You’re lying in bed, almost asleep, and suddenly a flash hits you. It’s not a dream. It feels like a memory, but it’s a memory of your own death. You feel the cold, the sudden impact, or the sharp realization of a life being cut short. It sounds like a horror movie plot, but for thousands of people congregating on forums like Reddit’s r/PastLives or TikTok’s "glitch in the matrix" communities, the phrase i think i was murdered isn't a metaphor. It’s a genuine, haunting suspicion that shapes their daily reality.
People are waking up with phantom pains in their chests. Others have inexplicable phobias of very specific, mundane objects—like yellow cars or 1920s-style floor lamps. It’s weird. It’s unsettling. Honestly, it’s a rabbit hole that bridges the gap between psychological trauma and the metaphysical.
Why Do People Feel This Way?
The human brain is a pattern-matching machine. Sometimes it matches patterns that aren't actually there, or it interprets deep-seated anxieties through the lens of a narrative. When someone says i think i was murdered, they usually aren't looking for a police investigation. They are looking for an explanation for a feeling that doesn't fit their current life.
Dr. Ian Stevenson, a psychiatrist at the University of Virginia, spent decades researching this. He didn't just look at "vibes." He looked at birthmarks. Stevenson documented over 2,500 cases of children who claimed to remember past lives. In many of these cases, the child had a birthmark or a physical deformity that corresponded precisely to the fatal wound of the person they claimed to have been. It’s heavy stuff. You can’t just dismiss it as "imagination" when a toddler in a remote village knows the name of a man killed three towns over ten years before they were born.
But there’s a flip side.
False Memory Syndrome is a very real, documented psychological occurrence. Our brains are incredibly suggestive. If you’re deep into True Crime podcasts and you have a vivid nightmare, your subconscious might stitch those together. You wake up gasping. You think, That felt too real. Suddenly, a nightmare becomes a "memory."
The Role of Genetic Memory and Epigenetics
Maybe it’s not your murder.
Scientists have found that trauma can be passed down through DNA. This is called epigenetics. In studies on mice, researchers found that if a father mouse was conditioned to fear the smell of cherry blossoms, his offspring—who had never seen a cherry blossom—would also react with fear to the scent.
If your great-grandmother survived a violent encounter or witnessed something horrific, that chemical "bookmark" might still be sitting in your genetic code. You’re not remembering your death; you’re echoing hers. It’s a biological "save file" meant to keep you safe, but it manifests as a confusing, intrusive thought: i think i was murdered.
The Viral Shift: TikTok and the Modern Ghost Story
Social media has changed how we process these feelings. It’s gone from private therapy sessions to "Storytime" videos. On platforms like TikTok, the hashtag #PastLife is booming.
Most of it is probably fluff.
People want to feel special. They want their trauma to have a grand, cosmic meaning. But then you find the stories that make your skin crawl. There was a viral trend where people described their "first memories." A staggering number of them described being in a dark place, or seeing a specific face, or feeling a sharp pain before "waking up" as a baby.
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- Specific dates often pop up.
- Geography matters—people describe cities they’ve never visited but can navigate perfectly on Google Maps.
- The emotional weight is usually the "tell" for whether someone is chasing clout or actually struggling.
When someone says i think i was murdered, they are often describing a sense of "unfinished business." It’s a lingering anxiety that they don't belong in the present moment. It's a disconnect.
Psychological Explanations That Aren't Paranormal
Let's be real for a second. We have to look at the clinical side.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) doesn't always come from events we remember. Dissociative disorders can cause "gaps" in our sense of self. If you experienced trauma as a very young child—too young to form verbal memories—your brain might store that trauma as a sensory flash.
You feel like you’re dying because your nervous system is stuck in a fight-or-flight loop.
The "Intruding Thought" Mechanism
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) often involves intrusive thoughts. These are unwanted, disturbing images or ideas that pop into your head. If a person with a predisposition for intrusive thoughts becomes fixated on the idea of death, their brain might create a narrative to explain the "why."
"I feel like I'm dying" becomes "I was killed before."
It’s a way for the mind to make sense of a physiological sensation. If your heart is racing and your chest is tight, and there’s no medical reason for it, your brain looks for a story. i think i was murdered is a powerful story. It provides an external reason for internal pain.
Identifying the Signs of a "Past Life" Memory
If you are genuinely struggling with the feeling that you were murdered in a previous life, there are specific patterns that researchers like Jim Tucker look for. Tucker took over Stevenson's work at UVA. He focuses on "Verified Records."
- Specific Names and Locations: Does the person know a name that actually existed in a specific timeframe?
- Age of Onset: Most "genuine" memories appear between ages 2 and 6.
- Physical Markers: Are there scars or birthmarks that align with the narrative?
- Behavioral Traits: Does the person have skills they never learned? This is called xenoglossy (speaking a language you haven't studied) or anomalous talents.
If you’re 25 and you just started thinking i think i was murdered after watching a documentary, it’s likely psychological. If you’ve felt a hole in your chest and a fear of the ocean since you were three, that’s when the researchers get interested.
How to Handle the Lingering Feeling
Living with the sensation of a violent past is exhausting. It creates a "phantom" grief. You’re mourning a life you don't even fully remember.
The first step isn't a psychic. It’s a doctor.
You need to rule out things like sleep apnea (which causes those "waking up gasping" feelings) or heart palpitations. Once the physical is cleared, look at the emotional. Regression therapy is a popular tool, though it's controversial. Some psychologists argue that hypnosis can actually create false memories rather than uncovering real ones.
You have to be careful.
Grounding Techniques
If the feeling i think i was murdered is overwhelming, grounding is the best immediate tool.
- Focus on the 5-4-3-2-1 technique: 5 things you see, 4 you touch, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste.
- Remind yourself of the "Now." You are in a safe room. You are breathing. The year is 2026.
- Write it down. Sometimes seeing the "memory" on paper makes it look less like a fact and more like a story.
The Ethical Dilemma of "True Crime" Reincarnation
There’s a darker side to this. People sometimes claim to be the reincarnation of famous murder victims. This can be incredibly painful for the living families of those victims. Imagine being the mother of a child who was lost, and seeing a stranger on the internet claiming to be your child reborn for "clout."
This is where the i think i was murdered community gets messy.
Ethics matter. If you truly believe you have memories of a specific crime, the best course of action is usually silence and healing, not a viral video. Seeking "justice" for a past life rarely brings peace; it usually just disrupts the present.
Actionable Steps for Moving Forward
If this thought is stuck in your head, don't panic. You aren't "crazy." You are experiencing a documented human phenomenon, whether its roots are in your neurons or something more mysterious.
Verify before you testify.
Check the facts of your "memory" against public records if you have a name or date. Often, you’ll find the details don't match, which can be a huge relief. It proves the "memory" is a construction of your subconscious.
Consult a trauma-informed therapist.
Ask them about "somatic experiencing." This is a type of therapy that focuses on how the body holds onto stress. Even if the "murder" didn't happen to this body, the stress you're feeling is real. You need to discharge that energy.
Keep a "Reality Journal."
Document when the feelings happen. Are you stressed at work? Did you just watch a scary movie? Find the triggers.
Accept the mystery.
Sometimes you’ll never know why you have that specific fear of knives or why you dream of a cottage in 18th-century France. You don't have to solve the mystery to live a good life today. Focus on the person you are now. That person is alive, safe, and in control.