Hey everyone. I need some help. I'm writing up a torture scene involving waterboarding in first person. I need some help describing it from a first person perspective. I know that it does something to the gag reflex which makes the subject feel like they are drowning. Anyone out there with experience? or anyone else?
Basically, it slowly fills up your throat with water so it feels like you are drowning. There's a description of it here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15886834
well i find the best way to describe some thing is to try it your self even if its for a few seconds i no its crazy but you should be able to descibe it better and as long as you dont panic you'll be fine (for the record yes i have tried waterboarding to see what it feels like)
Having a super-sensitive gag reflex, so I can tell you a little bit about that, if you need the details. It's never pleasant and I avoid it whenever possible. Sometimes it's inevitable, like when I brush my teeth. [Feel free to skip the next paragraph if you know what gagging feels like, and the one following if you know what extreme gagging feels like.] With gagging , you are not able to breathe, as your throat is closing off anything from coming down the throat. You also have an involuntary impulse of vomiting that does not produce vomit (heaving). In cases when the gag-reflex is very strong, the gagging lasts for a long time and as a result you can't breathe, and you begin to feel like you're suffocating. I've experienced the extreme a few times - it got so intense my eyes teared up, my lungs ached, and once or twice I thought I was going to lose consciousness. When it ends, the first breath feels like the breath of life, and after that for a while it hurts to breathe. In relation to waterboarding, I think the extreme end of gagging corresponds to the torture, and from what I've read, the gag reflex gets overpowered... I shudder to think how painful that must be. A suffocating sensation followed by drowning... I'd tell you what drowning feels like, but seeing as my drowning experience occurred at the age of two I can't remember. As for how waterboarding feels overall, I have no idea as I have not personally experienced it. I found this old article mentioning some details of waterboarding. And this site seems to be dedicated to it. I also found a page describing the torture in disturbing detail, but I feel it is inappropriate to post here.
Here is a Chicago radio personality having it done (to an extent): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUkj9pjx3H0 Special Ops soldiers get trained by being waterboarded so it is not dangerous per se. It fills you nasal cavity (like a hardcore Neti Pot) but gives the impression of drowning...is the short version. Read the NPR description for better details. I think with seeing the example and reading how it works, should give you enough context to construct the scene.
