weird thoughts when trying to sleep.

[nowhereboy]

This seems to happen when im feeling very anxious and trying to sleep. My thoughts start to make no sense and no matter how hard i try i cant seem to think straight. Il have an imaginary conversation with someone, or just wave off in a weird impossible to explain  thought. This is really scaring me, because i dont feel in control. Ive heard that this can be somthing to do with being half awake and half asleep? I worry that it will start happening all the time. Is this an offshoot of anxiety? or some weird sleep problem? Like i say, it doesnt seem to happen when im not anxious. Or if it does i dont notice or remember. Anyone else expirience this?

[JayUhdinger]

That's actually pretty normal. There are several theories about what happens during this period when you just fall asleep. Some scientists believe the daily clean up begins and many different areas in your brain are active (if you look at it through an fMRI) so its no surprise some awkward things come to your mind. Some people just aren't that aware of it because they drift into deeper sleep phases more quickly.

Just don't let this bother you or you worry about your anxiety and end up in the anxiety circle that keeps on going and is a negative downward spiral way of thinking. Enjoy the ride and the weird things that come to your mind. It's perfectly fine and normal :)

[nowhereboy]

thanks dude 

[Cuchculan]

This is the time when you are more prone to lucid dreaming. They can seem so real. Because you are not fully asleep. Part of you can still sense the wakened world. As the other poster said, what is going on with dreams, is like a big clean up. Imagine everything you say or heard on an average day. It all has to be processed. Into two groupings. Long term memory ( things we need to hang onto ) and short term memory ( things we don't need to remember ). Bit like a giant computer sorting files out. But things are more vivid when just falling asleep or just before wakening up. You can even have dreams that you imagine really happened to you. I love those sort of dreams. But they can't harm you. Is part and parcel of of the sleeping state of mind.

[nowhereboy]

Yea, is it normal for this to come on with anxiety tho? Is it just coincidence that its happening now? Ive never noticed it before. Interestingly i can lucid dream a little bit. Had an amazing one about the perfect girl the other night, so its not all bad lol! Lucid dreaming was always an interest of mine but somthing i could never do. Yet now it seems i can control my dreams a little more. Its very odd, kinda scary, kinda cool. I have quit drugs in the last few months aswell, ive heard a few people say you dream better when you stop taking stuff.

[christina10778]

I know exactly what you mean.
I have the same issues.......intrusive thoughts that make no sense when I'm trying to fall asleep.
And it does seem to happen more frequently when my anxiety levels are up.

I think it's something that happens to everyone regularly.
But people like us, who suffer from anxiety, are more sensitive to it.
We notice things that most people don't think twice about.

Plus, our minds are constantly going already as it is.
Then you add any movies, news, conversations, etc. that happened during the course of our day
and you have a powerful mixture.

For instance, I've actually been laying there in bed before with my eyes closed and suddenly the thought
of this tall scary, hairless creature with long sharp claws coming at me from out of the restroom pops in my head!
My eyes pop open (because, ya know, that really could be happening, lol) and my mind starts racing.

And I too have actually had the imaginary conversations with random people....even strangers before.
 
It's weird but it's normal.
I think we just look into things to much 

[nowhereboy]

For instance, I've actually been laying there in bed before with my eyes closed and suddenly the thought
of this tall scary, hairless creature with long sharp claws coming at me from out of the restroom pops in my head!
My eyes pop open (because, ya know, that really could be happening, lol) and my mind starts racing.

And I too have actually had the imaginary conversations with random people....even strangers before.
 
It's weird but it's normal.
I think we just look into things to much 

thanks for being so honest. Sounds exactly like the kind of stuff i go through! Youve put my mind at rest, which is a god send at the minute 

[TiredMind]

I'm glad I read these posts, I just started having problems in this area. I've always been a very heavy sleeper, but that's changed here lately. I typically don't have problems falling asleep, but I wake up very early in the morning and as I lay in bed trying to go back asleep, I find myself in that stage as described above as half asleep/half awake. While in this stage it's like my brain will not stop and I become very uncomfortable and very anxious. It's a very weird and somewhat scary feeling.

I hope this doesn't continue.

[conspire]

i can relate my ;anxiety' is at its worst at night

[anytimesoon]

Hey I get that too. Mentioned it to my sleep neurologist who explained a lot of weird things can happen in the transition from wake to sleep and sleep to wake. He says anxious people are just more acutely aware and notice things that others don't. He didn't seem the least bit concerned.