(Natural News) Supposedly, 13 million Americans (or around five percent of our population) had undergone a near-death experience (NDE) by 1992, with around 200,000 people reporting such a phenomenon annually. "Coming back from the dead," as it were, is a popular topic in media and has intrigued scientists for quite some time. Even extending beyond science, the thought of "something other" than what we perceive in this dimension is fascinating. It calls into question the concept of an "afterlife," or at least makes us take a look at the fundamental laws of physics a little bit closer. No matter how you spin it, these NDEs are imbibed with spiritual or religious undertones. Many survivors of these experiences talk about what they saw and how these visions (for lack of a better word) changed their perceptions of life. (Related: Life after death is real, concludes scientific study of 2,000 patients.)

Quite interestingly, a paper entitled, "The Mystical Impact of Near-Death Experiences," which recorded the encounters of residents in both the United States and India, found no direct relationship between religiousness and deathbed visions; "although they did find that an individual's belief system influenced the interpretation of the experience," the paper concluded.

Reading through a thread on Reddit may provide a unique insight on what happens when we "die" (or are pronounced clinically dead). These reports range from peaceful to the more horrific. User juninkun writes that he actually visited Hell and the experience left him believing in the afterlife. He recalls, "about twenty years ago, I purposefully OD'd on a lot of meds [sic]. I'm not sure if I died during my sleep or what, but I remember being in hell. The devil was a giant fire ant walking on lava…which is strange because I was never really afraid of ants except for a time when I was like 5 years ago and fell in a fire ant bed and was in the ER for shock. I've only shared that memory with three or four people in my life. I think it would scare most people to think I know I am going to hell because I know there is an afterlife. [sic]"

Scary though this vision was, several other Reddit users downplayed his conclusion of an afterlife. User mom0nga attempted to soothe frantic people by telling juninkun, "I don't know what, if any, religious beliefs you subscribe to, but maybe that dream/experience was merely a warning to avoid hell, or maybe it was just a dream. Either way, I wouldn't assume that you're going to hell just because of that vision."