Morrgan on 31/5/2006 at 12:14
(There should be some kind of screaming-in-terror smilie available for the title. I guess you'll just have to imagine this embarrased one doing that instead.)
There's this dream I've had twice now. Starts out feeling like a normal day in my normal life, as if I was awake. I'm at home alone, doing whatever. At some point I turn around, only to get seriously startled when I see a strange person standing right behind me. They look like they're trying to tell me something but I can't understand them, so I close my eyes like the big sissy I am, hoping they'll go away. When I open them again, I'm alone. I'm freaked, but slowly start calming down, thinking my imagination's been playing tricks on me. That is, until the next creepy person appears without warning. At some point I realize I'm seeing dead people and that's when they start appearing every ten seconds.
Eventually I wake up, but the dream feels so real and my awakening is so slow that it takes a few minutes before I understand it was just a dream (thank FUCK) and dare open my eyes. Still, even now in broad daylight with others around, I feel creeped out and occasionally have to look around to make sure there are no HORRIBLE DEAD PEOPLE behind me. How embarrasing.
Another similar dream I had was me doing the dishes, when I suddenly sensed someone else was there. I thought Vigil had come home, but when I turned around the place was empty. I went back to the dishes when SUDDENLY A HAND GRABBED MY ARM OH GOD
Screamed, jumped and turned around - nobody was there. I don't have the words to describe the horror of it. Woke up moments later. Naturally this comes back to me whenever I do the dishes now. Hey, might be a good excuse for getting out of dishwashing duty? "I'm afraid some invisible dead people will get me!"
Of course I never realize I'm dreaming until I wake up. Sixth Sense feels ten times creepier now.
Right. I think I'll just go look for some bright, happy sunshine now to stand in for a while. So, has anyone else had dreams like this?
Rogue Keeper on 31/5/2006 at 12:39
Morrgan, I know the truth is hard to accept, but your dreams are actually showing you REALITY, while everything else including your stay at TTLG is a data stream flowing into your CNS through set of optical wires. :D
Morrgan on 31/5/2006 at 12:49
Hey, that's an interesting read, thanks noid. I'll have to look into it some more once I'm at home. The first link mentioned lucid dreams too and I have had those at times, although I didn't quite understand the connection between those and hypnagogic hallucinations - are all lucid dreams these hallucinations? Hmm, maybe I could make those dreams lucid somehow and tell the dead people to fuck off.
In any case, I must say "I have hypnagogic hallucinations" sounds better than "I'm slowly going insane". :cool:
Hah BRnumbers, if that was the case, I could take comfort in knowing my reality is more interesting than the data stream.
Rogue Keeper on 31/5/2006 at 12:56
Inappropriate joke I guess... :p Anyways noid's suggestion looks reasonable. If your problems will continue though, you know what to do. Many of us have such mindplaying experiences. Subconsciousness is a whore.
Para?noid on 31/5/2006 at 14:01
Quote Posted by Morrgan
Hey, that's an interesting read, thanks noid. I'll have to look into it some more once I'm at home. The first link mentioned lucid dreams too and I have had those at times, although I didn't quite understand the connection between those and hypnagogic hallucinations - are all lucid dreams these hallucinations? Hmm, maybe I could make those dreams lucid somehow and tell the dead people to fuck off.
Well, it's a bit of a complicated subject. I suffer from sleep paralysis, which in a nutshell, is where the body sometimes shuts off to sleep but the brain kind of remains "awake" in a loose sense of the word. Everyone gets it now and then, my "episodes" are just far more frequent.
Anyway, because, through sleep paralysis, the body is in a hypnagogic state- the brain is kind of awake but "dreaming" (R.E.M. sleep? Somebody knows more than I do) and the two worlds collide. Hallucinations, particularly visual or auditory are common, and especially feelings of paranoia, fear or an "unknown" presence in your dream or in the room (if you happen to be more aware of your surroundings).
This phenomenon is linked to diet, sleeping habits and stress levels. Monks in medieval times were aware of it, attributing it to the presence of demons, "Succubi" who were trying to tempt them into evil as they slept. Feelings of claustrophobia and restriction of airflow are also associated with sleep paralysis and hypnagogic state hallucinations.
This links to lucid dreaming in the respect that lucid dreaming is consciouness inside a dream. Whilst the body lies dormant, the mind is active to some respect and I can qualify that sleep paralysis can actually be controlled and forced into a lucid dream. I like to think of unwanted hypnagogic hallucinations as 'uncontrolled' lucid dreams.
At any rate, that's one possible explanation. Feelings of another, frightening presence or evil are very, very common in dreams or states of this type and will always seem completely real, even though they are completely in the mind.
Read up on:
Hypnagogic states
Sleep Paralysis
"The Hag"
Succubi / Incubi
R.E.M Sleep
for more info.
Rogue Keeper on 31/5/2006 at 14:26
Hey, it looks my old vision of Mother Mary after taking more Hypnogen pills than I've had to is finally explained! :weird:
And sometimes when I'm falling asleep I'm getting great music ideas.
TTK12G3 on 31/5/2006 at 15:03
[QUOTE=]Auditory hallucinations (often footsteps or indistinct voices, or pulsing noises), falling sensation, vibration, the feeling of being pulled in different directions, Involuntary movements (sometimes the feeling of sliding off of the bed or even up walls).
I would also wake up to hear and feel someone breathing over my face. The source turned out to be the result of sleep deprivation, significant stress, and thinking bad thoughts(worries). One day, it all just stopped completely for no reason.
