What It’s Actually Like Being In A Coma

1. You can think you're alive

Image source/ Medical News TodayWhen some people are in a coma, think they are still alive. So, you're in a coma but you believe it is your reality. This means that when you wake up, you feel like you've been living normally the entire time. It is a hard concept to adjust and grasp onto.

2. It warps your perception of reality

Image source/ choicemanualBeing in a coma can totally warp your perception of reality. For example, one girl was in a coma, and she strongly believed that she was a part of a cult, and the experience was part of the ritual. Then when she woke up, she also thought that the doctors and nurses were a part of it

3. Sometimes you can hear everything

Image source/ scientificamericandesignSome people in comas have claimed that they can hear all the things going on around them. In fact, there have been instances where patients stuck in a coma can hear everyone and even people saying bad things. One wife heard her husband complaining about her. And one Redditor heard somebody tell the person giving him CPR to give up because she was dead. Thank fully he didn't and he's now alive and well.

4. One person thought they had been in an accident

Image source/ lifedailyOne man wrote about his experience of being in a coma. He was convinced that he had been in an accident - whilst he was in his comatose state. But the real reason was due to pneumonia. However, whilst in his coma he had become convinced he was in a car accident

5. Some people think it's like being stuck in a very long dream

Image source/ etsyThere have been instances where people in comas have felt as though they are trapped in a very long dream. Things seem to happen, and there is some awareness of it, but they have no control over them. It's like they can see things happened in a dream like reality.

6. You cannot hear anything

 Image source/ blogspotComas are different for every person experiencing them and so there is no one guide to what it is really like. But for many people, they cannot hear anything at all. So, there is no sound at all, no voices, and no beeping of the machines, just nothing.

7. Waking up is scary

Image source/ io9A common experience seems to be that waking up is actually the scariest part about being in a coma. Because you do not have awareness often when you are in a coma, so when you come out of it there is a lot of confusion. One person wrote that he woke up and wanted to escape but couldn't move properly.

8. Some people have to learn to walk again

Image source/ healthmanixMany people after waking up from a coma have very reduced movement and many have to actually physically learn to walk again. Sometimes, people will have to be fed whilst the throat recovers. And often they have to use a bedpan to use the toilet before they regain their movements back.

9. The brain is dormant

Image source/ toabEssentially, the brain is dormant whilst in a coma. It is an unnatural state which does not occur usually in any stage of life - only in a comatose state. Therefore, the experience is also like nothing you can or will ever experience without having had been in one before.

10. You are unresponsive to light

Image source/ medicaldailyAgain, some not all, people who have been in a coma have said that there was no reaction or feeling and awareness of light - at all. This shows how unresponsive the brain can be in some cases, where it doesn't even react to light receptors.

11. The memory will be blurred afterwards

Image source/ PinterestAfter the coma, things can be really hard. And memories, not just of the time in the coma but also time previous to the coma, is often blurred. People's memories are often very warped, and it can take some time to get a grasp on reality of what happened, and what happened when.

12. In some cases, people think they were always awake

Image source/ Pinterestare some rare instances where people in comas have thought they were awake the entire time. Again, this can make adjusting once waking up from a coma very difficult. Because their reality inside the coma was not the same as everybody else's, yet they were awake.

13. Your voice will be damaged

Image source/ uperiorodicAfter waking up from a coma one general symptom is the soreness of the throat and the can even take years in some cases to repair. The voice will be very raspy and weak. This is often due to the tubes which have been attached. Each case depends on how long they were in a coma.

14. And you'll feel extreme fatigue

Image source/ grungeAgain, after waking up, your body has been through a tremendous amount of trauma which takes its toll and makes you exhausted. And being back mentally and physically and having to deal with all the stimuli again tired you physically and mentally so that you'll feel completely fatigued.

15. Some people can feel things

Image source/ about.comSome people who have shared with us their experienced of being in a coma and what it is like have said that they can actually feel things, for example. what is going on around them. In some cases, people can feel their family holding their hand, or the nurse washing them. But they have been unable to react.

16. It causes memory loss

Image source/ PinterestBeing in a coma is such a traumatic event that it can cause memory loss. This can also be a result of the severity of the injury or illness. In some cases, it may even make you think you are in a different time frame, for example, taking you back to childhood so that you believe you are much younger than you are.

17. You get WEIRD dreams

Image source/ surrealdreamsComas can cause seriously strange dreams. One redditor who had been in a coma after being hit by a train experienced extremely strange dreams. Some were disturbing and scary. Some were just totally wild. She dreamt that someone was in a relationship with a turtle.

18. There is no concept of time

Image source/ PinterestIn a coma it is impossible to keep a grasp or time or have any awareness of it. One person woke up, they were just 30 years old at the time and they had been in a coma for a few months, but they were convinced they had been in a coma for many, many years and were now 60 years old.

19. Strange visions

Image source/ etsyStrange visions are also something reported by some people. Kind of like hallucinations. Some of these are said to be extremely lifelike. In fact, in one case a man was terrified of his visions and his hallucinations because not only were they disturbing but they were also so life like.

20. An awareness of visitors

Image source/ about.comOther people have spoken about their awareness of visitors whilst they have been in a coma. So, while they could not communicate, they still knew they were there. And, they said that they had feelings of love and warmth when visitors were present, and when visitors left, they felt darkness.

21. It's a gradual experience

Image source/ MiddleeastmonitorIt is most often described as a very gradual experience, being in a coma. So many describe it as being very in and out, drifting from coma to consciousness before waking up fully. Rather than being in a coma and all of a sudden just waking up. Although the experience as we now know can vary a lot from person to person.

22. You don't know how it happened

Image source/ HuffPostOne person talked about their experience and how it all started with an overdose. However, she could not remember the time previous to the coma for around up to two months. So, to this day she remains unsure of whether the overdose was accidental or on purpose

23. It HURTS

Image source/ waterfordwhispersWhen you are in a coma there is no pain or consciousness of how you physically feel. And so, upon waking up all of those feelings that could not register with the brain start flooding back and your brain starts to register the physical pain. This can be very to endure.

24. It's like complete nothingness

Image source/ earthswondersOften, we hear stories of a certain level awareness being in a coma. However, one person who had been in a coma said that it could not be described, apart from as total nothingness. She said that it was not even like being in a dreamless sleep, because there was just nothing at all.

25. Some people are responsive

Image source/ MedicaldailyOn the other hand, to what we have heard, some people in comas are actually responsive and are aware of what is going on around them. For example, they can see lights, hey can hear people, they can feel temperature. And their eyelids may flicker as a sign that they are responsive.

26. Some even talk

Image source/ seekerIt is a wild thought to think that somebody may be inside a coma and unable to wake up, et they can actually still respond. One person claimed that they had replied to their grandfather who asked what she wanted to drink. She had replies, whilst in the coma, that she wanted apple juice.

27. Complete darkness

Image source/ blogspotFor some people they don't have awareness, but they also don't have complete nothingness. For some it is a kind on in-between experience where everything is just dark and silent around them, they are just engulfed in a sea of blackness unable to move.

28. An out of body experience

Image source/ PinterestSome people look back to their coma experience as a kind of out of body experience. It is as though they are in an alternate reality in the coma where they are experiencing an outer body experience - which is almost is. But this feeling stays with some people even once they have woken up.

29. Some people believe they died

Image source/ braincharmImagine believing you are dead and stuck in the afterlife. This is how one Redditor described his time on a coma, as an afterlife experience where he thought he was really dead and everything he experienced was either in a kind of limbo, or the afterlife where people went when they had died.

30. An alternate life

Image source/ distractifyOn the other hand, some people believe they've entered an alternate life in a whole new reality. They may not know how or why they are there. But they believe that this new reality is their new and alternative life. Which, when they wake up has to be adjusted to.

31. It's like watching over yourself

Image source/ HuffPostFor some people in comas, they have a kind experience of projection, where they see themselves floating above. They can see exactly what is going on below them. But if they try to speak nobody can hear them. It is more than an awareness, because they believe that they really could see the experience from above.

32. For some, it's a spiritual experience

Image source/ braincharmFor others, they have claimed that it is a kind of spiritual experience. In fact, for one man, he was atheist before being in a coma and afterwards, because he felt he had had a spiritual experience, he ended up being religious and a believer of God.

33. It can change perspectives forever

Image source/ blogspotThere are not many people who end up in a coma and do not feel as though their perspective is changed forever. Many people have revealed that after being in a coma they have a sense of clarity, about what is important in their life and what is not important.

34. ...And emotions

Image source/ RedditOne woman said that her emotions and way of thinking are changed forever after she came out of her coma. She feels more empathetic to others, she feels more in tune with her own emotions and is generally more emotional after what happened to her.

35. It's hard to make sense of what happened

Image source/ HuffPostFor most people, being in a coma is an experience that takes time come to terms with. It is such a monumental thing, that many people struggle to believe what happened to them and the fact that they were able to wake up and recover. It is also not something that cannot be that many people can relate to.

36. It's hard to know what was real

Image source/ rankerKnowing what is real and what was not real is something that one man in particular really struggled with. Because he was slightly conscious in the coma, and because he experienced such lucid dreams, he could not separate what was real and what was not real.

37. Some people think they are in another world

Image source/ dreamzvisOne Redditor claimed that he entered an entirely new world in his coma. Everything was different, including shapes colours, people. But he felt as though he was awake and aware and had conscious thought within this dream which is a very unique experience.

38. Being aware that you are unaware

Image source/ RedditOne characteristic experienced by some people in a coma is the feeling of being aware that you are unaware. This is the sense that you have some kind of feeling and thought but realise that you are still unaware of what is happening to you and around you.

39. For some, it is terrifying

Image source/ blogspotFor some people, it's a truly terrifying experience. Not just waking up, but also being in the coma. When you can hear the outside world and be aware of a voice but cannot reply or move this for some people makes them feel completely trapped and terrified.

40. For others, it brings you closer to people

Image source/ transformationacademyAfter being in a coma people have revealed that it has strengthened their attachments to their loved ones, in turn, making them prioritise and strengthen these relationships. When questioned about the aftereffects of a coma this is what some people had found.

41. Other people like to be alone

Image source/ blogspotThere was an account from a young male who had been in a coma. On coming out of the coma, he wanted to be alone. Understandably, there is a lot to adjust to. So, he preferred time and space to reintegrate into the world rather than being fussed by family and friends.

42. It can be overwhelming for the senses

Image source/ distractifyImagine waking up from a coma, with no senses, and waking up to noise, light, multiple stimuli and sensations. It is not the same as waking up from a deep sleep. It is much, much more than that and it can be totally overwhelming for the person experiencing it.

43. For some people they believe what happened in their mind was real

Image source/ YahooWho's to say that what happens in our mind's experiences is not our reality. And that is the case for one man who experienced being in a coma and still believes that everything that happened in his mind was the truth. After all, unless you've experienced the exact same thing yourself nobody can ever know.

44. People feel like they have a second chance

Image source/ meetupFor some people, being in a coma and recovering and waking up is like getting a second chance at life. This is how some people have looked back and viewed their experience., As a chance to start over, and to repair anything that they realised was important to them.

45. For many, there is no awareness of the physical body

Image source/ crackedImagine having some level of conscious thought, but no awareness of your own physical body. Almost as though they are two separate entities. This is what it was like for one woman, who had awareness but felt no sensation of her own physicality whatsoever.

46. Some people do not realise

Image source/ distractifySome people don't realise they are in a coma, and they are not actually aware that they have been in a coma. Whereas for some, the level of consciousness that they have tells them that they are. But for these people, waking up also means realising that they have been in a coma.

47. It can be like being trapped in a nightmare

Image source/ PinterestFor some people as we have seen, being in a coma is an experience of total peace. For others, it is the opposite. One man described how he was haunted by terrifying visions and haunting nightmares which would not go away whilst he was in the coma.

48. Or a beautiful vision

Image source/ wallupBut on the other hand, a Redditor described the beautiful vision she had where she felt like she had been visited by a guardian angel who had helped save her and brought her back. She revealed how she still believes that this was the truth, even if she cannot prove it.

49. It seems like they've been gone for years

Image source/ etsyMany people who have been in a coma have felt like they have been gone for years and years. Some people are in a coma for as little as a few days. Yet, they may still feel as though they have been gone for a very long time because there is no time in the subconscious.

50. The lines blur

Image source/ Pinterestlines become very blurred for some people - what is reality and what is just a part of this experience? For one man, even when he woke up from the coma, he still could not tell if what happened to his really did, whether it was a dream or it really was real.