Hypnagogic Hallucinations

[Doctor Dysphoria]

Are hypnagogic hallucinations more prevalent amongst people with bpd compared to people without bpd .Also are intrusive thoughts especially when stressed/tired common in people with bpd.

[LadyMacbeth]

Oh my God! I just looked up hypnagogic hallucinations on the internet I get those. Its that a symptom of schizophrenia. I am even more crazier then I thought! I thought that was normal I guess its not!

[lille_eskimit]

I sometimes hear voices as I'm waking up or about to fall asleep...Once even thought I heard metallic alien beings!!!

Spooky!! :blink:

[LadyMacbeth]

Sometimes when I close my eyes before I fall sleep I see these things moving around. Sometimes before I fall asleep I get startled because someone has said something to me in my head. Lots of dreamlike images float around in my head before I sleep. I used to feel like I was falling all the time I would awaken startled.

Scary!

[mitchy]

i hallucinate. i don't know what hypnagogic means though. i hear voices, see things, smell and taste things that aren't there. i find it distressing, even though i'm aware they're not really happening, that it's just me.

[LadyMacbeth]

Do you think they are the first symptoms of schizophrenia cause you can just develop that.

[lille_eskimit]

One of the nurses from the CMHT told me this is just pseudo-psychosis quite common among some who suffer from Depression, and nothing to be worried about!!!

She was also the same person who told me she didn't think I had a Personality Disorder before I was diagnosed!!!!

[Lauren]

Your eyes are open, you are aware of your surroundings, yet, you cannot move. Suddenly, you hear growling in your ear and feel something monterous bearing down on you, making it difficult to even breathe. You cannot scream, you cannot move away from this molevolent being. You try with all your might to move just a little, finally you manage to move your finger.....the spell is broken, the monster is gone, you can breathe, you can move......relief, terror, heavy breathing...."What just happened to me?"

You have just experienced a Hypnagogic Hallucination. H.H. has been documented in most all cultures as far back as 1000 years or more.

Hallucination, by definition, is false or distorted sensory experiences that appear to be real perceptions. These sensory impressions are generated by the mind rather than by any external stimuli, and may be heard, seen, felt and even smelled or tasted.

My god! Thank you so much for this post. This is just what has happend to me a number of times. It is absoloutley terrifying but apparently harmless.

WOW!!!! Im of to read more.

You star!!!

xxxxxx

[Lauren]

I created a post on this type of thing very recently. But as of yet I cant find it will keep looking though.

[Lauren]

Here we go....

Went to bed at 6pm. I was just so tired I felt like my brain couldnt take anymore.

I remember my husband trying to get me up about 8pm to do him dinner etc and I refused.

Then I spent what seems like the whole night in a awake but unable to move phase. Could still hear and see things around me but fucked up things where happening in my head.

I felt so unsafe. kept thinking someone was climbing up the walls of the house. in the bedroom. that my son had changed into a monster. That I had conversations with people that when I check I cant find any proof.

It was all so real. I got up at about 5 am to find a note from my husband saying he has left because I swore at him and scratched his face badly.

I DONT REMEMBER DOING IT!

AGGHHHHH Its been such a long long time since that happend last. its terrifying. It leaves me disconnected from the world. Unable to fully determine whats real and what isnt.

Im the crazy bitch outside this morning in the dark with my son hidden indoors whilest i checkoutside with a kitchen knife in my hand.

The nutter that wonders if my husband actually tried to hurt me and thats where all this came from.

The psycho fruitcake thats still shaking and confused and scared with the knife still on top of the PC.

The wacko that was really shocked to not find rabbit blood all over the place and to see a james the rabbit still hopping about.

fuck,fuck,fuck,fuck

[LadyMacbeth]

Lorna,

That happened to you like last week right or am I experiencing de ja vu!

I know usually if I try nap in a day I can't sleep I just lay there still and these dreams and images ran through my head. I am half a wake and half asleep. I cannot even explain this feeling its so weird. Does that just occur to people who have mental illnesses or does that happen to everyone?

[Lauren]

Hun,

I just said I posted about it recently

Just pasted it here.

You ok?

xxxx

[Lauren]

From what I can see its most common in people with narcolepsy.

But it can happen to others as well.

Everything ive found so far seems to suggest its not dangerous but scary.

It was first recognised back in the middle ages where it was thought to be some kind of possesion by the devil or something lol

So shit me, I dont really have bpd etc im just possesed woohhoooooo lol

[LadyMacbeth]

Sorry I don't feel "here" today just had another panic attack and I feel like I am not in my body. I am starting to feel better gradually. Thanks for asking. That heard familiar but I am also a little dense :P

[LadyMacbeth]

Grreeaaat!!!!!!!!I now have BPD, depression and now possession! Try telling that to a psychiatrist then he really might put you away!

[Lauren]

Sorry Doctor,

I got kinda exited there after finding a name for something that has freaked me out for years.

Ive just realised you asked about intrusive thoughts. What kind of thoughts do you mean?

I get strong ocd based ones also I get strong images of places I have been etc that I havent thought of for years pop into my head a lot.

I also get the normal impulse typical bpd ones :P

[Lauren]

lmfao lady.

I did tell them I was possesed once whilest in a [psyc unit. It was me acting like a bitch though when they wanted a reason for me acting so out of control.

Sure it shut them up but also resulted in me being sedated the hell out of lol.

Promise you its not a clever thing to say!!!

[LadyMacbeth]

I have not laughed this hard all day!!!!!!I am still laughing can't control myself. I am picturing myself walking into my therapists office and telling her I think I am possessed by the devil. I can see her telling me to hold on while she walks into the other room with her cordless phone and within five minutes the ambulance has arrived with a straight jacket. I can just picture the look on her face!

[Lauren]

You know that I really can not condone playing tricks on those there to help you.

But it is pretty fucking fucking funny for a disturbed mind like mine!!!

(((((((hugs)))))))

[LadyMacbeth]

I know what you mean. I could not say that to a therapist or a psychiatrist because it would not be very nice but I could imagine saying it and I can't get committed for that!

[pinklady66]

I am sure that what you're saying is right. I have never told anyone this before, but I have heard things that really weren't there. I also have sensed odours that shouldn't be there. That smell part didn't happen until I was forced to drink the charcoal when I o.d. I had even saw certain people as being demons. I also am very sensitive to certain pitches of noises. A certain song or repetitive sounds can set me off. I did speak to my pych about the sensitivity to noises and he says that it has to do with the bpd. He says that I am hyper aware of my surroundings, and bpd is the culprit.

I hope that helps you. You're not alone in this fight. B)

[Doctor Dysphoria]

Sorry Doctor,

I got kinda exited there after finding a name for something that has freaked me out for years.

Ive just realised you asked about intrusive thoughts. What kind of thoughts do you mean?

I get strong ocd based ones also I get strong images of places I have been etc that I havent thought of for years pop into my head a lot.

I also get the normal impulse typical bpd ones

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I usually experience this when my thoughts are racing/mind is busy(think thinking equivalent

of lot of people trying to talk at the same time) and yet at the same time i am physically tired.In my case it is often preceded by being inwardly tense or stressed.

I do not find the content of the intrusive thoughts overly frightening though they can be markedly incongruous.What frightens me more is the actual process itself and the feeling of 'am i going mad/psychotic?' that

it induces.

Here is how i have described it on previous occasions elsewhere -

''My mind was jumping from one thing to another which is not exactly a new thing for me as we say here in the UK 'Been there,Done that,bought the t shirt'.However the things were connected one thing to another in a straight or lateral kind of way but the thoughts that kept popping in and out were out of left field like there was no connection with the rest of it.''

''Hearing phrases inside your head as if said by someone else.They are not constant more like a very occasional interjection such as 'fatty that's what you are' or ''you'll always be stupid''.I tend to get mine late at night.Often when it happens my mind can not switch off -thoughts going back and forth.Then phrases/sentences pop up in my had completely unrelated to the general thrust of what i am thinking.''

I'm feeling rather paranoid at the moment.Made a post on another forum(covers lots of neurological conditions) and got dragged through the coals for it (it was a post about recent research and i thought it was helpful but several people didn't like me doing so and told me)Cue big dose of paranoia and feelings of rejection. Quite a few people were supportive but all i could hold on to was the negative stuff.

My reaction 'I' m leaving.I can't stay here' Ended up closing the account -big hurt feelings and paranoia as i was doing it .

Now i'm thinking 'oh s**t i need the place but i'm too f***ing paranoid to re register. It's all just built up way too much in my mind and i feel so inwardly tense/can't get it out of my mind.

It's no fun having a brain made of crap.

[Lauren]

Hey,

Firstly your brain is not made of crap!

From your posts I can tell you are highly intelligent. So you have some issues that cause confusion.

Are the intrusions of thoughts based on what has been said to you in the past? or are they negative thoughts that you hold about yourself?

It doesnt sound like psychosis to me, allthough im in no way qualified to say they are not.

Have you tried some kind of behavioural therapy? If you can not get this from the NHS then you should be able to find a private therapist for about 40 pounds an hour.

I understand the fear of rejection. It used to rule my life. I was unable to form friendships because I allways felt they where just putting up with me/wishing they had never botherd etc.

Plus it was impossible to hold down a job as I was forever convinced that everyone hated me and could see that I was 'different'

Nowdays im more in control of that.

I have learnt that its not all about me!

That often people have other things going on in there life that are completely unconnected to myself.

[LadyMacbeth]

Dr. Disphoria,

As Lorna said your brain is not made up of crap!!!!!I think she is right that you should look into DBT!

More on this subject later I just woke up my brain is still sleeping!

LM

[LadyMacbeth]

Pinklady,

Its interesting that your psych said that people with BPD are extra sensitive to our surroundings. I know with me I can feel that pain of others. My friend who went through a sever depression told me at 14 I had a sixth sense into her pain and she was on her early forties at the time. I think it is a gift in away because we want to help others but sometimes it does not work to our benefit. It baffles me that we all have similar characteristics especially since BPD is personality disorder who come me are experiencing the Hypnagogic hallucinations and other symptoms.