What happens when we die? This is the conundrum that science has been trying to solve for years. The studies carried out to date have reached a certain point, but no definite answer has been found. But neurologists and experts have theories that they aim to get closer to the end of the mystery.

To delve deeper into this discussion, it is necessary to distinguish between two fundamental questions about death. On the one hand, science can guarantee what happens to the human body after death. In this sense, anatomical answers are clearer. And when the heart beats for the last time, the natural process is known step by step.

But on the other hand, the main question that neurologists, doctors, and scientists are trying to explore is what lies beyond. Herein lies the main debate about what happens on the other side of life. There are several experts who have devoted a large part of their careers to researching this topic.

As an expert in palliative care and end-of-life, Dr. One of the most dominant theories put forward by Kathryn Mannix is ​​that death is “just a process.” The expert emphasizes that dying, like being born, is another stage that we all have to go through, and that it should be seen as such and seen as an end.

“Dying, like giving birth, is really just a process. Gradually, people are feeling more tired,” he explains in one of his presentations. the author With End in Mind, he adds: “IMHO, dying is probably not as bad as one might expect. We’ve lost the wisdom to see human death as natural, and it’s time to talk about death properly and take that wisdom back.”

In this way, the doctor ensures that his main goal is to end the taboo on the subject. And so, get rid of the “fear of dying”, as it should be seen as a stage of life.

• Is Lloviu filovirus a threat to global health?

five stages of death

As an emergency physician for over 35 years, Dr. Thomas Fleischmann delved deeper into his long career, in which he accompanied the deaths of more than 2,000 people. He formulated the theory of 5 stages according to his experience, which he confirmed with all the cases he witnessed.

He developed his hypothesis at his 2014 TEDx talk in Hamburg. According to him, the first stage consists of a sudden change from one moment to the next, when one ceases to suffer and all suffering disappears. “The fear is gone, all the noise is gone, and there is only peace and quiet and quiet. Some even report joy,” he says.

The second step involves, in their own words, an “out-of-body experience” where people “say they are flying above themselves and in many cases see themselves lying on the table”.

Then, “In the third stage, 98-99% of people feel comfortable and peaceful, while 2% may experience scary situations, sounds, smells, and creatures.”

fourth step

Then, in the fourth step of death, Fleischmann says his witnesses spoke of a light that began to shine in the midst of pitch black. According to the descriptions she collected, this light is “warm and very attractive.”

Finally, in the fifth and final stage, the survivors who were able to talk to him during his investigation stated that they “listened to a beautiful setting with beautiful colors and in many cases to music and witnessed the feeling of unconditional love”.

Another theory that has generated more followers is the one formulated by Brandon Monhollen. Unlike the previous ones, this hypothesis is not supported by scientific research, but rather tends to the imaginary plane. With a viral TikTok video circulating the world in 2021, the young man won the support of millions.

“What if the light at the end of the tunnel is the light of another hospital when we die? We were born there and the only reason you come out crying is because you remember your life and everything you’ve been through and know that when we die, we lose everything,” he begins his video.

In this way, beyond trying to explain what happened after a physical separation, he also delved into the mystery of déjà vu: “As one gets older, one starts to forget what happened and focus on the present. So when you die, the memory patches are left behind, causing instant déjà vu.” [literalmente «ya visto» en francés].