Reddit user Sasha Eliasson claims he clinically died twice in the last year
His first passing took place in June 2014 when Eliasson was injured in a motorcycle crash
Eliasson briefly 'died' a second time months later when he overdosed on painkillers following surgery
A man from Sweden claims he has experienced death not once, but twice, and lived to tell the tale on Reddit.
In an online 'Ask Me Anything' interview on Tuesday, Reddit user r00tdude, identified as Sasha Eliasson, shed light on what it feels like to be clinically dead.
Mr Eliasson student was dead twice for about two minutes each time.
His first 'passing' reportedly took place in June 2014 when he was involved in a motorcycle crash.
Eliasson briefly 'died' a second time months later when he overdosed on painkillers following surgery.
He described himself as a life-long atheist, said that both times he experienced 'just black emptiness' devoid of any thoughts of consciousness.
The Redditor compared the ordeal to taking a 'short, dreamless nap,' and added that he only realized he had temporarily expired because the doctors were obligated to tell him.
'"So yeah, you were dead for a couple of minutes, just fyi" hahaha,' he wrote.
Sasha Eliasson said that his goal in life now, post-death, is to have fun and make other people's lives better.
Eliasson, who described himself as a life-long atheist, said that both times he experienced 'just black emptiness' devoid of any thoughts
Eliasson, who described himself as a life-long atheist, said that both times he experienced 'just black emptiness' devoid of any thoughts
'No personal achievement will matter to me once I'm dead,' he told his fellow Reddit users. 'The only thing that will live on after my death will be my impact on the people that are still alive.'
He revealed that dying twice has made it easier for him to cope with his mortality and accept the impending end as a given.
‘All you have to do is accept that death is what it is, a part of life, then you will understand that it is nothing to be afraid of,' he said. 'Once you're dead, that's it, it's over.'
Last July, Eliasson posted an online message telling friends that on June 25, he was riding his motorcycle on a highway when he ran into a construction site, slammed on the brakes and lost control of his vehicle, suffering a broken knee, shin and ankle.
According to Eliasson, his shattered body shut down from the intense pain, and for about two minutes he had no pulse, breathing or consciousness.
Eliasson's second run-in with death came after a surgery. He claimed his body was in agony, so he took so many pain pills that his pulse plummeted to 10bpm and his respiratory system temporarily failed.
‘Both times I was just "not there". It was just all black. I would describe it as when you take a nap. A short nap with no dream, you wake up and it feels like you've been sleeping a long time, when in reality it's only been about 15 minutes,' he recounted.
Asked about what he felt the moment he died, the Reddit interviewee revealed that it was like as if someone had flipped the on/off switch.
He added that both experiences felt roughly the same, with the only difference being that in the bike accident he remembered the seconds before everything around him went to black.
Mr Eliasson also called into question the stories of other people who have reported being conscious during clinical death.
'I think that in their cases, their minds were still active. What they experienced was just a sort of dream.'
In the aftermath of Sasha Eliasson's two close shaves, the college student said that he is no longer afraid to take risks in life - but he did give up on riding motorcycles for the sake of his family and friends.
Eliasson told his fellow Redditors that being at death's door before the age of 23 did nothing to change his views on God and religion.
‘I have always been an atheist, but I have always had a part of me that hoped there was a God or Heaven or something greater than us,' he said. ‘I am still an atheist, and now I know that there is no such thing as God or Heaven. At least not for me. ‘
He also expressed some strong views on the subject of organ donation, saying that he plans to give up his entire body to help other when his time finally comes.
‘I believe that it's super selfish to hold on to your organs when you have literally NO use for them,' he declared.
Asked about his attitude towards mortality, Elasson confided that he now fears death less than ever before.
‘I know now that death is nothing worse than sleeping. When you die, you just stop existing, nothing to worry about!' he concluded.
