't get my hands away from the showerhead and I realized that I was on the way to being electrocuted. I was so panicked that I screamed as loud as I could and it was as if time stopped. I had the time to think about a lot of things. I imagined my flat mate coming home after several days of absence and finding me dead in the shower. I thought of my parents, living some 8000km away, and that my flat mate had to inform. I thought of the children that I would never have. My hands seemed enormous to me and I couldn't move them. I could just yell and move my eyes. Then I got the impression of taking off from the ground. I even remember telling myself that, like my hands, this would be because of the electrocution. I found myself in the upper corner of the shower, and, down there in the shower, I saw a naked body, slumped in the shower tray and I knew that it was mine. I was panicked, I saw myself dead and what was to happen then, raised a monstrous fear in me! I felt alone, very, very alone, empty and, above all, very scared. I tried to close my eyes that I didn't have anymore. I heard some noise, people talking and I focused on this. I don't know where I was, but I 'saw' the where the noise was coming from. It was my neighbors having heard my yelling and having assembled in front of my terrace gate. They also were afraid and one of them tried to force open the door. Seeing this, I realized that I was dead, that it was over. Then there was a black void. I 'came to' in my bathroom in front of the washbasin. The shower was off. This place oppressed me and raised a terrible fear in me and I went outside to the terrace running, naked, and vomited in front of all my neighbors, who were there trying to open the door. I couldn't stop screaming and my neighbors seemed as panicked as I was. My telephone rang and a neighbor went to answer it. It was my friend arriving, and the neighbor informed him that I had some trouble, but that he didn't know, as I couldn't calm myself. When my friend arrived, I tried to tell him what happened (still howling!) He took my pulse and took me to the hospital as my heart was misfiring. My friend thought that I had a panic attack because my parents had moved to the other end of the earth, my flat mate was absent, and that all this was worrying me. Yet, at the emergency I was accepted in priority, I wasn't bleeding but was still yelling, so I assume that I was frightening the other patients. The doctor told me that I was risking a heart attack from the escalated blood pressure, so I needed to calm down. I told the doctor about my accident and the 'experience' I had. According to the blood test, the electrocution was far too strong to let me yell, nevertheless my neighbors heard me! The doctor told me that all my muscles were paralyzed from the electricity. I remained under medical control for some time. He also told me that this vision of my enormous hands was due to the shocks of the electricity, but that it was impossible for me to see this as my eyes were also paralyzed. The doctors examined my body with a magnifying glass to find the points of entry and leaving of the electricity, but only found the point of entry, no leaving point. It took me several days before I started to take a shower, and several months to take one when being alone in the bathroom. It's not so much the accident that traumatized me; it's the experience, the feeling of loneliness and void. I later found out that in the street behind our apartment, road works had been done and the people doing them had disconnected our earth connector.
Background Information:
Gender: Female
Date NDE Occurred: octobre 2006 NDE Elements:
At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident. Heart attack Arret cardiaque Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function or brain function) Arret cardiaque I was electrocuted.
How do you consider the content of your experience? Entirely distressing
The experience included: Out of body experience
Did you feel separated from your body? Yes I saw my neighbors trying to force the door that was locked. I clearly left my body and existed outside it
How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? More consciousness and alertness than normal I had the impression of thinking at a thousand mph and my thoughts scrolled in front of my eyes.
At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? I was at my highest level of consciousness and alertness when I found myself in the corner of the ceiling above my shower. I could see, hear and think at the same time and in record time. I remember having thought about so many things, that I even told myself that dying was long, in fact, I was even aware that time had another reality at that moment.
Were your thoughts speeded up? Incredibly fast
Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning It's as if time had slowed for the others but accelerated for me.
Were your senses more vivid than usual? More vivid than usual
Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Before it happened, I saw what I was doing; but during, I saw my body slumped in the shower and also the neighbors outside trying to force the door to help me.
Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I don't remember that.
Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? Yes, but the facts have not been checked out
Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No
Did you see any beings in your experience? I sensed their presence
Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes I was thinking very strongly of my mother, and I had the feeling that I would see her where she was, at the beach at the Antilles at 8000km away from me.
The experience included: Void
The experience included: Darkness
Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? No
Did you see an unearthly light? No
Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? Some unfamiliar and strange place I had the impression that I was between two worlds; being in a world where I could see everything but not being seen by anybody and conversely not seeing this other world, but being seen by them.
The experience included: Hellish imagery
What emotions did you feel during the experience? I was very, very afraid! And I was sad. I was sad for my parents, my brothers, and sad to leave with this feeling of being unfinished, not having had the time to live and build my life.
Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? No
Did you have a feeling of joy? No
Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? I felt united or one with the world
Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? No
Did scenes from your past come back to you? No
Did scenes from the future come to you? No
Did you come to a border or point of no return? No God, Spiritual and Religion:
What importance did you place on your religious/spiritual life prior to your experience? Slightly important to me
What was your religion prior to your experience? Do not know Je suis catholique non pratiquante, je n ai fait que mon baptême
Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No
What importance do you place on your religious/spiritual life after your experience? Greatly important to me
What is your religion now? Other or several faiths J ai conscience d une certaine supériorité mais je ne lui donne pas de nom particulier.
Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was both consistent and not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience J attendais de voir le fameux tunnel ou des proches disparus mais je n ai rien vu de tout ca. Je n ai ressenti que de la desolation, de la tristesse, de la peur et de la solitude, tout le contraire de ce a quoi je pensais
Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I became aware of the blackness of death. Not everything is as beautiful for everybody, as everybody is pretending. I just mostly felt negative things.
Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? I encountered a definite being, or a voice clearly of mystical or unearthly origin I cannot say that I heard a voice or met somebody, but I felt a harmful presence that I tried to overshadow. It was as if the blackness surrounding me was a bit alive. I thought about a thousand and one things, but I had this terror that paralyzed me. I felt that 'something/someone' was trying to comfort me, but I was too scared to be open to any contact.
Did you see deceased or religious spirits? I sensed their presence
Did you encounter or become aware of any beings who previously lived on earth who are described by name in religions (for example: Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, etc.)? No
During your experience, did you gain information about premortal existence? No
During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? No
Did you believe in the existence of God prior to your experience? God probably exists
During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? Uncertain Je n ai pas "appris", j ai senti. J ai tjs cru a qq chose mais sans pouvoir mettre un nom dessus. Le fait d etre "morte" mais consciente m a confortée dans ce fait mais j avais tellement peur
Do you believe in the existence of God after your experience? God definitely exists Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:
During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? No
Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant prior to your experience? Are probably meaningful and significant
During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? Uncertain J etais obnubilée par le fait que je n aurais jamais le bonheur d etre maman et en meme temps, j ai su que j en aurait un jour, c etait tres étrange
Did you believe in an afterlife prior to your experience? I was uncertain if an afterlife exists
Do you believe in an afterlife after your experience? An afterlife definitely exists Uncertain Je savais que je n etais plus dans mon corps mais je voulais y retourner. Je pensais a retourner dans mon corps car je ne voulais pas mourir, je ne voulais pas en etre séparée car je savais que je n existerais plus. Ce qui etait paradoxal car j en etais
Did you fear death prior to your experience? I greatly feared death
Do you fear death after your experience? I greatly fear death
Were you fearful living your life prior to your experience? Slightly fearful in living my earthly life
Were you fearful living your life after your experience? Moderately fearful in living my earthly life
Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant after your experience? Are meaningful and significant
Did you gain information about how to live our lives? No
During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? Uncertain Ce soucis d enfants que je n aurait pas car je mourrais tout en sachant que j en aurais quand même un jour, je l ai ressenti comme un "fardeau"? C est comme si a ce moment, je savais qu on m en donnerais mais que les elever seraient une "epreuve".
Were you compassionate prior to your experience? Greatly compassionate toward others
During your experience, did you gain information about love? No
Were you compassionate after your experience? Greatly compassionate toward others
What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Slight changes in my life
Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No No After the NDE:
Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes It's difficult to explain the blackness surrounding me, while I could see and difficult to describe the terror I felt, and the fact of seeing everything from above.
How accurately do you remember the experience in comparison to other life events that occurred around the time of the experience? I remember the experience as accurately as other life events that occurred around the time of the experience
Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Uncertain Since that time, I have problems with electricity (bulbs, fuses etc...) but I think this is due to my electrocution.
Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Especially meaningful to me was the void, the solitude and the terror. I don't understand why I had such a fearful experience and not a reassuring one like other people who have experienced this.
Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I shared it with both the doctor and my friend who took me to the emergency. Neither one of them believed me. I also shared it with two girlfriends, close ones, who both believed me (one of them lost her mother).
Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Uncertain I didn't know about NDEs, but I did know about OBEs that, in my opinion, had nothing to do with death, but with elevation of consciousness.
What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real The terror that I sensed during the experience kept following me for several weeks, even for months.
What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real The memory remains intact.
At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? No
Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? This was the most fearful experience of my life. I still have difficulties talking about it. I think it's because my experience was negative. Because people already fear death, it's hard to talk calmly to them to tell them how fearful it is. I also asked myself a lot of questions about myself. Am I really the good person that I think I am, or is this experience a reflection of my soul?
My room-mate had left that morning on vacation. Being alone in the house, I was taking my time. Around 1:00 pm I went to take a shower, to get ready because a friend was coming to see me. I was washing myself when the phone rang; it was my mother who lived 8,000 kilometers away. So, I answered (still in the shower!). I told her I'd call her back when I was done and I put the phone on the sink.I was still showering when I felt strange. I didn't feel pain but I felt light and had the impression of not being able to move. Then my hands became huge!! I thought they were going to explode! I was very afraid and I started to yell uncontrollably. I could hear my neighbors knocking at my patio door, but I'd locked it, and they couldn't help me! That's when time stopped.I was thinking of many things at once: of my parents, of my life, of the life that I would have had. Then I had a feeling of leaving my body, of floating, I could see my body curled up in the shower. I could see everything, I could hear everything but I was looking at my body. I only had eyes, no body and I could feel myself rising, rising then the black hole.I came to standing at my sink, I was yelling. The shower was still on but I had absolutely no recollection of having gotten out of the shower!I 'remembered' that I had just 'died' and I ran out onto my terrace where the neighbors had gathered because of my screams. I was quite embarrassed because I'd come out naked. I couldn't stop yelling. I called my mother (still yelling) and she couldn't understand anything I was so hysterical.I called my friend who was supposed to come see me but he couldn't understand anything either, he told me to calm down, that he was on his way.Five minutes later, he was there. He tried to comfort me, saying that I'd had a panic attack; he checked my pulse and saw that there was a problem. He took me to emergency where I was immediately examined for electrocution. They did a blood test to check for cardiac enzymes, and I'd come very close to a heart attack.When I told the doctor what had happened, she didn't believe me. She said that with the shock I'd had, it was impossible that I could yell, or see because the electrocution had paralyzed everything, my voice, my limbs, my lungs (therefore I couldn't breathe), all the muscles in my body were paralyzed! The fact that I could see my hands so big was due to the twitching of my body during the electrocution, that after I must have passed out. Still, as I told her, if I hadn't yelled, why were my neighbors on my terrace trying to come in? Why had I seen my little five-year-old neighbor alert the other neighbors? Okay, for my hands, it was a satisfactory explanation, but after I saw my hands normal on my body while I was floating. I was thoroughly examined to find the entrance and the exit of the electricity from my body, and the entrance was found on my left thumb.
Date NDE Occurred: 29/10/2006 NDE Elements:
At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident Other Suite à une électrocution I was being electrocuted in the shower.
How do you consider the content of your experience? Mixed
Did you feel separated from your body? Yes I clearly left my body and existed outside it
How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? More consciousness and alertness than normal When I was floating above my body.
At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? When I was floating above my body.
Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning Time stopped when I started floating, I wasn't afraid. It seemed long and at the same time quick.
Were your senses more vivid than usual? Incredibly more vivid
Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I had the impression of being stuck in the upper corner of my shower. I could see everything without moving from my corner.
Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I could hear my neighbors clearly asking me what was going on and knocking on the patio door, I could see them and heard them but I was sprawled out on the floor of my shower, at least my body was.
Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? Yes, and the facts have been checked out
Did you see any beings in your experience? I actually saw them
Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? No
Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? A light clearly of mystical or other-worldly origin
Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? No
What emotions did you feel during the experience? I was very, very afraid but the fear left me when I started to float.
Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Incredible peace or pleasantness
Did you have a feeling of joy? incredible joy
The experience included: Special Knowledge
Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe
The experience included: Life review
Did scenes from your past come back to you? My past flashed before me, out of my control I saw my whole life pass before my eyes, the joys and the pains, but more the good times. Afterwards I realized that life is precious, that it must be lived fully and in peace with others (but I already thought that, only, it was like a confirmation of what I already felt).
Did scenes from the future come to you? Scenes from the world's future I remember thinking of the children I hadn't had, that I would have really wanted to have. That's what made me saddest about dying, not having known motherhood. Exactly two months after this fright, I was pregnant while a few months earlier I'd had a hormonal imbalance that didn't allow me to have children (at that point in my life!) We only learned of my pregnancy four months into it, on a Friday the 13th.
Did you come to a border or point of no return? I came to a barrier that I was not permitted to cross; or was sent back against my will God, Spiritual and Religion:
What was your religion prior to your experience? Moderate 'Je n'ai pas de religion. Je crois en quelque chose de plus grand que nous, mais je n'ai pas de nom à lui donner'
What is your religion now? Moderate
Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? No
Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? I encountered a definite being, or a voice clearly of mystical or unearthly origin
Did you see deceased or religious spirits? I actually saw them Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:
Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No After the NDE:
Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes This feeling of leaving my body and seeing it.
Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? No
Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? I have no recollection of getting out of the shower! And what's really strange is that to get out of the shower the water should have been stopped to keep the current from passing through and when I came to, I was standing, all wet in front of the mirror above the sink and the shower was still on.
Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes Well I spoke quickly of my accident because I'd had the fright of my life! It took me a few months to go into a bathroom without being afraid. But this feeling of taking off, of leaving one's body, I shared it sparingly with people who believed at least a little in the paranormal. No one said anything about a near death experience. I certainly would have spoken more with my grandfather who'd had four in his lifetime.
Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Yes My grandfather had had four, but I didn't know it. It was my grandmother who one day talked to me about it saying that he'd already seen what was waiting for him on the other side and that other people had also been through it. Only, I didn't see any tunnel or light, I think that I don't remember because I was too afraid. After leaving my body and no longer being afraid, there was a black hole and I 'woke up' naked standing at my sink.
What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real You have to go through it to believe it.
What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real Because I went through it, it was too real not be real. When we dream or have nightmares, we're afraid but we know it's not real, that we will wake up, there it was different, I could feel that what I was going through was real.
Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? I think I was very shaken by this experience and that I've blocked out part of it. I don't remember anything between the time when I was floating and when I came to. I'm frustrated at not being able to remember and I ask myself a load of questions.
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