Confessions Of Autoerotic Asphyxiation

Autoerotic asphyxiation is when people deny their brains oxygen for purposes of sexual arousal. It's not unlike the dangerous "pass out game" played by young people in schools across America for a time, but it's' coupled with sex.  Generally, the person doing it times the asphyxiation to the moment of orgasm, and they claim the result is a unique and extremely pleasurable experience.  It's also incredibly dangerous.  Many people have died in the act.  So what's it all for?  What is this feeling so many people chase to the edge of life itself?  Here are confessions of autoerotic asphyxiation.

What People who practice autoerotic asphyxiation use a rope or belt to restrict blood flow to the brain while pleasuring themselves. The result resembles a person trying to hang themselves, only they're instead midway through an autoerotic act.

Why? The carotid arteries on both sides of the neck cary oxygen-filled blood to the brain. The sudden loss of oxygen and increase of carbon dioxide can create feelings of dizziness, lightheadedness, tingling, pins and needles and overall pleasure.

The Rush Hypoxia is the name of a state the brain can reach when it’s deprived of oxygen. One author called the rush from hypoxia “as powerful as cocaine and no less addictive.”

History People first started documenting autoerotic asphyxiation around the 17th century, as doctors began to prescribe it for erectile dysfunction. People began to notice that after public hangings, males would develop an erection after being hanged.

Ejaculation There’s also such a thing as “post-mortem ejaculation,” but this occurs for wholly separate reasons than the erections caused by strangulation.

Deaths In the U.S. alone, there are between 250 and 1000 deaths per year from autoerotic asphyxiation.

Insurance Autoerotic asphyxiation is the subject of many insurance disputes. Often policies do not pay out for suicides, but they do for accidental deaths. Since these instances do fall under the “accidental death” category, victims’ families are usually paid out.

Famous Cases Many famous or notable individuals have passed away after attempting the practice including kung fu movie star David Carradine, INXS singer Robert Hutchence and Reverend Gary Aldrige. Aldridge was a preacher at Thorington Road Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Lawsuit In 1985, a mother sued Hustler magazine after her son died from autoerotic asphyxiation. The mother claimed her son read an article about the practice called “Orgasm Of Death” and then tried it.

AE Fan Before It's tough to describe the experience, but one online fan did his best. "I was facing the cabinet leaning on it, my right cheek against the cabinets cold black metal surface," the netizen said. "I tightened and loosened and I explored the way it felt on my neck and how it made my whole body feel. I climaxed for about 15 minutes while my mouth tingled and the room seemed to disappear... "

AE Fan During “After, I stood there and breathed for a minute still supporting myself on the cabinet, in complete awe of what had just happened. I looked up and saw the garage—I had completely lost my surroundings—like the whole world stopped existing for this incredible sexual experience with myself," he continued.

AE Fan After At the end of experience, he writes, “Afterward I felt high and euphoric and everything I looked at seemed different somehow. I have not stopped thinking about it since. The next day I wanted to repeat what I had done in the garage. Everything was the same but I couldn’t get the same effect somehow so I just finished by enjoying the way the collar felt. That was last night."

The Canadian Man This note was found next to the body young man found dead in Canada, “When you find my body hanging... with a tight noose around my neck, do not look for a murderer. I have executed myself. I say execute rather than suicide because I didn’t really intend to hang unto death.”

Erik Rhodes This confession was found on the blog of adult entertainer Erik Rhodes when he was experimenting with autoerotic asphyxiation. "I was just thinking the other day… 'jesus, this doesnt feel like living' and I thought to myself when in my life did i feel more alive? and it was when i woke up in hospital bed after OD’ing. I guess that why i been so obcessed with autoerotic asphyxia lately, when your life feels so meaningless at times, you need to wake yourself up and let you know your alive.” He was found dead from cardiac arrest in 2012.

The Warning On a web forum where the subject of autoerotic asphyxiation comes up, one former enthusiast warns against the practice. "Cheating death just to get that feeling is equivalent to playing Russian Roulette with 2 bullets in the chamber. Sooner or later, death will eventually find you if you keep knocking."