Strange, dreamlike thing last night...

[jess]

ok, last night, I was having a typical boring dream, so I thought. Midway through a conversation with this woman in my dream ( I have no clue about what), I woke up, rolled onto my back from my side, clutched my throat (which was pounding) and screamed.

Loudly.

For an extended period of time.

I was awake, fully aware of my actions, but 'not in control' of them.

I freaked out both my dog and my husband. Which is how I know I didn't dream the scream (which is what it felt like immediatly afterwards).

Any armchair psychologists wanna take a crack at what the hell happened?

[pescifish]

Originally posted by jess:
<strong>I was awake, fully aware of my actions, but 'not in control' of them.</strong> I'm no armchair psychologist and probably the best I can do is say "Wow! What a frighteningly unsettling experience." But. The line I quoted above is one that seemed to reflect my mother's situation during her ragaholic and altered reality episodes. I recall a thread you opened here about being involved wih a pathalogical liar. Is it possible your waking up episode and your full cognizance of it is so that you can experience first hand doing things that you cannot control/stop, such as my ragaholic mother or a pathological liar might?

[jess]

wow. um. ok.

I do like being in control of my actions, so I can see how that may have played into it. However, I can't see that as being the whole thing.

I would pick out other ways to 'not have control' than to scream for so long in the middle of the night.

It was a very disturbing incident, especially since I now feel I dreamt it all, except for the fact I have a witness.

I wonder if it has anything to do with stress relief--- like a yowling dog. I am pretty vocal about my emotions, and I will scream and howl when I feel the need to. Must freak out the neighbors...

thanks for your comments.

[Elbereth]

Well let's see... you know when people wake themselves up when they think they're falling in a dream, or wake up suddenly like from a nightmare... maybe your thing was something like that, only much more dramatic. I know I've woken myself up before with a little yell, and wasn't sure if I dreamed the yell or not.

Maybe you didn't like whatever the woman was saying and yelled, which woke up your conscious self and caused it to yell, but since you weren't fully awake you were still kind of like an observer...

Just my thoughts. I don't think it's a big enough deal to worry about, but it's certainly interesting.

[Jagged]

i do stuff like that all the time ;) well maybe not exactly but i wouldn't worry too much about it.

sounds like you were feeling very threatened and scared by something. anything in your life right now that you feel that way about?

[Philosoft]

There's a lot of genuine bullshit out there about lucid dreaming, but try <a href="http://www.dreamviews.com/index.html" target="_blank">this site</a> to start. The about.com psychology site has some stuff but it's either Freudian wackiness or van Eedin testimonial. Not that useful.

[Jackalope]

Actually, it sounds more like night terrors to me. They're more common in children, but it can happen to adults as well. It seems to be related to disturbed sleep levels.

Try checking out this section of the
<a href="http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section14/chapter173/173e.htm" target="_blank">Merck Manual</a> and see if the description of Night Terrors fits what happened.

[sakrilege]

According to this site, <a href="http://www.bestdoctors.com/en/conditions/s/sleepdisorders/sleepdisorders_081500.htm" target="_blank">Sleep Disorders</a>, there are over 80 types of disorders. I wouldn't worry about your experience unless it becomes a recurring event.

Interstingly, I experience sleep paralysis-the sensation during sleep onset or on arousal from sleep that one is awake but unable to move. This is classified (in this article) as a sympton of Narcolepsy. This was news to me.

[sakrilege]

Originally posted by jess:
<strong>It was a very disturbing incident, especially since I now feel I dreamt it all, except for the fact I have a witness.</strong>


I would say that while you felt like you were fully awake at the time, only part of your brain was 'out of sleep'. Since it now feels like a dream surely part of it was.

[trunks2k]

While we're on the topic of dreaming. Is anyone able to scream in their dreams? I seem to be completely unable to do three things in my dreams:

1. Scream
2. Drive a car well
3. Punch/hit/kick someone. Well, I can but my arms/legs seemed weighed down and a soft breeze could hit the person with more force than my punch.

Whenever I find I can't do the above things, I realize I am dreaming. Which is almost every dream.

[Defiant Heretic]

Well, I don't know about psychology, so here's some biology, or anatomy or something.

When you dream, your body is actually paralyzed. This keeps you from physically acting out the dream. Sometimes this process malfunctions which causes sleepwalking, etc. Other times it fails to disengage, and you remain paralyzed temporarily after waking up.

It's possible that this is somehow related. Or maybe it's not. What do I know? I’m not a neurologist.

[mecca777]

Originally posted by Jackalope:
<strong>Actually, it sounds more like night terrors to me. They're more common in children, but it can happen to adults as well. It seems to be related to disturbed sleep levels.

Try checking out this section of the
<a href="http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section14/chapter173/173e.htm" target="_blank">Merck Manual</a> and see if the description of Night Terrors fits what happened.</strong>

That was my first thought. My younger brother (20 years old) has suffered on and off from NT for about six years now, and they sometimes take the form of waking up, feeling paralysed, and screaming or shouting for help until it passes. At other times they're a bit more subtle, and a lot less pleasant.

A word of advice, though; you might not want to mention night terrors if you go to see a doctor. Let them bring it up, if they're going to; my brother found that the doctors at his local surgery either (a) knew nothing about NT or (b) treated him like a hypochondriac and told him he needed more rest.

Quote from my brother after being told that NT were "all in the mind": "Yes, the Blue Man and the lightning are in my mind. But that doesn't apply to the bit where I wake up, screaming at the top of my lungs at four in the morning, with a heart-rate of 130 and shaking like an epileptic..."

[Stabby-]

Sleep Paralysis, as defined by Principles and practice of Sleep Medicine, " This is a terrifying experience that occurs in the narcoleptic on falling asleep or on awakening. Patients find themselves suddenly unable to move the limbs, to speak, or to even breath deeply. This state is frequently accompanied by hallucinations.

This is just one sympton of Narcolepsy. Usually it begins with puberty, most reported symptoms occur between ages 15 to 25 years.

It could be just a single odd thing, but if you're sleepy, have Cataplexy (sudden weakness in muscle tone usually associated with strong emotions) then you should find your local sleep doctor for an overnight sleep study and a Multiple Sleep latency Test.

stabby------------

[Jagged]

Is anyone able to scream in their dreams? I can't voluntarily scream while dreaming but I went thru a short period (maybe a month) a couple years ago where a lot of weirdshit happened with waking up in the middle of the night, and on several occassions I was screaming. I was probably about 23.

[sakrilege]

Originally posted by Stabby-:
<strong>It could be just a single odd thing, but if you're sleepy, have Cataplexy (sudden weakness in muscle tone usually associated with strong emotions) then you should find your local sleep doctor for an overnight sleep study and a Multiple Sleep latency Test.
</strong>


I am often very sleepy in the afternoon (starting in college ~ '75) and I seldom wake up feely really well rested. I've always just assumed lifestyle consequences. I need to do more research.

[PopeInTheWoods]

Originally posted by Defiant Heretic:
<strong>When you dream, your body is actually paralyzed. This keeps you from physically acting out the dream. Sometimes this process malfunctions which causes sleepwalking, etc. Other times it fails to disengage, and you remain paralyzed temporarily after waking up.</strong>
I'll occasionally throw a real punch or kick while dreaming, much to my wife's detriment. It was also no fun in college when I had the top bunk (Mr. Foot, meet Mr. Ceiling)....

Andy

[neosand2012]

I guess I should consider myself lucky to not be able to remember my dreams!?!?

Have you experienced any major changes in your lifestyle or surroundings recently?

This might not apply to you, but stay away from drugs...honestly...psychological imbalances and drugs can have some pretty nasty consequences.

Good luck

Scott

[THE_LEGENDARY_HQB]

Greetings Jess,

Are you an artist? Do you consider yourself more creative than the "average" person? What you're describing sounds like amore extreme version of what I've had to deal with my entire life.
The reason I asked if you were an artist, was because these phenomena seem inordinately common amongst artists, and creative/intellectual people in general.
As a musician/sculptor, my circle of friends are mostly just as freaky as me, and it never fails to amaze me just how many of them have experienced the exact same things that I have.

When I have a lucid dream, it can be a thoroughly terrifying experience. Whatever is in my head, seems to get projected in front of me when I open my eyes {If you're unaccustomed to it, you'd swear you were completely awake, which makes it even more unnerving.} I routinely see shadowy figures, hear people calling me, see my alarm clock moving, and feel pressure against my skin {so much so, that I've woken my fiancee from a sound sleep by turning the light on, and looking for phantom mice or worse, trying to figure out if there's someone behind the walls!}. When I was younger, I suffered nearly every night from sleep paralysis, complete with hallucinations. Not just visuals, mind you, but strange buzzing whirrrrring noises.

In trying to diagnose your problem, ask yourself...
1. Have you ever experienced anything remotely like this before?
2. If so, has it only happened when you were in a certain emotional state?
These are good starting points for you. Of course, this might be a complete anomaly for you, and I may be substantially contributing to the methane levels in the atmosphere by talking out my rear, but, hey, it can't hurt. Good luck, and pray you never see shadow people. They ain't cool. :)
Respect,
Shon HQB

[Zadok001]

I'm a lucid dreamer, but I had that problem for a while. Actually, that problem was why I started working on lucid dreaming to begin with. If you can teach yourself to recognize when you're in a dream state, it's relatively easy to start controlling your physical body independant of the dream; i.e., you'll still wake up with your body trying to scream, but you can prevent it from actually happening.

(Btw, lucid dreaming is a wonderful distraction from everyday life. :) It can be incredibly entertaining. For a long time, I had a recurring nightmare about being trapped in some ancient house with some creature that wanted me very, very dead. Once I started dreaming lucidly, I had the same nightmare. Except this time, I decided about halfway through that I didn't want to deal with it, and that I was going to catch a bus to somewhere else. A bus proceeded to drive into the room and run the monster over. :) Fun stuff.)

[thebeave]

Originally posted by THE_LEGENDARY_HQB:
<strong>Greetings Jess,

Are you an artist? Do you consider yourself more creative than the "average" person? What you're describing sounds like amore extreme version of what I've had to deal with my entire life.
The reason I asked if you were an artist, was because these phenomena seem inordinately common amongst artists, and creative/intellectual people in general.
As a musician/sculptor, my circle of friends are mostly just as freaky as me, and it never fails to amaze me just how many of them have experienced the exact same things that I have.

When I have a lucid dream, it can be a thoroughly terrifying experience. Whatever is in my head, seems to get projected in front of me when I open my eyes {If you're unaccustomed to it, you'd swear you were completely awake, which makes it even more unnerving.} I routinely see shadowy figures, hear people calling me, see my alarm clock moving, and feel pressure against my skin {so much so, that I've woken my fiancee from a sound sleep by turning the light on, and looking for phantom mice or worse, trying to figure out if there's someone behind the walls!}. When I was younger, I suffered nearly every night from sleep paralysis, complete with hallucinations. Not just visuals, mind you, but strange buzzing whirrrrring noises.

In trying to diagnose your problem, ask yourself...
1. Have you ever experienced anything remotely like this before?
2. If so, has it only happened when you were in a certain emotional state?
These are good starting points for you. Of course, this might be a complete anomaly for you, and I may be substantially contributing to the methane levels in the atmosphere by talking out my rear, but, hey, it can't hurt. Good luck, and pray you never see shadow people. They ain't cool. :)
Respect,
Shon HQB</strong>

Oh man, you guys have such cool dream experiences! I want some too! All I get are the boring, run-of-the-mill "going to college class in your underwear" and being chased by thugs while I try to run away with my big huge immovable lead feet.

[Max Bane]

Originally posted by Jackalope:
<strong>Actually, it sounds more like night terrors to me. </strong>

I thought night terrors don't occur during REM? Sleep level 4 or something.... straining to remember psychology class.

[THE_LEGENDARY_HQB]

Rich n' savoury greetings,

For the record, as I was reading over my previous post, I remembered that what I experienced was not, technically, "lucid dreaming", because I had no control over the events. I've always called what I experience "waking dreams". Anyone here know the formal term for the phenomenon?
Stay Gold,
The Legendary HQB, Esq.
47th Viscount of Tewksbury & Earl of Oranjestad.

[Darkblade]

Originally posted by Zadok001:

(Btw, lucid dreaming is a wonderful distraction from everyday life. :) It can be incredibly entertaining. For a long time, I had a recurring nightmare about being trapped in some ancient house with some creature that wanted me very, very dead. Once I started dreaming lucidly, I had the same nightmare. Except this time, I decided about halfway through that I didn't want to deal with it, and that I was going to catch a bus to somewhere else. A bus proceeded to drive into the room and run the monster over. :) Fun stuff.)

lol!

Anyway, I don't often have dreams, at least not lucidly enough to often remember them well or for long. I do remember that in regards to some of my most recent dreams I immediately awoke when an obvious logical inconsistency occurred. I found that interesting.

[pescifish]

That is interesting, Darkblade!

Do you find it comforting or frustrating (or ?) when that happens? I might actually be disappointed if my dreams weren't full of nonsensical associations and illogical situations.

[Darkblade]

Originally posted by pescifish:

That is interesting, Darkblade!

Do you find it comforting or frustrating (or ?) when that happens? I might actually be disappointed if my dreams weren't full of nonsensical associations and illogical situations.

I don't really find it either comforting or frustrating. I suppose I could take it as an indicator of my obsession with logical thought for anything of importance. I don't find it frustrating because I don't have many dreams, and those that I have aren't usually anywhere near as interesting as those reported by others. So nothing was probably lost when I awoke from those dreams. It would be nice if I could have more, more interesting, dreams, though.