‘I understood that while hell might not be eternal, it can certainly feel like it.’ Photo: Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement
What the hell? Neil Crabtree finds a lesson in a near-death experience
‘I instinctively knew that this was what is understood by hell.’
by Neil Crabtree
21st July 2023
Thirty years ago I walked off a mental heath unit, where I had been sectioned after a severe psychotic episode. It was evening, and I was wet and cold. I believed that I was the devil, and that everyone on the street knew that too. A quiet voice in my head urged me to kill myself. I was full of fear and terror, and I could stand it no longer. I threw myself in front of a speeding car.
