So, I'm really relieved to finally find out that there is a term that explains the madness I experience when I'm trying to fall asleep! I'm not sure if this happens to anyone else, but within 1 hour of me falling asleep I will wake up and have very vivid hallucinations that freak me out (typically I see a shadow of a man standing right in front of me)! I typically end up screaming really loud and jumping out of bed! Poor Erik.. He says it happens a few times a week!
The other day Erik was listening to his favorite radio show, Opie & Anthony, and a Doctor called in and was talking about something called Hypnagogia. Erik said it sounded a lot like what was happening to me so I looked it up and lo and behold there is an explanation to what is happening to me!
Hypnagogia, the deeply relaxed state of consciousness that occurs shortly prior to falling asleep, has been recognized for hundreds of years as a source of creative thought and intuition. The phenomenon of the hypnagogic hallucinations which occur in this period are characterized by a slide show of highly condensed, discontinuous, and bizarre imagery of faces, figures, animals, print and writing. Also accompanying this is often hearing one's name being whispered, hearing music, and undergoing termporary physical paralysis.
Hypnagogia is in fact very common, occurring in 72 to 77 percent of the population, many are unaware of the phenomena.
I'm glad to find out that I'm not alone in this craziness! But, I sure wish it would stop!
I just wanted to post this in case anyone else is suffering from this as well.... H
1 comment:
who would have thought that opie & anthony would really be good for something some day?!?!?! :) Just kidding and don't tell E I said that :) That's crazy & it would scare me to death too - hopefully it won't last much longer.
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