Hallucinations upon waking?

[Haven]

This thread has officially freaked me out.

I never considered that the standing-man dreams could be anything other than dreams. Now I'm not so sure.

My father had recurring dreams as a child. Every time, he saw an elderly woman walking toward him carrying a basket of fruit in front of her. She was the same woman in every dream, and she wore the same clothes. Then, his family moved into a new apartment, and the doorbell rang one day. He came out into the hall to see who it was, and there was the elderly woman from his dreams, walking down the hall toward him with a basket of fruit in front of her. She was their new landlady. He was terrified of her and refused to talk to her the entire time they lived in that apt.

I have recurring dreams about my teeth. They're usually either falling out, or decaying in some terrible way.

My other recurring dreams involve the loo--I have to use it, but every available loo is either filthy, the water is dirty and really high so I can't sit down, or they are out in the open and everyone can see me using it. Ugh. I've had these dreams since childhood, and I'm pretty sure they stem from my extreme reluctance to use public loos, and even other people's loos. I just recently told my mom about them, and wouldn't you know it--she has the same dreams!

I'm so grossed out/freaked out right now.

 

[lulu]

That's really something erica. You freaked me out!

 

[rainydaze]

wow, this is nuts. i had no idea others experienced this too. i have woken with a start to a spider coming down at my face from the ceiling many times, i've thrown the covers off thinking a squirrel got under them (and subsequently started the cr*p out of poor DH), i've seen an elephant and a gecko in the room..... mine are all shadows and lack color or great detail, but they are so real to me in the moment. DH laughs at me now when i wake swearing there's some sort of exotic or freakish animal coming at me, but man it's not funny to me at the time! fortunately it's never been a person - that would cause me never to sleep again!

i've had the teeth dreams too, that they are super loose and about to fall out. it takes me a day or two to be convinced they are fine!

 

[Amys Bling]

Same thing with the teeth.

 

[Maisie]

I thought twice before starting this thread. I knew there would be some freaky stories come out. Now i'm scared to go to bed! My husband is going away in ten days and I am already getting nervous to be on my own at night!!!

 

[ericad]

That's really something erica. You freaked me out!

Freaked me out too! The other odd thing that had happened earlier during the same week as the old man thing is that DD was sitting at the kitchen table doing a puzzle. I was at the front of the house, in the office, on the computer. I heard DD say something, then she was crying. So I ran into the kitchen and she told me that she had her back to the kitchen but heard me moving around behind her and then someone said, right into her left ear really loud, "Shhhhh!" She thought it was me shushing her, but when she turned around, no one was there.

A few days later she and I had the strange old man dream thing.

Personally, though many will disagree, I've always thought this was a ghost type of situation. Someone passing through. I had some strange things happen when I was a kid too, though not frequently. But a few things that I can't ignore, so my mind has always been open to it.

 

[rainydaze]

My other recurring dreams involve the loo--I have to use it, but every available loo is either filthy, the water is dirty and really high so I can't sit down, or they are out in the open and everyone can see me using it. Ugh. I've had these dreams since childhood, and I'm pretty sure they stem from my extreme reluctance to use public loos, and even other people's loos. I just recently told my mom about them, and wouldn't you know it--she has the same dreams!

Haven i have these dreams too! the toilets are usually *covered* in filth and/or i am out in the open for all to see. i always wake up from them having to go something fierce, so i think for me it is just my body's way of preventing me from peeing myself (b/c in the dream i can never actually go since it's too disturbing) until i wake up and use the *nice* *clean* *private* bath!

 

[jeweln]

when my husband travels for any reason without me ,I sleep with full lights on ! even though my youngest kids sleep with me .

 

[jeweln]

Hi ericad
I think it was a ghost or spirit .otherwise how can you & your daughter both have the same dream about him ?

 

[Amys Bling]

My other recurring dreams involve the loo--I have to use it, but every available loo is either filthy, the water is dirty and really high so I can't sit down, or they are out in the open and everyone can see me using it. Ugh. I've had these dreams since childhood, and I'm pretty sure they stem from my extreme reluctance to use public loos, and even other people's loos. I just recently told my mom about them, and wouldn't you know it--she has the same dreams!

Haven i have these dreams too! the toilets are usually *covered* in filth and/or i am out in the open for all to see. i always wake up from them having to go something fierce, so i think for me it is just my body's way of preventing me from peeing myself (b/c in the dream i can never actually go since it's too disturbing) until i wake up and use the *nice* *clean* *private* bath!

Yes- I have these dreams too and I always wake up really having to use the bathroom

 

[Amys Bling]

This has happened to me a few times. Most recently (though it was a couple of years ago) I woke up to see a man standing on my husband's side of the bed (DH wasn't home). He was old and scraggly looking, and he started to crawl across the bed (think Samara-like from the Ring) towards me. I initially felt paralyzed, then freaked and scrambled off the bed, and "woke up" standing next to the bed and he had vanished. I thought it was a nightmare that just felt really, REALLY real.

That is until DD, who was 5 at the time, called me from her room, crying, about 15 minutes later. She said she had a dream that she woke up, looked out her window and saw an old man standing in the driveway watching her. She also said that he was a "bad man" and that she couldn't move or breathe.



I'm still quite freaked out by it!

eek!! this is really scary.

 

[Bliss]

Sorry in advance since I'm typing on my iPhone but wanted to help. Basically this is what happens when you wake up while still in REM. Since your body is stuck in REM, you are paralyzed yet can see and hear things as though in a dream state while your body has a few seconds delay in catching up to a fully awake state. It can be very scary. I learned about this in college - my professor was one of the country's leading sleep disorder specialists. I experienced this a few times in high school and relieved to learn what caused it! Once I heard what it was and understood the origins, I never had it again. He said that while it can be scary, one thing that helps is to calm down and remember that it takes a few seconds for your brain/body to wake up. Those seconds can seem like forever but I promise it helps! Hugs!!!

Just go, "OK, I'm stuck in REM. This isn't real. One... Two....three..." It never lasts beyond that! Once you're empowered this way, you will likely never get it again or it will be extremely rare and not terrifying!!!! Hug hug hugs!

 

[portia]

Maisie,

I had a similar problem years ago, but not as frequently as you' re experiencing. My dreams were always about a large, black spider coming down from the ceiling or crawling on my bed. I opened my eyes and I swear I could see it. I would stare for a moment or two unable to move and then suddenly jump out of bed. At that point, I was fully awake and I remembered exactly why I jumped out of bed, but there was no spider. So weird. It was so real. Never had that problem before and haven't had it since. I think it happened a few times over a period of a year. The only thing I can think of that might have been a factor is that I started exercising later at night and more frequently. I remember I'd have trouble falling asleep those nights because my brain was so awake from working out (I'm normally a heavy sleeper).

I used to have night terrors about flying. They were so bad, I would upset people if I talked about the details. My dad who is a private pilot suggested I take flying lessons. I thought... ok, what do I have to lose? Oh yeah, only my life! haha I did take the lessons and soloed a handful of times and I never had the night terrors again. It worked, but I still think those dreams had to do with losing control (in my life) and it manifested into plane crashes because my dad and brother have been private pilots for a long time. Those were horrible. Dreams are so strange!

 

[Silvia]

What an interesting thread.

A few years ago I used to constantly have something similar to 'night terrors' or 'hypnagogic hallucinations', especially when I was lacking in sleep and wanted to sleep the most.
Basically I found if I was super super tired, my body would fall asleep but my mind would wake up again and I would feel like a buzzing sort of sensation I guess like an electric current. I used to get so scared as I couldn't move or make any sound or scream, and I wanted help so badly. Sometimes it would feel like there was someone squashing me. After quite a while (months) some nights I was able to 'control' the buzzing feeling (but I was not be able to get rid of it completely), but be able to move it around my body... I would eventually be able to shake it and move or wake up, but as someone previously said I think I was partially asleep still. Some of the dreams prior to waking up involved knowing there was people in my house/room or getting attacked in bed and that seriously scared me (I lived in a share house, but always had my bedroom door locked)
I googled it, and it explained why it happened, but for some reason it freaked me out (ghosty spirity stuff scares me), but it eventually went away.

There is a Vietnamese superstition, the direct translation is 'if you play with shadows, ghosts will squash or lie on you at night'. Luckily I never experienced them when I was a child!!

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Doesnt sound related to Sleep Apnea. I dont have it but having been in nursing 21 yrs, I dont recall a single sleep apnea patient complaining of night terrors. I think what you are experiencing are in fact night terrors and/or bad dreams. Get it checked out. It may mean a bit of therapy. Not trying to sound all granola and socks and sandals on you..LOL...whatever it may be, you may need to look into it a bit deeper. I would have blamed medication, but you say you are only on diabetic meds, which do no contribute to night terrors or nightmares.

Either way, get tested for sleep apnea anyway. Might be you have it and not know it. Many people simply try to brush it off, but it can be very serious. It used to be just "sleep apnea" where people might snore a bit at night when they slept, even if they slept on 2 pillows. In the last year the medical world has changed its tune on "just sleep apnea". The official way its diagnosed and treated is Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Keep us posted on what it is...the fact that you are tired means you ARE NOT sleeping well and ARE NOT PERFUSING your brain with blood and oxygen. Look into it.

J

 

[Phoenix]

What an interesting thread.


There is a Vietnamese superstition, the direct translation is 'if you play with shadows, ghosts will squash or lie on you at night'. Luckily I never experienced them when I was a child!!

Could you give me the Vietnamese version of this? I've never heard this before. If I see it written in Vietnamese, I might recognise it or I could ask my family abt it.

Anyway, I *totally* believe in ghosts. I think they are "beings" that are somehow "stuck" in this world that us human beings are in and for some reason they haven't made/ can't make the transition into "the other world". In my family, only my mom (who's now passed away) and I have been able to see ghosts. When I lived with my family, I used to see this black shadow at the end of my bed upon awakening in the middle of the night. Most of the time he (I think it was a he, but am not sure) would just stand there; but some other times, I'd feel really suffocated, like he was lying on top of me! He never actually harmed me or anything, he was just there! I would tell my dad and other family members and they'd laugh it off; that was until one of my dad's friends visited a few years later and he stayed in the same bedroom that used to be mine and when he went to bed, he shut the door but in the morning, the door was wide open and my dad said he looked really pale! He also told my dad he'd never come back to visit or at least never to stay at their house again!!

I've also seen other shadows in my parents' house (sometimes in the middle of the day) and at other places too. Most of time, everyone just dismisses me. My mom was the only that believed me.

 

[Silvia]

What an interesting thread.


There is a Vietnamese superstition, the direct translation is 'if you play with shadows, ghosts will squash or lie on you at night'. Luckily I never experienced them when I was a child!!

Could you give me the Vietnamese version of this? I've never heard this before. If I see it written in Vietnamese, I might recognise it or I could ask my family abt it.

My Vietnamese is super rusty but it was something like "Dùng choi vói bóng, tói bį ma d-è" (the ds is a hard d with the line in it, I have no idea about spellings with the vowels, but it's the accent sound I was trying to write).
My mother used to tell me this when I tried shadow puppets, I was so disappointed watching Play School and not being able to try the cool shapes...

eta: I just realised Play School might only be on TV here, it's a children's show

 

[Phoenix]

What an interesting thread.


There is a Vietnamese superstition, the direct translation is 'if you play with shadows, ghosts will squash or lie on you at night'. Luckily I never experienced them when I was a child!!

Could you give me the Vietnamese version of this? I've never heard this before. If I see it written in Vietnamese, I might recognise it or I could ask my family abt it.

My Vietnamese is super rusty but it was something like "Dùng choi vói bóng, tói bį ma d-è" (the ds is a hard d with the line in it, I have no idea about spellings with the vowels, but it's the accent sound I was trying to write).
My mother used to tell me this when I tried shadow puppets, I was so disappointed watching Play School and not being able to try the cool shapes...

eta: I just realised Play School might only be on TV here, it's a children's show

No, that's fine. I totally understand it. It says: "Do not play with shadows, or you'd be squashed by ghosts at night". I must say I've never heard it before. Are you sure it wasn't just your mom having some fun with you, he he?! ...sorry, I couldn't resist!! Maybe there's such a thing and maybe I haven't heard it but that doesn't mean the phrase doesn't exist in Vietnamese.

 

[Silvia]

What an interesting thread.


There is a Vietnamese superstition, the direct translation is 'if you play with shadows, ghosts will squash or lie on you at night'. Luckily I never experienced them when I was a child!!

Could you give me the Vietnamese version of this? I've never heard this before. If I see it written in Vietnamese, I might recognise it or I could ask my family abt it.

My Vietnamese is super rusty but it was something like "Dùng choi vói bóng, tói bį ma d-è" (the ds is a hard d with the line in it, I have no idea about spellings with the vowels, but it's the accent sound I was trying to write).
My mother used to tell me this when I tried shadow puppets, I was so disappointed watching Play School and not being able to try the cool shapes...

eta: I just realised Play School might only be on TV here, it's a children's show

No, that's fine. I totally understand it. It says: "Do not play with shadows, or you'd be squashed by ghosts at night". I must say I've never heard it before. Are you sure it wasn't just your mom playing with you, he he?!

Haha, maybe it's regional, my parents were from the south. A few years ago I wrote it on FB in the bad english translation and a couple of the Viet people I know said their mothers told them the same thing when they were younger also.

When I googled up the night tremors thing, the saying/superstition was the first thing that came to my mind!

 

[LALove]

Sorry in advance since I'm typing on my iPhone but wanted to help. Basically this is what happens when you wake up while still in REM. Since your body is stuck in REM, you are paralyzed yet can see and hear things as though in a dream state while your body has a few seconds delay in catching up to a fully awake state. It can be very scary. I learned about this in college - my professor was one of the country's leading sleep disorder specialists. I experienced this a few times in high school and relieved to learn what caused it! Once I heard what it was and understood the origins, I never had it again. He said that while it can be scary, one thing that helps is to calm down and remember that it takes a few seconds for your brain/body to wake up. Those seconds can seem like forever but I promise it helps! Hugs!!!

Just go, "OK, I'm stuck in REM. This isn't real. One... Two....three..." It never lasts beyond that! Once you're empowered this way, you will likely never get it again or it will be extremely rare and not terrifying!!!! Hug hug hugs!

Bliss - that's basically what I've read while researching night terrors. Any advice for helping kids come out of one?? Poor DS who just turned 3 has had night terrors since before 1 yrs old. He'll wake up screaming, "I don't want to! NO! NO!!!" and he'll be crying hysterically and he's totally inconsolable. His eyes are open but he doesn't see us and if we try to go to him he "looks" at us (not really seeing us) like we're monsters and is absolutely terrified. He screams for me even though I'm right there. They last anywhere from 15 mins to an hour until he just snaps into the present. It's the most horrific thing I've ever experienced.

OP-- what you've described sounds just like what my son is experiencing. I've researched it to death and can't find any real causes for one to get "stuck" in REM. I do notice it happens more with DS if he's over tired, too hot at night, on certain antibiotics (a week of amoxicillin caused the worst night terrors ever - every night he was on it) or after a big change like when we moved. His ped said he'd most likely grow out of it- but from all the research I've done, a lot of adults experience this too.

They haven't happened in about 8 days now. If they start up again, I'm going to try this solution from Dr. Sears:

Can night terrors be prevented?
The following exercise has been shown to stop night terrors in 90% of children. For several nights, keep track of the time between falling asleep and the onset of the night terror. Then, wake him up 15 minutes prior to the expected time of the episode, get him out of bed and fully awake for 5 minutes. Do this for seven consecutive nights. If the night terrors recur, repeat the seven nights of awakenings.

link: http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/night-terrors

I did try this once about a week and a half ago- I was up around 11pm (usually the time DS has the terrors) and heard him moan really softly so went into his room. He was sweaty and moaning/mumbling something so I picked him up and walked him out of his room. He woke up slightly. After a few minutes I put him back to bed. No terrors that night. I think it helped to wake him before the terror started.

Maybe you can have your hubby try this with you??

 

[Maisie]

Well I don't want it to be ghosts so i'm refusing to believe that one

I don't think my husband would be able to stay awake long enough to wake me up if I am starting to get a night terror. He sleeps heavier than me. I think its a good idea though. I slept with a lamp on last night and I didn't have one. I wonder if thats the way forward. At least till he comes back from being away.

 

[LALove]

That's so good that you didn't have one last night! They sound really awful!

IF they keep happening - maybe you could set your alarm for 15 minutes before they normally occur? Wake up, get out of bed and get a drink of water or something then go back to sleep. Just for a week, like the article said. Maybe it will help break the cycle.

 

[Maisie]

That's so good that you didn't have one last night! They sound really awful!

IF they keep happening - maybe you could set your alarm for 15 minutes before they normally occur? Wake up, get out of bed and get a drink of water or something then go back to sleep. Just for a week, like the article said. Maybe it will help break the cycle.

I will give it a go. I think it happens after about 30 minutes of being asleep... so does that mean I have to set it for 15 minutes from trying to drop off?

 

[LALove]

That's so good that you didn't have one last night! They sound really awful!

IF they keep happening - maybe you could set your alarm for 15 minutes before they normally occur? Wake up, get out of bed and get a drink of water or something then go back to sleep. Just for a week, like the article said. Maybe it will help break the cycle.

I will give it a go. I think it happens after about 30 minutes of being asleep... so does that mean I have to set it for 15 minutes from trying to drop off?

Let's say you go to bed at 10pm and fall asleep around 10:20pm, then I'd set it for 10:40pm. That's about 10 minutes before they happen. You have to kind of guess on how long it takes you to fall asleep.

I'd also keep a night light/lamp on if that helped. (When my DH is gone, I ALWAYS leave the hall light on- but I get nightmares -not terrors- and hate sleeping alone.)

 

[packrat]

I have the loose teeth/falling out dreams also. (I read it has something to do w/our concern about our appearance) The needing to pee but icky bathroom dreams. Sometimes I'm so tired I'm not sure if I'm just dreaming or I'm *really* on the toilet and I'm scared to go b/c I don't want to wet the bed and have to find a way to make sure I'm really awake. I dream about tornadoes now and again. Water and sharks a lot, tho I never see the sharks, I just know they're there. Now and again I'll have weird skin dreams-the most recent was quite a while ago but very vivid..I had reddish orange coral growing out of the backs of my calves. It sounds so ridiculous but I have bad skin issues and I'm sure it's connected. That one just left me feeling gross when I woke up.

Sometimes the sleep paralysis and it hasn't happened for a long time, but I used to frequently have an addition to the paralysis-a black floaty wispy shape that felt "evil" floating around me and then it would go into my nose.

My brother and I both used to have night terrors..I remember even being into my 20's and just opening my eyes and launching myself out of bed, hitting the wall to turn the light on. I don't do that now, but I do have dreams that when I wake up I have to lay there and really concentrate on searching my mind to see if it was real or not.

Before the kids came if I got scared at night, we had a pit bull and I'd have her sleep in bed w/me.

I've never "seen" anyone/thing upon waking, but I've had the weird sensation of someone sitting on the bed behind me. And dreams where I dream that I'm dreaming and wake up to find that what I dreamed was real, and then wake up to find what I dreamed was real..like a dream in a dream in a dream-it's the oddest feeling.

 

[Silvia]

That's so good that you didn't have one last night! They sound really awful!

IF they keep happening - maybe you could set your alarm for 15 minutes before they normally occur? Wake up, get out of bed and get a drink of water or something then go back to sleep. Just for a week, like the article said. Maybe it will help break the cycle.

I will give it a go. I think it happens after about 30 minutes of being asleep... so does that mean I have to set it for 15 minutes from trying to drop off?

Are you really stressed/tired or does it happen when you go to sleep later than your usual bedtime? It used to happen to me when I slept late and be worried about getting up for work in the morning.
Are you eating anything right before bed? (apparently cheese gives people weird dreams)

 

[mrscushion]

That sounds quite frightening. I am plagued by the succubi Circe mentioned, have been all my life. Often with that is a free-falling sensation like my body is falling away from me then I wake or jump with a start, my heart racing.

I have the free-falling sensation, too, fortunately it is short and I can go right back to sleep -- it is not so bad that I have an issue with it.

DH has what you describe -- hallucinations upon waking. We think they track back to a major and traumatic accident he had some years ago. We have not done anything about it.

I agree with the night terror characterization, that seems to be what it is.

 

[Maisie]

I'm not stressed out. The only thing that is different in my life at the minute is that I have given up sugar. I started 21/2 weeks ago. About the same time as the night terrors got really bad. I had them before but not very often. Now its every other night. I don't eat anything processed or anything with sugar in it. I don't suppose its connected but thats the only thing that has changed recently.

 

[Bliss]

Hi LALove!!!!! Your DS sounds like a very bright little man with tons of creativity and imagination! I wish I had advice for little ones! Maybe you can remind him to say a phrase like "Monsters are not real" until he wakes up? Or if you're religious something like "Jesus loves me!" Maybe tell him to say it 10 times? I would imagine before he was able to say it ten times he would wake up? Or some parents give their kids a "magic" bracelet or piece of string around their wrist to remind them that they are protected and safe. Something empowering - a phrase to repeat until the monsters are gone might help!!! Hugs!

Also, it seems to happen more to people who sleep on their backs so maybe try to encourage DS to sleep on his side? Sleeping on one's left side is supposed to be better anyway since it helps circulation and puts less strain on the heart!

 

[akmiss]

What an interesting thread.

A few years ago I used to constantly have something similar to 'night terrors' or 'hypnagogic hallucinations', especially when I was lacking in sleep and wanted to sleep the most.
Basically I found if I was super super tired, my body would fall asleep but my mind would wake up again and I would feel like a buzzing sort of sensation I guess like an electric current. I used to get so scared as I couldn't move or make any sound or scream, and I wanted help so badly. Sometimes it would feel like there was someone squashing me. After quite a while (months) some nights I was able to 'control' the buzzing feeling (but I was not be able to get rid of it completely), but be able to move it around my body... I would eventually be able to shake it and move or wake up, but as someone previously said I think I was partially asleep still. Some of the dreams prior to waking up involved knowing there was people in my house/room or getting attacked in bed and that seriously scared me (I lived in a share house, but always had my bedroom door locked)
I googled it, and it explained why it happened, but for some reason it freaked me out (ghosty spirity stuff scares me), but it eventually went away.

There is a Vietnamese superstition, the direct translation is 'if you play with shadows, ghosts will squash or lie on you at night'. Luckily I never experienced them when I was a child!!

I used to have the same sensations during sleep paralysis! The feeling of an electric current running over my body and not being able to move was terrifying. I would also hear voices and conversations in unknown languages. I seriously thought I was going crazy. This would happen every night for about a month during my freshman year in college. During the scariest episode, I realized that that energy I felt vibrating over me was actually my "spirit" trying to leave my body. A strange sort of sleep-induced astral projection I guess

I told my mom about the incidents and she also suggested a nightly affirmation about not fearing such experiences and having control over them if they did happen. For whatever reason the terrors stopped soon after. Good Luck and sleep well