noalarms
Member
- Jun 18, 2022
- 98
If you're not familiar with the method, all that is required is that you hyperventilate for 5-15 minutes and then submerge yourself in water while holding your breath. After 3-5 minutes you will pass out, and 5-7 minutes later you will be dead. If you are not rescued within this time window, you will die. The method works by supressing the urge to breath through hyperventilation and the lowering of CO2 in the blood. It is described in detail here.
In my opinion this is the most overlooked method that has been discussed so far on the forum. We can compare it to other methods by plugging it into Exit's Reliability, Peacefulness and Availability test. (RPA)
Peacefulness: 9/10
Survivers of accidental shallow-water drownings often report feeling a euphoric sensation which encouraged them to continue holding their breath. It is very different from regular drowning, as you ar not conscious while dying. It is clearly far more peaceful than other popular methods that are regularly discussed.on the forum, including hanging, jumping and even SN. The only reasons it scores a 9 instead of a 10 is that it requires submergence, which may be uncomfortable for some people. The bodies of victims are typically found in the position in which they began their breath hold; this suggests that your are unlikely to experience pain or stress while unconscious.
Availability: 10/10
It requires no equipment; although a weight belt might make it easier to remain beneath the surface, most people who accidentaly drown were not found with weights attached to their bodies. Other than a weight belt, which is readily available, you will not have to spend anything on this method. In this regard it is superior to any method that involves drugs, inert gases, CO or lethal salts, which all require you to spend hours of time and hundreds of dollars ordering equipment (testing kits, potentiates and anti-emetics for salts and drugs; regulators, hoses, and gas cylinders for inert gas; charcoal, chimney starters and grill for CO). Complex methods like these may appeal to some due to their peacefulness, but in my opinion shallow-water black is just as peaceful as any of them. The other downside of equipment-heavy methods is that they involve others in your death: to purchase certain gases you will have to lie to suppliers about your intentions, and any methods invovling prescription medication that cannot be ordered online will entail lying to doctors.
Preparation and administration: 3/5
This method requires you to hyperventilate before submerging and holding your breath for several minutes. To hyperventilate successfully, you should breathe as deeply and rapidly as possible. The time needed to spend hyperventilating will depend on each person, and can be easily established by experimenting on a couch or bed to prevent any injury after loss of consciousness. It is at this point that many get frustrated with this method, as it can be very time consuming. You may be required to hyperventilate for over ten minutes to hold your breath for long enough to lose consciousness. You will succeed eventually, but it may take some time. For the breath hold, unless you are in tip-top shape, holding your breath for more than four minutes should suffice to make you pass out.
Detectability:
This measures the probability that your death will be ruled a suicide. If you would like to spare your friends and family from the knowledge that you ended your life, this method is preferrable to most that appear in the Suicide Resources. There are several reasons for this: firstly, the method does not involve equipment such as a rope, gas cylinder or charcoal grill whose presence near or on the body would indicate a deliberate death, making it superior to hanging, inert gas and CO; secondly, the method does not require ingesting any substance that might appear in an autopsy; finally, the method, if done correctly leaves the body in a state indistinguishable from that of an accidental drowning, which will be assumed to be the most likely cause of death by a coroner. It goes without saying that if your family or friends are aware of your struggles, they will presume that your death was intentional, but your death will still be officialy recorded as an accident. There is also the option of catching the bus in a secluded area and using weights to weigh down your body so that it is not discovered and that you 'disappear.'
To make your death look like an accident to your family would require a lot of work, but it is in theory possible, as long has you have a reason for submerging yourself for extended periods of time; one of the victims listed on the Shallow-water blackout victims page took regular baths due to back pain and died while experimenting with the Wim Hof breathing method. It might be an idea to get in the habit of taking regular baths and discussing the Wim Hof method, so that when you ctb, your family's default assumption will be that your death was an accident. Finally, even though many shallow-water blackout accidents happen in public swimming pools, these are not ideal locations for this method, as there is the possibility of you being quickly rescued and given CPR or resuscitated with a defibrillator.
The final four criteria are speed, safety to others, storage, and legality. The method scores 5/5 in each of these categories:
It kills within 15 minutes of you beginning your breath hold. There have been several reports of people dying in public pools with lifeguards in attendance; that is how silent and speedy this method can be.
The method poses no threat to others, as it can be attempted in very shallow water. Even if it you attempt in deep water, the person who tries to rescue you or recover your body will most likely be an experienced swimmer if done in a public place. It goes without saying that you should not attempt this method in deep water if you are confident that your friends or family are (a) likely to discover your body and (b) incompetent swimmers.
This method obviously does not involve storing large or perishable items, or anything that would give others a reason to think you plan to kill yourself.
This method is completely legal, as long as it is not performed in a way that could endanger others as described above.
Reliability (?)
Some will have noticed that one measurement has been left out: the R in RPA stands for reliability, and I have not given it a score. My reason for doing this is that there have been no goodbye threads indicating the success of this method on the forum. This might suggest a low rating for reliability, but I am inclined to disagree for several reasons: Firstly, the method has not been researched. Most popular peaceful methods that are discussed on this forum have been researched by assisted suicide organisations that have confirmed the reliability of these methods. Obviously, organisations like Exit International have no interest in researching a method like shallow water blackout, as it has no appeal to their eldery and terminally ill patients. The absence of research into the reliability of this method makes it impossible to formally estimate its reliability. Secondly, the discussions of this method on the forum have often been poor, recommending excercise as an alternative or supplement to hyperventilation, which would results in the method failing as exercise raises the level of CO2 in the blood, which triggers a breath.
Final thoughts
Finally I would like to clear up some common misconceptions about this method that lead people to dismiss it. People often assume this method is as painful as regular drowning since it is performed in water. The testimonties of witnesses and survivors contradict this. This is how one survivor described it 'All I recall is swimming underwater, none of the blackout, or anything else for the next two and half days.' The other survivor testimonies linked above are similar in their descriptions of blacking out. The other most common misconception is a high level of physical fitness is required to perform this method. Although it is true that the typical shallow-water blackout victim is an experienced swimmer or diver, this is due to the fact that swimmer and divers are the people most likely to attempt to hold their breaths for long periods of time. There are testimonies of children as young as 12 and 13 dying as a result of this method, so a high level of physical fitness, although helpful, is not a requirement.
The point of this post was to express my surprise at the lack of attention this method has received. I think I have made the case that this method, it it can be shown to be reliable, is preferrable to most methods that have been discussed on the forum. Most methods have one of two flaws: they are either extremely painful (jumping, full suspension hanging, overdosing on household products or OTC medications) or are expensive and require extensive preparation (CO poisoning, inert gas, N, and, increasingly, SN). The second category is essentially off-limits for anyone who lives with close friends or relatives and cannot store equipment or or have it delivered without raising suspicions. Shallow-water blackout has neither of these flaws, and is thus a method that deserves more attention.
If you have any thoughts, please leave them in the replies.
In my opinion this is the most overlooked method that has been discussed so far on the forum. We can compare it to other methods by plugging it into Exit's Reliability, Peacefulness and Availability test. (RPA)
Peacefulness: 9/10
Survivers of accidental shallow-water drownings often report feeling a euphoric sensation which encouraged them to continue holding their breath. It is very different from regular drowning, as you ar not conscious while dying. It is clearly far more peaceful than other popular methods that are regularly discussed.on the forum, including hanging, jumping and even SN. The only reasons it scores a 9 instead of a 10 is that it requires submergence, which may be uncomfortable for some people. The bodies of victims are typically found in the position in which they began their breath hold; this suggests that your are unlikely to experience pain or stress while unconscious.
Availability: 10/10
It requires no equipment; although a weight belt might make it easier to remain beneath the surface, most people who accidentaly drown were not found with weights attached to their bodies. Other than a weight belt, which is readily available, you will not have to spend anything on this method. In this regard it is superior to any method that involves drugs, inert gases, CO or lethal salts, which all require you to spend hours of time and hundreds of dollars ordering equipment (testing kits, potentiates and anti-emetics for salts and drugs; regulators, hoses, and gas cylinders for inert gas; charcoal, chimney starters and grill for CO). Complex methods like these may appeal to some due to their peacefulness, but in my opinion shallow-water black is just as peaceful as any of them. The other downside of equipment-heavy methods is that they involve others in your death: to purchase certain gases you will have to lie to suppliers about your intentions, and any methods invovling prescription medication that cannot be ordered online will entail lying to doctors.
Preparation and administration: 3/5
This method requires you to hyperventilate before submerging and holding your breath for several minutes. To hyperventilate successfully, you should breathe as deeply and rapidly as possible. The time needed to spend hyperventilating will depend on each person, and can be easily established by experimenting on a couch or bed to prevent any injury after loss of consciousness. It is at this point that many get frustrated with this method, as it can be very time consuming. You may be required to hyperventilate for over ten minutes to hold your breath for long enough to lose consciousness. You will succeed eventually, but it may take some time. For the breath hold, unless you are in tip-top shape, holding your breath for more than four minutes should suffice to make you pass out.
Detectability:
This measures the probability that your death will be ruled a suicide. If you would like to spare your friends and family from the knowledge that you ended your life, this method is preferrable to most that appear in the Suicide Resources. There are several reasons for this: firstly, the method does not involve equipment such as a rope, gas cylinder or charcoal grill whose presence near or on the body would indicate a deliberate death, making it superior to hanging, inert gas and CO; secondly, the method does not require ingesting any substance that might appear in an autopsy; finally, the method, if done correctly leaves the body in a state indistinguishable from that of an accidental drowning, which will be assumed to be the most likely cause of death by a coroner. It goes without saying that if your family or friends are aware of your struggles, they will presume that your death was intentional, but your death will still be officialy recorded as an accident. There is also the option of catching the bus in a secluded area and using weights to weigh down your body so that it is not discovered and that you 'disappear.'
To make your death look like an accident to your family would require a lot of work, but it is in theory possible, as long has you have a reason for submerging yourself for extended periods of time; one of the victims listed on the Shallow-water blackout victims page took regular baths due to back pain and died while experimenting with the Wim Hof breathing method. It might be an idea to get in the habit of taking regular baths and discussing the Wim Hof method, so that when you ctb, your family's default assumption will be that your death was an accident. Finally, even though many shallow-water blackout accidents happen in public swimming pools, these are not ideal locations for this method, as there is the possibility of you being quickly rescued and given CPR or resuscitated with a defibrillator.
The final four criteria are speed, safety to others, storage, and legality. The method scores 5/5 in each of these categories:
It kills within 15 minutes of you beginning your breath hold. There have been several reports of people dying in public pools with lifeguards in attendance; that is how silent and speedy this method can be.
The method poses no threat to others, as it can be attempted in very shallow water. Even if it you attempt in deep water, the person who tries to rescue you or recover your body will most likely be an experienced swimmer if done in a public place. It goes without saying that you should not attempt this method in deep water if you are confident that your friends or family are (a) likely to discover your body and (b) incompetent swimmers.
This method obviously does not involve storing large or perishable items, or anything that would give others a reason to think you plan to kill yourself.
This method is completely legal, as long as it is not performed in a way that could endanger others as described above.
Reliability (?)
Some will have noticed that one measurement has been left out: the R in RPA stands for reliability, and I have not given it a score. My reason for doing this is that there have been no goodbye threads indicating the success of this method on the forum. This might suggest a low rating for reliability, but I am inclined to disagree for several reasons: Firstly, the method has not been researched. Most popular peaceful methods that are discussed on this forum have been researched by assisted suicide organisations that have confirmed the reliability of these methods. Obviously, organisations like Exit International have no interest in researching a method like shallow water blackout, as it has no appeal to their eldery and terminally ill patients. The absence of research into the reliability of this method makes it impossible to formally estimate its reliability. Secondly, the discussions of this method on the forum have often been poor, recommending excercise as an alternative or supplement to hyperventilation, which would results in the method failing as exercise raises the level of CO2 in the blood, which triggers a breath.
Final thoughts
Finally I would like to clear up some common misconceptions about this method that lead people to dismiss it. People often assume this method is as painful as regular drowning since it is performed in water. The testimonties of witnesses and survivors contradict this. This is how one survivor described it 'All I recall is swimming underwater, none of the blackout, or anything else for the next two and half days.' The other survivor testimonies linked above are similar in their descriptions of blacking out. The other most common misconception is a high level of physical fitness is required to perform this method. Although it is true that the typical shallow-water blackout victim is an experienced swimmer or diver, this is due to the fact that swimmer and divers are the people most likely to attempt to hold their breaths for long periods of time. There are testimonies of children as young as 12 and 13 dying as a result of this method, so a high level of physical fitness, although helpful, is not a requirement.
The point of this post was to express my surprise at the lack of attention this method has received. I think I have made the case that this method, it it can be shown to be reliable, is preferrable to most methods that have been discussed on the forum. Most methods have one of two flaws: they are either extremely painful (jumping, full suspension hanging, overdosing on household products or OTC medications) or are expensive and require extensive preparation (CO poisoning, inert gas, N, and, increasingly, SN). The second category is essentially off-limits for anyone who lives with close friends or relatives and cannot store equipment or or have it delivered without raising suspicions. Shallow-water blackout has neither of these flaws, and is thus a method that deserves more attention.
If you have any thoughts, please leave them in the replies.
