hypnagogic hallucinations - Sleep Disorders Message Board

haggismaker · 02-13-2009, 03:01 PM

My 10 (nearly 11) year old daughter has started experiencing bizarre sensations when falling asleep (and waking) whereby her perceptions of the things around her lose all perspective, at once being too far away to touch (or disappearing into infinity) while simultaneously being so close and 'blubbery' (her word) that she feels nauseous. From what I've read this seems to be a form of hypnagogic hallucination. What can we do to help her? (I remember having similar terrifiying experiences at about the same age).

S.O.S.meansHELP · 02-16-2009, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haggismaker

My 10 (nearly 11) year old daughter has started experiencing bizarre sensations when falling asleep (and waking) whereby her perceptions of the things around her lose all perspective, at once being too far away to touch (or disappearing into infinity) while simultaneously being so close and 'blubbery' (her word) that she feels nauseous. From what I've read this seems to be a form of hypnagogic hallucination. What can we do to help her? (I remember having similar terrifiying experiences at about the same age).

This is one of the first times I have heard an explanation of something I sometimes experience when falling asleep. Ever since I was a child, even more so when I was a child, my perception of things become funny, where things around the room almost feel like they are coming at me, or are larger or closer to me than they actually are. There are also times when I'm sleeping where things seem heavy, and I almost get dizzy and feel like I'm really small and all the things around me are larger. When I get this sort of dizziness, I become almost to the point of being nauseous.

I remember when I was a child, I would actually wake up and actually walk out of bed and see things like a cabinet or something, and was very very terrified of the object, as I felt like it was larger than normal and almost coming at me.

As for what helps with this, I am not sure, I've been searching all my life for an answer, and when I try to explain this to people, no one ever understands what I am talking about. This is one of the first times, I've ever heard of someone having some sort of experience somewhat similar to what I experience. Let me know if you ever figure out what is going on, and if you ever find any treatment, or explanation for this.

tiredpoet · 02-16-2009, 07:31 AM

What you both described can be symptoms of narcolepsy - just a thought.

light the world · 02-16-2009, 01:52 PM

Get her to see a sleep doctor or a psychiatrist right away. If these are hallucinations they can get worse but to be honest I don't really think they are. But check with a psychiatrist anyways.

Toonces1 · 02-22-2009, 08:19 PM

I used to have hypnogogic hallucinations in my 20s. It was quite severe and at the time, traumatic. I was prescribed trazadone, and this helped, but if I forgot to take it, it seemed to get worse. Luckily, this gradually went away. I would try to get help for your daughter, because these can be really scary and I would not wish them on anyone. I thought at one point I was becoming psychotic. Luckily, I haven't had this experience in several years.

Interestingly, when I hear people describe getting abducted by aliens, they seem to be exactly describing an experience with hypnogogic hallucinations. It feels like being paralyzed, but still awake enough to think you know what's going on and where you are. You cannot move your body and feel like someone is watching you or standing over you. It's crazy, I know, but I thought I would mention it.