Method Could this be the perfect method?

[PotentiallyWasted]

This method is one I've come up with recently by studying the mechanics of fainting and shallow water blackout.

Feel free to debunk my method if it's got any obvious flaws making it highly risky in terms of permanent brain damage if done incorrectly.

Essentially what I thought of is shallow water blackout but instead of hyperventilating then holding your breath, you faint via other methods. These other methods could be inhaling an inert gas underwater, but for ease of use, you could literally use anything to fall unconscious underwater. A literal YOUTUBE search could yield you many possibilities on how to faint on command but what I've gone with is:

1. Quick, deep breaths
2. Once you feel you're dizzy, put your thumb on your mouth (take a final deep breath before doing this)
3. Blow into your thumb as hard as you can WITHOUT LETTING ANY AIR OUT (note that you must already be in your body of water once you've reached this step since no more breathing will be going on.)
4. You will pass out (fall unconscious) due to lack of blood flow to the brain.

And that's pretty much it. I understand that SWB is essentially passing out underwater and since holding my breath didn't work and this "breathing into your thumb method" (which I found on YouTube) does work (to pass out), it's worth a try.

 

[midnight.moon]

idk I mean it sounds great lol, I rlly wish it would work but like IV tried that and I never pass out or get dizzy after blowing into thumb
maybe I'm doing it wrong tho

have you ever passed out?

 

[PotentiallyWasted]

idk I mean it sounds great lol, I rlly wish it would work but like IV tried that and I never pass out or get dizzy after blowing into thumb
maybe I'm doing it wrong tho

have you ever passed out?

I did it and didn't even need to hyperventilate for that long or that hard. It was scary easy to do it and I passed out quickly (I was even lying down in my bed since I didn't wanna get hurt in case I did pass out, which I did).

HOWEVER, like I said - it's honestly just about being unconscious while being underwater (for about 20 minutes clearance time before being rescued for a guaranteed death).

 

[Eriktf]

put some stones in you pocket so you sure that you get underwater then i say it might work and be alone so nobody stops you

 

[PotentiallyWasted]

put some stones in you pocket so you sure that you get underwater then i say it might work and be alone so nobody stops you

Oh yeah being alone for at least an hour is a given (at least for how I'm planning to ctb with this method). That being said my only concern really is SOMEHOW moving inside the water so that my head resurfaces once permanent brain damage happens.

 

[alwaysalone]

Weigh your head down

 

[terribleson15]

This method is one I've come up with recently by studying the mechanics of fainting and shallow water blackout.

Feel free to debunk my method if it's got any obvious flaws making it highly risky in terms of permanent brain damage if done incorrectly.

Essentially what I thought of is shallow water blackout but instead of hyperventilating then holding your breath, you faint via other methods. These other methods could be inhaling an inert gas underwater, but for ease of use, you could literally use anything to fall unconscious underwater. A literal YOUTUBE search could yield you many possibilities on how to faint on command but what I've gone with is:

1. Quick, deep breaths
2. Once you feel you're dizzy, put your thumb on your mouth (take a final deep breath before doing this)
3. Blow into your thumb as hard as you can WITHOUT LETTING ANY AIR OUT (note that you must already be in your body of water once you've reached this step since no more breathing will be going on.)
4. You will pass out (fall unconscious) due to lack of blood flow to the brain.

And that's pretty much it. I understand that SWB is essentially passing out underwater and since holding my breath didn't work and this "breathing into your thumb method" (which I found on YouTube) does work (to pass out), it's worth a try.

Sounds like a great method but also pretty scary, imagine if you get your consciousness back at the worst time possible and you turn into a veggie (might just overthink it idek if that's possible)

 

[Intoxicated]

Inducing unconsciousness by gas asphyxiation makes sense, because it decreases blood oxygen saturation to the point when LOC occurs - this is the same what asphyxiation by water would otherwise eventually do. It's unlikely that consciousness can be regained without breathing fresh air in this case.

The other method doesn't look so good. Hyperventilation reduces CO2 in the blood, but this effect is temporary, because CO2 is produced by your cells, so when it builds up, vasoconstriction (caused by lack of CO2) is reverted, then your brain gets enough oxygen from the blood stream and consciousness is likely regained.

 

[PotentiallyWasted]

The problem is once blood starts circulating back in to your brain, you regain consciousness, within seconds, so basically you are just drowning yourself the regular way - meaning you will be fully conscious.

When I was a kid, which was 30 years ago, we used to do bucket bongs, where you get an ice chest and fill it with water, then cut an empty 1 gallon milk container in half. You poke a hole in the cap so a joint will fit perfectly. You then place the milk container all the way down in the water and slowly bring it up, which draws smoke in to the container.

You then kneel down, take the cap off and put your mouth over the top while ramming the milk container back down in to the water which obviously forces all the smoke in to your lungs.

We would then stand, tilt our head back, and pinch our neck on either side of the adam's apple. I didn't know it at the time, but it was obviously cutting off the carotid arteries. You would then instantly pass out, fall, go thru a dream that felt like 2 hours, and wake up just a few seconds later.

That's a long way of saying that every single person I watched do this, including myself, would feint and wake up within about 3 seconds - as soon as that blood gets back up in to your brain, you will regain consciousness, so you might as well not even bother feinting first.

If you want my opinion, and I include myself with this, almost every single person on this website is way overthinking things. The easiest method would be to get drunk and either use a firearm, or hang yourself. People have been hanging themselves successfully for thousands of years. Yes, there will be some botched attempts, but the odds are definitely in your favor. Look at all of just the high profile celebrity type hangings that you hear about - how many do you hear of people botching their hangings? Chris Cornell simply used an elastic exercise band. It's because they don't overthink it and they just go for it.

I think you're forgetting the fact that you're underwater when doing this. You also mentioned something about cutting off blood flow to the brain via carotid artery compression. This is not what I'm doing here…. And doesn't one regain consciousness if resurfaced back to land instantly after passing out in a few seconds anyway? Since oxygen is being supplied to the brain again.?

Inducing unconsciousness by gas asphyxiation makes sense, because it decreases blood oxygen saturation to the point when LOC occurs - this is the same what asphyxiation by water would otherwise eventually do. It's unlikely that consciousness can be regained without breathing fresh air in this case.

The other method doesn't look so good. Hyperventilation reduces CO2 in the blood, but this effect is temporary, because CO2 is produced by your cells, so when it builds up, vasoconstriction (caused by lack of CO2) is reverted, then your brain gets enough oxygen from the blood stream and consciousness is likely regained.

From what I've learned, that's not how it works—if you hyperventilate, your CO2 drops, which delays your urge to breathe. But your oxygen keeps falling, and you can black out before CO2 builds up enough to make you breathe again. You won't regain consciousness if you pass out underwater—you'll inhale water and drown unless someone rescues you immediately.

 

[hell toupee]

I think you're forgetting the fact that you're underwater when doing this. You also mentioned something about cutting off blood flow to the brain via carotid artery compression. This is not what I'm doing here…. And doesn't one regain consciousness if resurfaced back to land instantly after passing out in a few seconds anyway? Since oxygen is being supplied to the brain again.?

From what I've learned, that's not how it works—if you hyperventilate, your CO2 drops, which delays your urge to breathe. But your oxygen keeps falling, and you can black out before CO2 builds up enough to make you breathe again. You won't regain consciousness if you pass out underwater—you'll inhale water and drown unless someone rescues you immediately.

You're right, I completely misunderstood your post - my sincerest apologies. I don't know what I was thinking. My bad.

 

[PotentiallyWasted]

You're right, I completely misunderstood your post - my sincerest apologies. I don't know what I was thinking. My bad.

Do not worry at all. I'm just glad to hear that my method couldn't be so simply debunked like that. You just mixed up blood flow constriction with oxygen constriction.

Essentially what's happening is you're holding your breath until you pass out. Once that happens, your body automatically tries to start breathing again. In normal circumstances, this brings in oxygen and helps you regain consciousness. But if you're underwater, you inhale water instead of air. That water acts like a barrier, stopping oxygen from reaching your brain, so you never wake up unless someone rescues you right away.

 

[Intoxicated]

From what I've learned, that's not how it works—if you hyperventilate, your CO2 drops, which delays your urge to breathe. But your oxygen keeps falling, and you can black out before CO2 builds up enough to make you breathe again.

That's difficult to implement in practice, and the method of achieving unconsciousness you described in the first post of this thread differs from waiting till O2 is consumed to the point of LOC.

You won't regain consciousness if you pass out underwater—you'll inhale water and drown unless someone rescues you immediately.

If you pass out while keeping a lot of O2 in the blood stream as implied by the method with hyperventilation followed by blowing into a thumb, you can regain consciousness easily.

 

[PotentiallyWasted]

That's difficult to implement in practice, and the method of achieving unconsciousness you described in the first post of this thread differs from waiting till O2 is consumed to the point of LOC.

If you pass out while keeping a lot of O2 in the blood stream as implied by the method with hyperventilation followed by blowing into a thumb, you can regain consciousness easily.

When you perform the Valsalva maneuver (blowing into your thumb with your airway closed), it creates high pressure inside your chest. This pressure significantly reduces the amount of blood returning to your heart and lowers the blood your heart can pump to your brain. That drop in blood flow—or cardiac output—is what makes you faint, because your brain suddenly isn't getting enough oxygen, even if there's still oxygen in your blood.
On land, fainting from this maneuver is usually harmless because the moment you resume breathing, blood flow and oxygen delivery return to normal, and there's air to breathe, so you can quickly regain consciousness.
Underwater, this is completely different. If you faint and lose consciousness while submerged, your body will automatically try to resume breathing, but instead of air you inhale water. Once water enters your lungs, it blocks the lungs from absorbing any more oxygen from the air—and no new oxygen can get into your blood or reach your brain. The small amount of oxygen left in your blood is quickly used up, and as soon as it's gone, your brain and vital organs are starved, making self-recovery impossible unless you're rescued immediately.

 

[Intoxicated]

The small amount of oxygen left in your blood is quickly used up

How quickly? I held my breath for 2 minutes after hyperventilation followed by full exhale in the end. After 2 min spent with nearly empty lungs I had no any sign of fainting. Can you guarantee that the mentioned method induces unconsciousness for a period of more than 2 minutes?

 

[TooManyChances]

The blowing into your thumb method is not good because it's just a temporary restriction of blood to the brain, which you will regain so if you black out underwater, you might wake up.

Now what I'm about to say is a better method, but DON'T try it unless you are sure you want to ctb. If a deodorant spray is imhaled through a towel or similar material, oxygen will decrease because you are replacing it with methane/propane. But co2 is still released normally so brain doesn't realise this so it doesn't actually hurt. You will get extrenely dizzy. After this, if you hold your breath, you will blackout early and this will make drowning painless.

But I advice you, drowning has some of the highest SI even with the right methods. Also, don't make it a habit to whiff sprays because over time they might lead to brain damage very slowly.

 

[PotentiallyWasted]

The blowing into your thumb method is not good because it's just a temporary restriction of blood to the brain, which you will regain so if you black out underwater, you might wake up.

I explained how this claim is fundamentally incorrect in the previous message

Now what I'm about to say is a better method, but DON'T try it unless you are sure you want to ctb. If a deodorant spray is imhaled through a towel or similar material, oxygen will decrease because you are replacing it with methane/propane. But co2 is still released normally so brain doesn't realise this so it doesn't actually hurt. You will get extrenely dizzy. After this, if you hold your breath, you will blackout early and this will make drowning painless.

This actually sounds very interesting. I will surely add it to my list of methods on how to pass out while being in a body of water. Thanks

But I advice you, drowning has some of the highest SI even with the right methods. Also, don't make it a habit to whiff sprays because over time they might lead to brain damage very slowly.

How does one experience SI while unconscious?

How quickly? I held my breath for 2 minutes after hyperventilation followed by full exhale in the end. After 2 min spent with nearly empty lungs I had no any sign of fainting. Can you guarantee that the mentioned method induces unconsciousness for a period of more than 2 minutes?

Quickly enough to the point that once automatic respiration during unconsciousness occurs, residual oxygen gets used up and isn't enough to supply the brain and regain consciousness. So once you're underwater oxygen intake completely stops, meaning you no longer can "wake up" unless you somehow leave the water extremely promptly.

Sounds like a great method but also pretty scary, imagine if you get your consciousness back at the worst time possible and you turn into a veggie (might just overthink it idek if that's possible)

Very unlikely, unless you resurface, (which can easily be prevented) regaining consciousness is practically impossible due to water inhalation whilst being unconscious.

 

[Intoxicated]

If a deodorant spray is imhaled through a towel or similar material, oxygen will decrease because you are replacing it with methane/propane.

Hydrocarbons can displace oxygen from the lungs, but they can't replace it in the blood. They don't attach to hemoglobin in the same manner carbon monoxide would do.

Oxygen escapes the bloodsteam because forming and breaking bonds between hemoglobin and oxygen is a bidirectional process. When partial pressure of O2 inside the lungs is high enough, forming the bonds happens faster than breaking them. When it's low enough, breaking the bonds prevail, so the lungs remove oxygen from the bloodstream similarly to how they usually remove carbon dioxide from there. This is why blood oxygen saturation drops rapidly.

But I advice you, drowning has some of the highest SI even with the right methods.

Drowning has unreasonably bad reputation amongst some people here, but otherwise it's good.

Quickly enough to the point that once automatic respiration during unconsciousness occurs, residual oxygen gets used up and isn't enough to supply the brain and regain consciousness.

I don't get how you came to that conclusion. Did you measure the time of unconscious period after applying the given method?

So once you're underwater oxygen intake completely stops, meaning you no longer can "wake up" unless you somehow leave the water extremely promptly.

You so confidently say that as if the bloodstream carried a very small amount of oxygen which is sufficient for maintaining consciousness only for a few seconds, that is not true, unless you have serious troubles with your hemoglobin or maybe some related severe illness.

 

[PotentiallyWasted]

You so confidently say that as if the bloodstream carried a very small amount of oxygen which is sufficient for maintaining consciousness only for a few seconds, that is not true, unless you have serious troubles with your hemoglobin or maybe some related severe illness.

Blood does carry a significant amount of oxygen—mainly bound to hemoglobin. In a healthy adult, this is enough to sustain basic metabolism for a short period when breathing stops. Under normal circumstances, blood can maintain oxygen delivery for several seconds up to a couple of minutes, not for an extended period.

The key point is how quickly the brain uses up oxygen: The brain is highly active and sensitive to oxygen lack. Once you are unconscious and unable to breathe (such as underwater after a blackout), no new oxygen enters your bloodstream. The "reserve" oxygen that's present sustains brain cell life for only seconds to a few minutes—the brain will not regain consciousness from this residual oxygen alone. Instead, this oxygen merely slows brain cell death until fresh oxygen is restored.

 

[Intoxicated]

The key point is how quickly the brain uses up oxygen

It may be 2 minutes or more till O2 in the bloodstream reaches the critical levels when maintaining consciousness becomes impossible.

Once you are unconscious and unable to breathe (such as underwater after a blackout), no new oxygen enters your bloodstream.

Initially the bloodstream would still get oxygen from the residual volume of the lungs. You can't exhale all air from the lungs, and water can't displace all air immediately. Moreover, irritation of the upper airways by water sometimes produces laryngospasm that may prevent further aspiration of the fluid into the lungs for a few minutes.

—the brain will not regain consciousness from this residual oxygen alone.

You can't just postulate that, I want to see some real proof. If oxygen carried by the bloodstream together with a small amount of air contained in the RV of the lungs may keep you conscious for 2 minutes, then why is regaining of consciousness not possible during such a long period of time?

 

[PotentiallyWasted]

You can't just postulate that, I want to see some real proof. If oxygen carried by the bloodstream together with a small amount of air contained in the RV of the lungs may keep you conscious for 2 minutes, then why is regaining of consciousness not possible during such a long period of time?

The reason is simple but crucial: regaining consciousness requires more than just having some oxygen left in the system—it requires your brain to receive enough oxygen per second to support conscious function. If the rate of oxygen delivery drops below that threshold, even temporarily, you lose consciousness—and you stay unconscious until full oxygen delivery is restored. Your body knows it's on thin ice once submerged and unconscious, so it won't and can't "wake up"- it focuses more on keeping brain cells alive for the little time that is left.

This is why under normal circumstances (being on land with normal O2 levels) quickly makes you regain consciousness. There's a stable inhalation of O2 and exhaustion of CO2.

So, even though your blood originally has "enough" oxygen to keep brain cells alive for a brief time (seconds to a couple of minutes), it's not enough to sustain—or recover—consciousness without ventilation.

Cerebral Oxygen Delivery and Consumption in Brain-Injured Patients - PMC

Organism survival depends on oxygen delivery and utilization to maintain the balance of energy and toxic oxidants production. This regulation is crucial to the brain, especially after acute injuries. Secondary insults after brain damage may include ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

"Oxygen consumption is 3.5 mL of oxygen/100 g tissue/1 min; therefore, the regulation of blood flow and delivery of oxygen to cerebral tissue is crucial for brain function"

 

[Intoxicated]

The reason is simple but crucial: regaining consciousness requires more than just having some oxygen left in the system—it requires your brain to receive enough oxygen per second to support conscious function.

And what exactly is supposed to prevent your brain from receiving enough oxygen to support conscious function for a period of 2 minutes after consciousness is lost, assuming that you don't hyperventilate or blow into your thumb during this time interval?

Your body knows it's on thin ice once submerged and unconscious, so it won't and can't "wake up"- it focuses more on keeping brain cells alive for the little time that is left.

Where did you get that information from? Is it your own conjecture or there is a reliable source that can confirm that consciousness cannot be regained with SaO2 of 80 - 90%, for example?

"Oxygen consumption is 3.5 mL of oxygen/100 g tissue/1 min; therefore, the regulation of blood flow and delivery of oxygen to cerebral tissue is crucial for brain function"

That doesn't tell me anything about the minimum level of SaO2 in the bloodstream that would be sufficient for the possibility of regaining consciousness.

 

[PotentiallyWasted]

And what exactly is supposed to prevent your brain from receiving enough oxygen to support conscious function for a period of 2 minutes after consciousness is lost, assuming that you don't hyperventilate or blow into your thumb during this time interval?

Where did you get that information from? Is it your own conjecture or there is a reliable source that can confirm that consciousness cannot be regained with SaO2 of 80 - 90%, for example?

That doesn't tell me anything about the minimum level of SaO2 in the bloodstream that would be sufficient for the possibility of regaining consciousness.

I think you're confusing oxygen content (like SaO₂ at 80–90%) with oxygen delivery to the brain, which is what actually sustains or restores consciousness. Even if your blood still contains oxygen, once you're unconscious underwater and can't breathe, there's no gas exchange—so no fresh oxygen enters the bloodstream, and CO₂ builds up rapidly. The brain continues consuming oxygen at a high rate (~50 mL/min), and once delivery falls below a critical threshold, neurons stop functioning properly. Consciousness is lost, and it cannot return until ventilation resumes and oxygen delivery is restored.

SaO₂ of 80–90% might technically remain in the blood for a short time, but that doesn't mean your brain is receiving enough usable oxygen to support consciousness. Studies and clinical experience show that people can be unconscious—even deeply so—at those levels, especially if CO₂ is high and ventilation is absent. Regaining consciousness takes more than some residual oxygen; it requires sufficient ongoing oxygen delivery, which is impossible underwater once you've lost the ability to breathe. That's why no one "wakes up" underwater without being rescued and ventilated.

Tldr: it's more about the remaining oxygen reaching the brain not total oxygen in the bloodstream.

 

[Intoxicated]

Tldr: it's more about the remaining oxygen reaching the brain not total oxygen in the bloodstream.

You didn't answer why the brain doesn't receive enough oxygen for regaining consciousness. The mantra "so no fresh oxygen enters the bloodstream" is irrelevant here, because my question already implies reduced blood oxygen saturation. I have an impression like I'm talking to ChatGPT rather than an understanding and logically thinking human, and I'm losing my patience.