Wife experiences strange mind anomalies...any ideas?

Not sure if this is the correct forum or not, mods feel free to move if necessary.

Last night my wife experienced some stange and scary mental disturbances. She had laid down in bed after spending a few hours preparing some lesson plans for work the next day (she is a science teacher). Immediately, she realized that her mind was racing and it was going to be a bit before she could transition to a state of calm before she could begin to fall asleep.

Instead of her mind relaxing, she said it seemed to accelerate. Thoughts continued to race to the point where she describes it as, "feeling like all her nerve synapsis in here head were firing at an incredible rate, and it was loud...and even with my eyes open, it all remained...as if I could see the sounds,the sound was overwhelming...it was almost like a loud humming sound...I was scared because I didn't know what was going on."

Thats not all, there was something that she was able to hear during all of the "static". She says throughout all of the distortion she was able to hear voices, and they were the voices of her mother and grandmother. They were not talking to each other. One would talk, then the other, but in an unrelated way. She says, "I'm not sure what they were saying because of all the background noise, but I could recognize their voices...it was almost like trying to tune in to a radio station that is distorted." Both her mother and grandmother are alive and well.

She tells me that she was wide awake through all of this, that she was able to move, and she had just laid down. She wasn't tired, she was forcing herself to lay down because it was getting late and was past her usual bedtime. It all started as she realized it would be hard to sleep with her mind racing...then it all began to accerlerate out of control. I had fallen asleep a few hours earlier, as I have to get up earlier than her. She also estimates that the entire scenario lasted between 3-5 minutes..but I'm guessing that it may have just seemed like that long. I'm not sure..

She isn't sure what to attribute it to. She is in sound health as far as we know...Recent annual checkup was fine...Never any evidence of a mental disorder (other than marrying me), and never has anything like this happen.

Any suggestions, other than the obvious "go get checked out", not that its a bad idea. If it happens again she will, just curious if anyone else has experienced something like this before.

Thanks in advance...

-lions to lambs

How old is your wife? I am going to go ahead and say have her go get checked out if this happens again and in any way impedes her daily life. Sometimes before I fall asleep I'll hear things like my name being called, or sounds like I'm driving or in a restaurant. I think that's me being half asleep though.

reply to post by Domo1


She is 30. Personally, I have had a few strange occurances as I was falling asleep or having just fallen asleep.
It was like an explosion, or shotgun blast right inside my head. It was occompanied by a flash of light, and I woke up immediately. I did a google search on it and it is referred to as exploding head syndrome. Apparently, not much is known about it other than there doesn't seem to be any negative side effects which are known.

reply to post by lambs to lions


Well her age would rule out some of the more concerning issues that could arise. I've actually had what you described and frequently get that jerk (quiet trolls!) thing right before nodding off. Hypnic jerk I think. I don't think it sounds too serious, but keep an eye on it and make sure she is honest about any abnormal feelings/thoughts. Could she have been a little panicky about her class? Being a teacher is hard work.

reply to post by Domo1


True, stress was the first thing that I thought of. It was just so unusual with the voices and the length of the experience.

Could it be hypnogogia? I see things instead of hear things usually. For some odd reason, I spend a while there compared to most people. It's a special state of consciousness in between sleeping and waking that one usually passes through quickly.
Hypnogogia: Wiki

Sounds Hypnagogic imagery is often auditory or has an auditory component. Like the visuals, hypnagogic sounds vary in intensity from faint impressions to loud noises, such as crashes and bangs (exploding head syndrome). People may imagine their own name called or a doorbell ringing. Snatches of imagined speech are common. While typically nonsensical and fragmented, these speech events can occasionally strike the individual as apt comments on—or summations of—their thoughts at the time. They often contain word play, neologisms and made-up names. Hypnagogic speech may manifest as the subject's own "inner voice", or as the voices of others: familiar people or strangers. More rarely, poetry or music is heard

Stay Calm and don't dwell on it too much. That won't help anything. It's probably no big deal.

Originally posted by Domo1
How old is your wife? I am going to go ahead and say have her go get checked out if this happens again and in any way impedes her daily life. Sometimes before I fall asleep I'll hear things like my name being called, or sounds like I'm driving or in a restaurant. I think that's me being half asleep though.

Reading the OP, the one question racing through my mind was - how old is your wife?

reply to post by RainbeauBleu


Sounds plausible. She is still very adament that she was fully awake having just laid down...

reply to post by lambs to lions


possible panic attack. stress can release itself in wierd ways. It isnt really a release, but a warning that she should learn to release her stress in a healthy way, or it will remind her in an unhealthy way. Her job is very stressful, and she doesnt have time to deal with it, thats the point.

If it occurs again, it might be worth discussing with a neurologist. There is a form of seizure called a "simple partial seizure" in which the person remains fully conscious while experiencing motor, sensory, or other changes. The effects vary widely from one individual to another. Here's one type of simple partial seizure:

Sensory seizures:These cause changes in any one of the senses. People with sensory seizures may smell or taste things that aren't there; hear clicking, ringing, or a person's voice when there is no actual sound; or feel a sensation of "pins and needles" or numbness. Seizures may even be painful for some patients. They may feel as if they are floating or spinning in space. They may have visual hallucinations, seeing things that aren't there (a spot of light, a scene with people). They also may experience illusions—distortions of true sensations. For instance, they may believe that a parked car is moving farther away, or that a person's voice is muffled when it's actually clear.

Source: www.epilepsy.com... (It's one page -- worth a read.)

Also note: some people just have a seizure out of the blue for no apparent reason, and then never have another one.

All the best to you & your wife!

I was lucky enough to experience a manic episode with psycosis once, and in the beginning I heard voices in bed.

Does she have a manic personality?

reply to post by lambs to lions

reply to post by lambs to lions

It sounds a little bit like sleep paralysis with the exception that she could move her body.

reply to post by GENERAL EYES


After reading your post she says that your experiences and explanation reasonate with her. Your 'high gear' expression made a lot of sense to her. Thanks for the advice, hopefully, what happened is something very simple indeed.

Originally posted by lambs to lions
reply to post by Domo1

 

She is 30. Personally, I have had a few strange occurances as I was falling asleep or having just fallen asleep.
It was like an explosion, or shotgun blast right inside my head. It was occompanied by a flash of light, and I woke up immediately. I did a google search on it and it is referred to as exploding head syndrome. Apparently, not much is known about it other than there doesn't seem to be any negative side effects which are known.

This is common an goes back to our primate liveing in trees ancestry..Its a defence mechanism whereupon our brains feel we are falling asleep in a inaproprate position or location.An sends an alarm to wake us up instantly.Ive experianced this often as well like an explosion in your ears an blinding flash wich jolts you awake...If I were on a narrow tree branch its more apt to send me tumbling to the ground than save me though.As it frightens the daylights out of me..

reply to post by ecossiepossie


Thats a really interesting idea. I wouldn't have thought of it...I love the rational explanation, it makes sense.

reply to post by RainbeauBleu


Sounds a lot like the hypnagogic state to me too. I can slip in and out of it with ease. Some people have speculated that Rudolph Steiner utilised it often in his later years to tap into esoteric knowledge and heightened awareness. Whether or not that pursuit is legitimate, i'm not sure, but is certainly interesting to play around with. However, if your wife feels that it is hindering her in every day life it is probably worth chatting to someone about it.

It may also be worth having a look into Stanislav Grof's work on spontaneous psychospiritual emergencies. All the best to both of you .

Do the basics if you haven't already done them, check BP and heart rate. And check for any side effects of any meds she may be on.

reply to post by lambs to lions


This happens to me before I have an episode of sleep paralysis. In fact, it's how I know an episode of SP is coming on. The noise in my head like a humming, banging, static, popping that gets louder and louder until it's absolutely screetching to the point that it hurts my ear drums. If I stay still, the sound will suddenly stop and I am in sleep paralysis. If I get up before the sound stops and grab a drink of water it usually goes away.