seeing things while half awake..anyone

[thatsme36]

I have a horrible sleep problem and am hoping I am not alone.  This may have been posted about before...I hope.  I see things, I think I am completely awake though, like I haven't gone to sleep yet...then I will see people come into my room, jump on my bed, run and hide behind things.  I have seen an old lady in a blue sweater smile at me and point upwards, I have seen a little boy hide behind my TV.  I have seen scary things and birds flying around my room.  Flying spiders and mostly people.  I wake up my hubby almost every time screamimg someon is in the room.  The other night I woke him up about a mouse in the bed....there was no mouse.  I think I am awake, they seem 100% real.  I know I am not dreaming.    I used to think I was haunted or possessed or someone who could "see dead people", I know crazy but so is what I see.  The other night a man was standing next to my bed, I saw him so clear he smiled at me, them jumped at me...I again woke my husband...no one.  AM I crazy?  I looked up and heard iit was some type of "hypnogogic hallucination".  I do have bouts of terrible insomnia, also have restless leg.  ANyways, anyone can help with this or am I crazy?

[sixpack]

I don't think I've had anything as vivid as you describe.  But I sometimes wake or somewhere between awake and asleep at night or early morning, I'll look at the ceiling fan and lay there trying to figure out what it is?  What is that bird doing in here or something like that.  Or look at a shadow on the wall thinking it is a person or something.

My best guess for you is that you aren't really awake or maybe just partially and your mind still has some dream mode going.

[tigerpaw]

Not to lesson your visions but you could be having issues with your deep sleep.  I would recommend you see your dr for a sleep med.

I would be awake all night and never get sleep and have the most vivid dreams.

So give it a try, I sleep like a baby now and the med works awesome.

[GoodOlWalt]

Sometimes, and I have experienced this, there is a limbo between awake and asleep when dream fragments can be heard and seen when you have opened your eyes. Sounds crazy but its nothing to freak out about. Its just a slow pause in that middle state between awake and sleep and you just need to make an effort to wake up fully.

[morro]

I think what you're having is a form of lucid dreaming, but in your case you're not as lucid of aware that you're dreaming, and hence your confusion. I've had similar experiences too... don't worry, you're -not- crazy :)

What happens is when you're dreaming, your brain is reacting to your dream as it would do with any normal event you'd come across in real life. Sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, all of it. The only differences are that 1) the front part of your brain which controls logic is off, and 2) the nerves controlling movement, mainly down your spine, are put to rest so you don't actually start running and jumping in sync with your dream while asleep. So in actuality, dreams are awfully realistic... the only reason why everyone doesn't experience this is, well, actually everyone does. It's just that most people don't remember most of the time.

All that is probably happening is that you're recalling these dreams in the midst of their realistic-ness... it probably is extremely disturbing, but if you can learn to become fully lucid or aware in your dreams, like learning to identify unrealistic images or having a small test of some sort (cheek pinching is popular) so you can tell if you're dreaming or not to remind yourself that you're in a dream.

-morro

[crazylady]

thatsme36,

Actually I would suggest you see your Doc, I don't know what kinds of meds you are on but it could be some kind of allergic reaction to a med or maybe your taking to much of something or they just dont mingle with each other good in your body. Don't freak out though, just make an appointment so you can talk to him about what's going on.

[chet]

Referring to that state, not awake and not asleep - that in between state, is when I have my strongest anxiety.  It seems that anything not right in my life, finances, relationship, work, aging, health, those issues bore into my subconscious and have a field day. Panic in a snooze.  It's in the twilight zone, not awake (fully conscious) and not when I'm asleep (no dreams) just in that hazy, lazy cloud.  When I become fully conscious, I'm strong enough to use logic to subdue those thoughts. The problem is that this occurs about 2 hrs before my normal wake-up time and it's strong enough to disturb my deep, restful sleep. Anyone else suffer from this dilemma?

[zerog]

I have a horrible sleep problem and am hoping I am not alone.  This may have been posted about before...I hope.  I see things, I think I am completely awake though, like I haven't gone to sleep yet...then I will see people come into my room, jump on my bed, run and hide behind things.  I have seen an old lady in a blue sweater smile at me and point upwards, I have seen a little boy hide behind my TV.  I have seen scary things and birds flying around my room.  Flying spiders and mostly people.  I wake up my hubby almost every time screamimg someon is in the room.  The other night I woke him up about a mouse in the bed....there was no mouse.  I think I am awake, they seem 100% real.  I know I am not dreaming.    I used to think I was haunted or possessed or someone who could "see dead people", I know crazy but so is what I see.  The other night a man was standing next to my bed, I saw him so clear he smiled at me, them jumped at me...I again woke my husband...no one.  AM I crazy?  I looked up and heard iit was some type of "hypnogogic hallucination".  I do have bouts of terrible insomnia, also have restless leg.  ANyways, anyone can help with this or am I crazy?

[Irene]

well Ive had a similar experience, but not that bad.. i see spiders like crawling on the walls and near by me.. its gotten so bad where once i cried... i was terrified. so i defiantly know how you feel.

does anyone know what this is called yet?

[justanothernervousgirl]

Sleep hallucinations can be a side effect of narcolepsy.

I was diagnosed with narcolepsy 4 years ago, and had some very crazy hallucinations. I was thrilled to learned that they were a side effect of narcolepsy (I just thought I was going crazy).

Hope that helped a little!

[mella1217]

I have been seeing things while half asleep most of my life. I see things floating or shadows walking past a closed bedroom door and I always say things out loud while i'm sleeping that i have no recalection of saying. Just lastnight, i woke up asking my boyfriend if there was anything above my head. He kinda just answeres me and knows to leave me be and i will fall back to sleep. I'm wondering why i'm always waking up and saying things or seeing somethings i can't make out, or after i wake up more, notice i was talking but don't know what i said and why. I am a christian women who doesn't welcome the devil, so why do i  half wake up scared and confussed?

[Narconat]

Sounds similar to symptoms linked to Narcolepsy.
ie. vivid hallucinations during sleep onset or upon awakening; and brief episodes of total paralysis at the beginning or end of sleep

I often experience the paralysis upon waking, in addition to the extreme dreams! I have on several occasions kicked the crap out of my husband, because I was dreaming someone was trying to harm my children. What is worse...I often slip right back into the dream despite my husband waking me or taking a walk around the house "to make sure i'm awake"

I recently told my husband I should write a book about the dreams I've had! It would be fascinating science fiction! LOL

Don't know if you are experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness or not? Also a symptom of Narcolepsy. But, it took me falling asleep at the wheel to get to the dr., do a sleep study and get diagnosed.

So...talk to your doctor. If he/she doesn't listen....keep trying or seek another dr.
Best wishes!

[shan444]

hello everyone am new,i have been going through similar thing as you,whenever i sleep i feel like am not sleeping,its like am seeing everything and when i wake up i feel like i wasnt sleeping,its terrible.i even ofto force myself to sleep,meaning i have to thinking before i can sleep.i think about sickness like brain tumor,and other.i get symptom of brain tumor,like rapid eye movement,increase and decrease eye pupil,body jolt,tintling in body,confusion,short-term memory,strange feeling in the eyes,difficult balance sometime,disturbing thoughts,lightheaded or heavyhead.i ave more symptom and i have been told its anxiety by doctor but never been check for brain tumor.i dont get constant headache jus minor which doest affect me,and i dont get nausea and vomiting.i am now complicated because i have too many symptom.take my advice its anxiety jus please dont let it get bad as mind.take care

[NYButterfly]

OMG reading everyone's posts in hear has made me feel less nutty. I had no idea how much anxiety can cause. I go to a therapist but this hasn't come up in discussion otherwise I would've known. I'm relieved but still scared. I hate when I wake up thinking I see stuff on the ceiling or on the walls. Creepy stuff and the jolting and stuff gets me going. Ugh....I really need to talk to my therapist now but I am really really relieved I have an answer of what this is and that it's not something else.

[Blah7886]

Hmmmm...I've had something similar to this before as well. I remember having a few "dreams" where I was half awake or whatever and I was "dreaming" that there was a party going on in my room while I was laying in bed "sleeping". I could've sworn there was about 20 other people in the room besides me.

[Ambrosia]

thatsme36

Oh it soundīs terrible to see so mutch. I see things to, when Iīm trying to sleep. But I have had a psychosis once before. And then I did see a lot of scary things.

For me it is 2 answers to why you keep on seeing all people and animals and stuff when your almost at sleep. Either you a medium. Or either you have a psychosis. Itīs so tough to think your crazy. But your not. Either you have a sickness (psychosis) or your a talented medium. Itīs good to to be enlightened to. The world needīs enlightened people.

Best Regards

Ambrosia :) 

[readingsprite]

We're on an anxiety forum--many of us here are on meds--Has anybody mentioned yet about being on antianxiety meds which can cause hallucinations? My sister reports that this happened to her maybe two years ago. I didn't ask her to go into detail--she just said, I started hallucinating and my doctor switched me to another med right away. So yes, this does happen!

Come to think of it I will find out which med that was and be sure to avoid it myself, now that I have diagnosed anxiety disorder.

[Princein]

What you are having is hypnagagic hallucinations and they are quite common.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia#Sights

[Pazuzu]

Couldn't this all be a form of Sleep Paralysis? http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/paralysis.html

I've been experiencing this too lately and I know that my anxiety levels have increased over the past couple months which is when I started having a similar issue of seeing things and even not being able to move. Getting treated for anxiety or narcolepsy or whatever your doctor thinks the cause may be might help.

[autumnmoon]

I used to see the same kind of things but it was always my father at the bottom of my bed just looking at me and then he would turn into something even more uglier it scared me half to death.  I get sleep meds now and I dont have the same problem I just have really vivid dreams.

[Cronus88]

Yes, I know exactly what it is you are describing. It's called Sleep Paralysis and it occurs in a state of half-awake half dream. That's why it seems so real. Because part of it is!  You "wake up" in your bed/room and can see the room around you, however, the dreaming part are the crazy hallucinations and sounds that you experience. It's almost always accompanied by a sense of dread. A nickname for it is "old-hag syndrome" because a common hallucination, at least in Western culture, is an old lady or hag sitting on your chest looking at you, since a common symptom during sleep paralysis is a feeling of a weight on one's chest or difficulty breathing. The reason you can't really move is because there is a switch in your brain which makes it so that you are paralyzed while you are in deep sleep, so you don't act out your dreams and hurt yourself when you're sleeping. Sometimes this switch doesn't completely shut off for whatever reasons when you are waking up, and thus your brain is confused and mixes the dream world with reality.

The very first time this has happened to me, I was in high school and still Catholic and thought for sure it was something sinister or evil. Years later after doing research and experiencing it a lot more (and also losing my faith for separate reasons) I came to learn that this is a perfectly normal and natural scientific phenomena. It explains most people swearing they've been abducted by aliens and such.