A moment were you had the false impression you were close to death.
For me:
-Panick attack. I had a stressful internship, and one day, it materialized with a panick attack. Suddenly, i was increasingly paralysed, my skin became insensitive, had heavy tinglings, had hard to breath. I though “that’s it, i’m about to die” and managed to call the ambulance. Of course, by the time it arrives, the crisis had stopped, but i went to hospital anyway. This is were i learned that it was a panick attack, and that was not a vital emergency. If you don’t know what it is, you’re really convinced you’re dying.
-When i tried a blood donation. My blood pressure lowered rapidly, i became weaker and weaker and feeling increasingly bad, they had to stop the process.
When I was a teenager I slipped and fell backwards at the beach and hit the back of my head on concrete, and exhibited light concussion symptoms for half a day afterwards. As I was falling backwards I had a good second and a half to go “well, this may be it, whether I’m ready or not”.
Panic attacks suck. Rationality goes out of the window. “This is it. I’m going to die.”
For me, stress plus a sudden-onset painful physical trigger usually brings them on. The painful trigger can be anything from a muscle sprain to a really bad stomach ache (we’re talking “I now think I might have some idea what period cramps are like and I don’t have a womb” kind of pain levels here.)
Even knowing about previous experiences doesn’t always help. That nagging thought that you’re going to die while feeling terrible in a stressful situation.
Ironically, I’ve wished I was dead many times, but during a panic attack, suddenly survival instinct is the one ringing the alarm bells. WTF brain.
Passed out in a hospital during one of them. Pectoral pain + Stressful day at work = Must be having a heart attack and going to die. Nope. Just a sprained pec and a panic attack.
