What am I experiencing?

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I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder 5 or 6 years ago and have been to multiple therapists and tried multiple medications, the latest of which is actually working (and I am quite thankful for) but there’s something that still happens to me that no doctor or therapist can pin down, and it’s really scary and I don’t know what’s wrong with me.
Even though my anxiety is mostly controlled, I do still have attacks, and they’re usually unpredictable and untriggered. When this happens, I can tell, because my perception of time goes out the window. Things move in a way they aren’t supposed to. People talking are louder. I can’t tell how far away things are. Sometimes I even hear screaming, or music. Or I smell things that aren’t there. Nobody ever talks to me, so it’s not schizophrenia. Nobody knows what it is.

And the other thing is that sometimes I have nightmares, night terrors really, and they will be so bad that when I jerk awake from them, I can’t move. My body is asleep, but my brain is awake. My body is still in the nightmare. I can’t even change the pace at which I’m breathing. I can’t talk. I’m just trapped.

What is this? It’s surely neurological. There’s some sort of problem nobody has found yet. I’m tired of my perception of reality getting destroyed at random points in the day.

Category: Tags: asked July 26, 2014

6 Answers

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The part about waking up in you sleep yet not fully waking up sounds like sleep paralysis, it happens to most people at some point but it seems very odd that it would occur so often. I've had it once as far as I can remember and I found it pretty terrifying.

Has it always been like this or did it start after you began taking the medicine (that works)? Could be a side-effect. I think that's the key question though, how long have these kinds of anxiety attacks and nightmares been going on for?
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Have you looked up sleep paralysis?That might be it..... And if your current medication is working then, keep taking it, hopefully things will get better :)
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I get that sleep paralysis/night terror thing a lot. Especially lately. I have sleep apnea so maybe you have that as well. As for the warped perception attack thing, have you ever taken recreational drugs? Especially hallucinogens? Maybe it has something to do with that.
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That's fascinating.
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I'll have to answer this one in several parts, haha. Here goes.

The Giggle Blizzard: It definitely is really terrifying, and unfortunately I did have these attacks before I took the medication. Actually, it's more than half the reason I got on it. Not only would it happen so often but it would happen without fail several times a night, almost like clockwork every 30 minutes. I've had an anxiety problem starting about when I got into middle school, so for probably 6-7 years, ish. The sleep paralysis attacks only started about 3 years ago after I had a stalker and some sexual harassment. But I've been having perceptual alterations since I can even remember. Even as a little kid. Totally untriggered and largely untied to anxiety.

violet: I do believe it is sleep paralysis. That part is mostly under control. The perceptual shifts aren't, though.

Barbie Gillespie: I don't think I have any respiratory problems, but I will give it a look. And yeah, I do frequently (not regularly) smoke marijuana, probably 1-2 times a month. I've never done hallucinogenic drugs, and I've actually found that weed has done more for my panic and anxiety than my actual prescription medication. And also, I can pretty much guarantee you it's not causing any of those (well. it causes perception alterations. but in a good way.) because the ones I'm worried about have been happening since I was way little. Didn't smoke then. But that's a totally reasonable question. Fortunately I'm not having acid flashbacks or anything. Haha
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awesomeness...