Surroundings becoming weird and fast/intense/loud

I first experienced this weird sensation when i was a child and had a bad fever/illness in bed. Suddenly my entire surroundings in my bedroom became very intense and everything around me became fast and almost louder in my mind, although they weren't in reality.

Ever since then i sometimes (about once every few months) experience this odd sensation and it can become a bit worrying and strange.

The whole room seems to have a new feeling to it- everything im doing whether it be walking or typing seems to intensify and become louder yet the actions are very exaggerated and almost speed up (only perceived this way). I find it very difficult to explain fully but i'm worried it's some early signs of a neurological condition or something?

It usually only onsets when i'm alone and have a lot of silence for a while...?

Does you know what this could be, please?

[Kamikuso]

OH MY GOD!! I though it was only me. I know EXACTLY what your talking about!!!! It hasn't happened to me in years, but all of a sudden at this very moment its back. So I couldn't help but search it online once again and behold. I find you! MAN my typing sounds obnoxious right about now! This has definitely never been documented. It's soo trippy. I really hope we find more people like us!

[arehk]

I have also experienced this. As with you, the first time I encountered it was when I was a child with a fever. Lately I've been having it more frequently, and I'm eager to find out what it is.

[Kamikuso]

123que double posted this thread and on the twin thread someone comments on it claiming it to be a "simple partial seizure". I've since read up on SPS's and the symptoms are only vaguely similar and seeing as all three of us have the exact same symptoms I doubt it is a simple partial seizure. The symptoms are much to specific to simply be pushed into some vaguely similar preexisting disorder.

[reodango]

wow.... i just experienced the same thing seconds ago and out of desperete need of an explanation i googled this..
im actually doing my project for school right now that is due tommorow and ive been sitting in front of my computer for several hours of silence.
out of no where, my mind kind of wandered and my ears focused on the smallest noises. typing keys are like banging, and the sound coming from my computer booms. everything is magnifyed in perspective, and ringing within my head.
It hurts my ears, and basically the slightest things creep me out..
I dont understand it but ive had these moments about once each year. I think ur right about the silent part. it usually happens when i am stressed out? i think and have not slept for a long time.

i remember my first time was when i was little, and I visited the doctor and got ct scans or whatevver they are called but never quite got any specifics.
they thought it was something to do with anxiety? i dont really remember but il ask my mom tommorow... seeing its 3 oclock now.. haha back to hw.

[fatpaat]

This happenned fairly often when I was a child. Now in my 20's, it happens only sometimes. I had not thought about it much, until the other day when it happened fairly intensely. I kind of just sat in silence and absorbed all the very fast, exaggerated sounds around me (and loud, rapid thoughts in my head), until it all became too much, and I forced myself to get up and go for a walk. Just getting up to leave the house was intense - walking gently to the door seemed like I was stomping, and moving at the speed of light, but I knew I wasn't. I could hear my thoughts yelling "I'M WALKING TO THE DOOR I SHOULD GO FOR A WALK I'M TURNING THE DOOR HANDLE" etc. After a couple of minutes of walking, and listening to my iPod, it subsided.

It's a hard thing to describe, so when I actually found people online describing EXACTLY what happens I was pretty amazed. I can be sitting in a quiet room, maybe with some people in another room talking, but then it all seems so loud, fast and intense. The people talking in the other room seem like they're yelling, my own thoughts are loud, and my slights movement seems exaggerated and agressive. It's not painful, and usually not concerning - actually quite fascinating, like for that period of time it is happening I am connected to my surroudings and myself in a different way.

Usually happens during illness/fever/stress/tiredness. Usually happens when I've been quiet for a while.

[kerrtelli]

Same thing with me guys.  When I saw the post I said, no way!
I am usually on the ms forum, no diagnosed yet but seeing this is indeed trippy!

[WildFan16]

Wow! There are others out there with this! As soon as I read the description, I was like “That’s exactly it!” I knew there had to be, but I’ve never been able to find anything on it before and my husband has no idea what I’m talking about even when I try to explain it to him. When I was younger (middle school and even into my teens) I would get short bursts of this. Mostly when I was concentrating on something like writing. It would almost be like I was sucked into a “super concentration” mode, but it would disappear almost as fast as it would appear. I would never get it for more than a minute. As soon as I would acknowledge it was there almost, it would be gone. I couldn’t keep it if I tried. Now snap forward a few years. I am now 25. I had sudden onset chronic, debilitating migraines when I was 21 (which I think is a result of taking Accutane since I’d never had one before taking the drug and all of a sudden I was getting them every time I took it towards the end of my treatment… but that’s another story). So, my neurologist put me on Topamax. Ever since I’ve been on the Topamax I’ve experienced these “episodes” in more frequent spells and in longer duration. When I first started getting them and realizing that simply not concentrating on them would not make them go away, I found out that talking out loud to myself  would sometimes snap me out of it. Now that won’t even do it. The only way to get out of this weird crazy world it puts me in now is to go somewhere completely quiet and void of any external stimulation (I will sometimes even put in earplugs) and just focus on being calm and still. I find this sort of “resets” the cycle and the world feels “normal” again instead of all loud and fast and weird. I probably get them once every month or two and it usually happens at night right before I’m trying to go to sleep while lying in bed. I’m trying to switch over from Topamax to Inderal because I think the Topamax has definitely increased these and I don’t like them. The last one I had made me sort of paranoid… and I am NOT a paranoid type of person at all. Of course I told myself I was being stupid and just calm down and go relax and I was fine, but they seem to be getting worse.

However, in response to it possibly being “simple partial seizures”: They could be (description sounds plausible in some cases), but since mine actually INCREASED while taking Topamax (a seizure medication that just happens to work on migraine patients too) I thinking that would not be the case. If they were seizures, they should have decreased or at least not gotten worse while taking the Topamax.

[amarbach09]

I've had this problem since I was a toddler and it always happened during fevers. im 20 now and it doesn't happen as often but when it does it's when I can't sleep, sick, or have been staring at a tv or computer screen too long. it feels like I'm hyper sensitive with sight sound and touch. everything is intensified and almost faster and harsher and is perceived as scary in my mind. it's not a pleasant experience and I want to know what it is

[Anoushlowton]

I have exactly the same thing, quite rare but when it happens once it tends to happen a few times in that week untill iv forgotten about it..
Its like everything is exaggerated in my head and my thoughts are shouting.
Would LOVE to know what this actually is

[mommawege]

I've had these episodes for over 50 years and never found a doctor who would listen....well, not quite true.  I did find one who said that there are a group of people out there who have these regularly and treat them as spiritual awareness sessions....but I didn't quite go for that.  Glad to know I'm not alone.  Mine also include increased textural awareness, like being acutely aware of the tastebuds on my tongue and how they feel in my mouth or how my fingerprints feel when I rub my thumb and finger together.  The episodes most frequently occur when I'm either in bed or driving on long trips.  Wish SOMEONE had an answer.  Meanwhile, I just try to change whatever it is I'm doing - take a drink of water, chew gum, anything to change my focus.

[mommawege]

I've had these episodes for over 50 years and never found a doctor who would listen....well, not quite true.  I did find one who said that there are a group of people out there who have these regularly and treat them as spiritual awareness sessions....but I didn't quite go for that.  Glad to know I'm not alone.  Mine also include increased textural awareness, like being acutely aware of the tastebuds on my tongue and how they feel in my mouth or how my fingerprints feel when I rub my thumb and finger together.  The episodes most frequently occur when I'm either in bed or driving on long trips.  Wish SOMEONE had an answer.  Meanwhile, I just try to change whatever it is I'm doing - take a drink of water, chew gum, anything to change my focus.

[spencermax]

I was having a cigarette at the window and staring across at my old Junior school in the far distance. I could here the children at play and remembered my time there about 40 years ago. I remembered symptoms that I had that where exactly the same as yours: My surroundings becoming intense, noises louder, speeding up. All quite disturbing.

My experience these days is similar but more like a deja vu, which when happens I can't quite pinpoint. It's a feeling that's just out of the reach of understanding, something I can't grasp. I don't know how to explain it because  of it's elusive nature. It's like a familiar thought that just falls short of formulation, a memory that fails to fully manifest. Just a strange state of mind. It usually disappears in minutes followed by a mild headache and perspiration.

[blakey0]

its hilarious, that there's so many people who have this same thing, i just had my most intense episode about 10 minutes ago when i was shaving, shaving is usually relaxing for me, but rather than just a light shave it was more like an intense, angry rain forest massacre with metal music and the crazy screaming of mundane things in my head like..."HMMM BETTER TAKE A BIT OFF THE MOUSTACHE.......I"LL DO MY SIDEBURNS TOMORROWW!!!...."  lol. i saw a doctor once but i found it impossible to explain and was recieved with a blank stare, just as i had been by friends and family over the years trying to explain as best i could my 'episodes' to absolutely no avail. Once i was gardening and the feeling came and lasted for over 10 minutes, i found that although everyone came at me at a million miles and hour and all my thoughts were screaming throughout my head, i could go about my gardening with a speed and precision that i hadnt experienced before which led me to think that this sensation may be, not a problem, but i good thing! i feel that the anger and intensity is a result of recieving, or percieving information around us, not at a normal rate, which is about 1-2 microseconds after it actually occurs, but actually AS is happens!! therfore this state of mind is not stress, seizure, or epilepsy, but a reversion or even perhaps a 'de-evolutionary' leap in perception. it seems scary sometimes but its never done me harm and its happened as far as i can remember, it could be advantageous! so i say embrace and cultivate it, i am! peace.

[spencermax]

You absolutely nailed it. The "HMMM BETTER TAKE A BIT OFF THE MOUSTACHE.......I"LL DO MY SIDEBURNS TOMORROWW!!!...." bit is exactly how I remember it. A leap in perception's an interesting observation. thanks for sharing :)

[Ummnoor]

I am glad some other people experience the same thing that my son has sometimes. I wish I could help him more. He sometimes gets this feeling of intensified noises, and he said 'chaos' in his head, when he is tired, wants to sleep, and on this occasion yesterday, he also had a headache. I think it may have something to do with screens as he spent too long in front of computers yesterday, even though I try to give him alternative things to do as much as possible. I am hoping that there is s non drug solution. I will check my herbal books as there are various things that can help with relaxing the body and mind gently yo make sleep possible, but these noises in his head stop him sleeping. Last night he just moved bedroom and it stopped the chaotic feeling/ noises. He seems to think it always happens in his bed in this house, no where else! Very strange. I expect it could happen elsewhere but never has. Anyway- any more solutions or explanations would be welcome!

[adamtheadam]

I just had a fairly intense episode of this a moment ago (hasn't happened for many years) and decided to google it. Its very strange that so many seem to identify with it yet it has no name or definite reasons for occurring etc.

It used to happen a lot to me when I was a child, coupled with waking up from very intense, abstract dreams, the closest thing I can think of to compare them to are the trippy space-gateway scenes from 2001: A space odyssey - colours rushing towards me very intensely from some far away horizon, but in monochrome.

I had been up all night writing an essay for uni, staring at a screen for a significant length of time in silence which seems to be a similar environment to what has triggered everyone else's experience.

I tried to put on some fairly ambient electronic music to calm myself down but it sounded so intense in my head, the tempo seemed much faster and what should have been relaxing sounds were screaming, almost cacophonous to me.

I started watching some TV which seemed to work in calming myself down, watching people talk seemed to bring everything back to its natural tempo and volume. Although it may have just coincidentally come to an end at the same time.

Very, very strange, but at least its good to know you're not alone in your experience.

[adamtheadam]

There's a thread here: http://www.****.com/archive/index.php/t-159608.html that describes something fairly similar that also used to happen to me a lot during childhood, and still occasionally does.

It's a long discussion but apparently it is called 'macrosomatognosia' or 'Alice in Wonderland syndrome': http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_syndrome

Although not exactly the same as what everyone has described, it seemed relevant.

[stillsearching1121]

Unbelievable!  I was just trying to explain this feeling to my husband the other day.  I had this quite often as a child...maybe several times a year.  Sometimes it would happen frequently and then I would go months without experiencing it.  I have never told anyone about it prior to telling my husband the other day.  I have had it as an adult but very infrequently.  I had convinced myself it was some sort of panic attack although I have never had any anxiety issues otherwise.  I have had a slew of odd neuro sx on and off for almost 6 years and I'm on the Limboland rollercoaster currently.  Don't know if this experience/sx has any significance but maybe I will mention it to my doc.  Good to hear there are others out there that experienced this.  Now I have to go back and read all of the comments...I was just so thrilled to hear someone else had experienced this I jumped straight to commenting. Ha!

[Jonki27]

hmm interesting i also have this only reason i looked up the Symptoms course this came to me last night get this many time and this all started when i was a child and had a fever been to many doctors and no one could at lest tell me the cause of this symptoms are everything sounds real loud i feel as if everything even my own moments are moving faster then normal and when i have been in this moment for some while my ear starts ringing loud and this normal happens to me when there is lot of silence and i maybe readying and before i know it i get this weird feeling that i cant focus on the word just the whole page and then this trance starts happening and it fears me to have this and not know what is it or what it could do to me

[Jess123454321]

YES! This happened to me when I was a child. I would all of a sudden hear everything in my world go loud & everything felt like it went a million miles an hour! I used to cry & be really afraid of it. When I tried to explain to my parents what happened they couldn't understand & I couldn't explain  it.
I'm now 21 & it happens every few years. It happened last night, but I was already feeling dizzy & nauseated due to my period.
I agree it never lasts longer than a minute, and but what is it caused by?!!!

[benji579]

Hey!

I'm so so with you guys. I never knew what this was, and not even yet, but
i never thought that i would find so much people with the similar problems!
I also got this when i was a child, im 18 now, also during fever this
"schizo thing" would go nuts and everything went like BERSERK thinking i was in hell, or something. It's really weird, though, it's like
all senses become intensified and everything out there wants to scare
me, sometimes this can be triggered partially by loud voices/ brutal voices or just something schizo in general.

[benji579]

one more thing i discovered was the "Alice in wonderland syndrome(AIWS)".
thanks to adamtheadam who replied to this thread about 2 months ago, seemed very relevant to my "syndrome" that i've had. It said somthing about
THIS IS COPIED DIRECTLY FROM WIKIPEDIA: "AIWS affects the sufferer's sense of vision, sensation, touch, and hearing, as well as one's own body image.

The most prominent and often most disturbing symptom is that of altered body image: the sufferer will find that he/she is confused as to the size and shape of parts of (or all of) his/her body.

The eyes themselves are normal, but the sufferer 'sees' objects with the wrong size or shape or finds that perspective is incorrect. This can mean that people, cars, buildings, etc., look smaller or larger than they should be, or that distances look incorrect; for example a corridor may appear to be very long, or the ground may appear too close."

VERY RELEVANT: Another symptom of AIWS is sound distortion, such as every little movement making a clattering sound. This can make a person with AIWS paranoid and afraid to move.

[doublem_93]

I'm just mind blown because, like many of the other posters, this has happened to me numerous times and I had always thought I was the only one. The symptom I experience most vividly is my thoughts and how they feel like they're being shouted within my head. My focus becomes insanely acute and I begin to feel and acknowledge every square inch of flesh on my body. Every sound I hear is magnified within my eardrums and foggy memories from the distant past begin to manifest themselves within me. I hope a doctor can one day tell me what this is that I'm experiencing.

[AwareAmerican]

With no warning and while I’m sitting in silence, I hear intense but indiscernible voices in a near scream on top of one another in my mind. It’s a rage of sound, so fast and disturbing that I have to stop what I’m doing (like reading or writing) and just sort of “zone-out” for a minute, trying to understand what the voices are saying. It’s not only voices, there is some kind of background sound that I can’t identify, but the voices are loudest. It doesn’t feel connected to me per se, like I can just observe the intensity without feeling much of anything but intrigue and maybe slightly frightened. It kind of fades in and out, but every time it fades in, it gets more intense (louder and faster) and then abruptly stops and I’m left in a sort of deafening silence due to my efforts to try to pay real close attention in order to understand what the voices were so excited about, wishing I could hear it for just a little longer just to figure it out. This just happened for the first time since I was a little kid. I'm 29 now. WTH is this?

[tails878]

Wow this was just happening to me and so i did a quick google and tyis page came up im so glad im not the only one but i really as you all do too wish to know exactly what this is any doctor that reads this your imput would be GREATLY apriciated!!

[dvinmn]

To WildFan16: You mentioned:
"When I first started getting them and realizing that simply not concentrating on them would not make them go away, I found out that talking out loud to myself  would sometimes snap me out of it. Now that won’t even do it. The only way to get out of this weird crazy world it puts me in now is to go somewhere completely quiet and void of any external stimulation (I will sometimes even put in earplugs) and just focus on being calm and still. I find this sort of “resets” the cycle and the world feels “normal” again instead of all loud and fast and weird."

While I haven't experienced this in several years, when the symptoms appeared the last few times I found THE most effective remedy for me was headphone music...in the dark, if I remember correctly. It must be something about the nature of the episodes; after all, they seem at least partially auditory in nature (things getting obnoxiously loud, frenetically paced, etc.). It must be something about music ... pacing, driving beat, volume. I think it was pop music I listened to, also. The only reason I mention that is because I think something like symphonic (classical) music might not work. Not evenly paced enough or consistent enough volume, perhaps.

Hope this helps.

[gee7751]

i first got this when i was a child and it went away and now has come back! i get it when im sleeping and these noises just come into my head and becomes real load and then this anxiety feeling comes1 the only way i could get rid of it was by talking to someone or turning the tv on! the silence just becomes to much and every thing becomes a lot echo in my head! all things that everyone else has explained on here is just like how i feel!  i really thought i was the only one and i keep of thinking there is something wrong i just hope its not dangerous! hope everyone finds a way to beat this my thoughts are with you all  

[mattyboom]

Wow... I am 36 years old and for the first time in my life I find that other people have experienced exactly what I have. I haven't felt this sensation for some years but just thought about it for some reason. It first happened when I was a young child and can relate the onset to having a fever and/or very bad tonsillitis. Sometimes it would happen while I was sitting still, like in a bathtub or playing quietly on my own for a period of time. It never scared me but I knew that it was something unusual for some reason. I guess it just felt that way. As I became an adult it pretty much went away except for a few times in my 20's in which is sort of freaked me out. Totally fascinating to hear others experiences and putting into words the exact sensations I have felt - time feels like it speeds up, sound increases and perhaps "feels" aggressive in some way without hearing any actual words or voices. Lasting for a minute or so only and then coming back to ordinary time. Sometimes a change in spacial perception also and the feeling that the room is out of perspective or something. I hope you all realise that it's nothing to be scared of and for anyone that reads these comments, to know that you are never alone... Even if we may never be able to meet or connect in the real world, know that we are all human and there is a virtual "hand" being held out to let you know that what you have felt is ok and nothing to worry about!

[joey153]

i have this to. it happened to me when i was about 10. im 14 now. and i know exactly what you're talking about. its scary, and intense. i dont know what made it happen, but it has not happen again since. im very hyper sensitive to certain noises too.
           it happened after a high temperature. hope to find more people with this. thanks

[Puddle1000]

To be honest i thought it was only me having these, i could never find a post about this in my life! If anyone wants to discuss this, my twitter is "Parislakee" it is pretty cool to see you all describing exactly what happens!

[Rebe1963]

I remember having this as a child.  It was not related to anything that I was aware of, no fevers, etc.  It would happen as I was falling asleep.  All of a sudden sound would become distorted, speed up, and become very loud.  Another symptom I would have is my skin/body would feel like a "sponge".  Sometimes it would be related to the sound distortion, sometimes not.  This never really frightened me, I was so intrigued by it.  I never did tell my parents as I thought they would not believe me.

[pheebs66]

I get this too, mostly when I was a child and it happened quite regularly. I'm not 17 and it hasn't happened for a couple of years. This always used to creep me out and I used to describe it to my mum as it sounding like people were having an argument in my head but not with words. Everything just sounded really angry. It's crazy that so many other people experience it too! I'm glad I'm not alone

[SpeakerForTheDead]

I wrote an article about my symptoms. For years I have suffered with this and as a child could not describe the way I felt. I found this thread only this afternoon and reading through some of your posts has reassured me, in that I now know that I am not as unique as I thought. Here's what I wrote on my 'episodes'.....

I am now 33 years old and it has been around 4 years since I last experienced it thankfully. It all started when I was a very young child and I wasn’t able to describe accurately what was going on in my head to anyone back then. Now I am going to try to write down my experience as best as I can.

I don’t recall the first time but I remember it happening frequently while lying in bed as a child. Silence became unbearable, but noise was even more distressing. Every noise or word spoken (even my own) seemed louder than reality, sounded aggressive. Even my thoughts were loud and were talking at me. Every noise was against me and cut me deep. All noise that is, except the music recorded on a VHS cassette. I would go downstairs in the middle of the night and play the tape, which had 80s pop music recorded on it. Other tapes didn’t have the same effect. At first it would sound just as hurtful to me as the noise of my footsteps, or the sound of my cough, or the creek of the opening door. Like each tone had been designed with the sole purpose of destroying me. But then the familiar noise gave me something to focus on and suddenly, without realising when it had actually happened, I would realise I had returned to ‘normal’ again and go back to bed hoping I wouldn’t experience another ‘episode’ for the rest of the night.

During these ‘episodes’ I would feel utterly helpless. My limbs would feel like they belonged to someone else, they felt thinner. My slightest movement, whether that be turning over in bed or scratching an itchy hand would drive me almost literally insane. I would lie there, squeezing my eyes tightly shut, determined not to move an inch, determined not to hear my own thoughts for fear of I knew not what.

I lost all sense of perceptive reality. The floor seemed closer to me, rooms appeared longer, every word spoken and every action taken appeared to me in fast forward mode. Everything around me was happening quickly, but I was moving slowly. Everything became magnified; the quietest noise became the loudest bang, the briefest flicker of a plant leaf would seem sudden and vicious, the noise of the TV button when pressing it would seem hostile, someone quietly walking downstairs sounded like someone urgently pacing downstairs, aggressively and purposefully, people moved differently - faster, sharper and aggressively. Every movement, every noise and every person was out to get me. I knew that in my conscious mind the reality, which I had lost, held different thoughts for me and I sought desperately to rediscover that reality.

It was terrifying for a very long time. During periods when it was at its worst, I would dread going to bed for fear of it happening and would lie awake hoping it wouldn’t happen. It felt like a conscious madness, chaos in my head. The feelings were indescribable. Although most prominent as a child and as a young teenager, these ‘episodes’ have stayed with me infrequently throughout my adult life. The last one unexpectedly happened not in silence, but in the middle of busy Havana. Like all the other ‘episodes’ it passed, but was nonetheless just as terrifying. More so perhaps because I had forgotten about them. A thing of my past hidden away in a brain cell I had no reason to access.

Casting my mind back to how I felt during these ‘episodes’ brings me dangerously close to experiencing some of these feelings again. I listened to noises intently when I started writing this, I heard them magnified, but not as intensely as before, I willed them to stay away. Then I plugged my headphones in to my laptop and played some music to keep those thoughts away. I looked at my wrist carefully there; it still feels like mine, for now. I know everything isn’t trying to get me, I only hope I can fend them off.

[Kyoumi]

For me it everything especially sound just get annoying fast and i feel really annoyed. I thought I was the only, going crazy or something. I had it a few times only when i was a kid, but I'm a teen now and I have it almost one in a week in the past month or so. Having it right now as I'm typing. And I'm going insane

[skotsoad]

Ive also had this since I was a child and thought I was the only one, its great to see others who suffer, but I wish it had a name or diagnosis. Ive also been to many doctors who havent been able to tell me anything about it. It has slowed down since my 20's and will happen maybe once or twice a year. I had a look at the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, which seems to have similarities but I dont think thats what it is, the size distortion of objects isnt something I have experienced when it happens, not that I can remember of anyway

[Jimbo860315]

Yip I also experience this thing! Always happens when I'm about to go to sleep alone in my room!! I know when its coming I start feeling weird and my heart starts pounding! As it intensifies everything that's I do is extremely fast to me, anything is loud everything is loud even when I talk to myself in my head its LOUD and like my dog that was in the same room as me her breathing seemed loud and double pace! I get a weird fear that I won't be able to get back to reality and always want to get out of the feeling as soon as possible! Its happened 4 times to me this year, I'm a recovering drug adict and have thought that maybe I was lossing my mind due to the drugs I have taken! Glad to see that others have the same thing!!! Peace people, this to shall pass!!!!

[biscuit172]

Just wanted to add that I also experience this. I had it a lot when I was a kid, only very occasionally now that I'm in my 20s. Its like all the sound gets more intense somehow. Like it sounds louder even though you know its not. The sound just seems more aggressive or something. I saw someone describe it like when you watch a film and in the film someone is listening to incredibly loud deafening music, and even though its not coming out of your speaker that loud you know its supposed to be really loud... or something like that. But it really does feel like the sounds are attacking you or something.
I've never really been that worried about it or told anyone, it always just fascinated me. Just had a burst of it then so thought I'd google it.

For me its almost always at night, when I'm getting ready for bed or just about to go to sleep, and usually lasts about 15 minutes....

[ZazRussell]

I get this too ! So strange exact same symptoms never spoke to any else with it before wow !

[jesuschrist777]

Look up the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome also know as Todds Syndrome it sounds alot like it.  My daughter has the same thing.

[Dspurlock]

Just happened to me at work... It's almost like déjà vu, but everything got extremely clear and focused. The only words I can come up with are 'more real'... maybe? Almost as soon as I became aware of it it was gone, but I realized its happened before. So I googled as well, I'm glad I'm not the only one!!!

[adderkad]

same, but i do experience fear, and i am afraid to get a fever because i don't know why, but this image of my mom, driving over me with a like portable thing that you flat out new roads with, and when i touch my fingers together it feels like i am touching like a wire from a pair of headphones, and it's extremely uncomfortable, this also started after a fever, as a child, it happens at random though, i would say like once a month, or at least 12 times a year, doesn't last long, happened to me yesterday and we had a practical welding test, that was probably related to little sleep, but i get it like 2/3 times when i play blacklight retribution with no sound around, and if you find this scary, go find a mirror and have a staring contest, works for me :p

[beedee15]

I've been dealing with this since I was a kid; I'd try to fall asleep but i'd see scary images in my head that would get realllly big and then really small along with the intensity and loudness. Like a nightmare... that's what I always thought these were... or anxiety attacks!!

Now, I just have the loudness and intensity, my heart beats faster, noises seem louder and faster and sharper... its pretty scary. I noticed it happened a lot during math class in high school but then it went away for a little bit but they have come back every once in a while, but have come back every day for about a week or two.

I know what "Adamtheadam" was talking about with the space horizon thing... that would happen to me when I was a kid.

BUT!!! I have recently been put on Topamax (like someone posted about earlier) and now these episodes are happening almost everyday... Glad I'm not the only one.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU! I REALLY HOPE THIS GETS BETTER AND SOMEONE FINDS OUT WHAT IS WRONG!!

[marissa420]

That makes complete sense. Because when it happened my fingers always felt really weird. And as a young child I would think of them as toothpicks or something. And when it happened when I was about 12 or so I wouldn't know what to call how my fingers felt I just knew it happened when the "Screaming" started in my head and now I'm 14 and I still get the random outbursts. I was never afraid of them or anything. I just didn't understand what I was going on. I thought it was normal. And for me as well it started when I was ill.

[KidButtons]

Just had one of these episodes for the first time in maybe a decade. It's reassuring that others have had the same experiences, but also frightening that it may be the sign of a physical/neurological deficit. As far as I can remember, this was also the longest occurance and the most intense. I'm tired & I've been extremely bored so I was playing solitare on the comp. for nearly three hours, after which I shut it down, had a cig outside & had a glass o water (incredibly thirsty). When I laid down, all was quiet & lucid & that feeling of extreme action all around me was very vivid. Instead of freaking out I paid close attention to how exactly it felt so hopefully ill be able to describe it to a knowledgeable proffessional, when I find one. Anyone found any resources on this stuff?

[Ellesy]

I am laughing so hard at your comment because I have always been frightened of the experience, and have never been able to explain to anyone what it is... but the idea that we are yelling our thoughts at ourselves is so funny. I always try to calm myself down when its happening but, of course, I am literally shouting at myself from the inside; JUST PICK UP THAT PEN, GOOD NOW LOOK LEFT AND SMILE AT THAT FRIEND, ITS OK JUST RELAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Naturally, it has the complete opposite effect, and for the first time, reading your note, I can actually laugh at how crazy the rationalizing sounds inside my head.

I don't know, maybe we are operating on a different frequency during these things, I've had them last for about 30 - 40 minutes and am always terrified at the time, then once they're over, wish I could go back and try again. Its like jumping off a (safe) cliff into water - its scary to commit to it, but once you jump and resurface you just want to run right back up and do it again.

I described it to a friend recently and he said it sounded like what taking DMT feels like - I don't know much about the drug but from what I understand DMT is a chemical which occurs naturally our Pituitary Glands in our brains. The pituitary gland has been commonly associated with the spiritual "Third Eye" in connecting us to alternate dimentions / conciousness. You can smoke a plant version of DMT and get an intense out of body hallucinatory effect... I'm too frightened to try it yet because these episodes still scare me, but an interesting insight nonetheless.

[Ellesy]

I just read the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome article on Wikipedia, and it's not exactly it, but when I talked to my dad about these episodes he said he used to get episodes where things seemed further away or closer etc. So he was definitely describing the AIWS, but what we are feeling I think is a bit different, but they could be connected/genetic?

I used to get the feeling like I could see every single atom in a white space, and this big (I couldn't see him/it, but I knew that it was big somehow) thing would tell me things in really fast loud words but I couldn't understand it because I was so concentrated on being frightened, and the white/atom filled space was so intense to take in. They happened mostly in dreams when I was younger, then I got just the odd altered states of perception when I got older (same as everyone above) - but they felt exactly the same. One  showed me a different visual reality while I experienced it and I was aware of something else's presence, and the other just tweaked my sense of the natural (normal) reality.

[delzpotter]

I have had this alot, first when i was a kid. I have found the only way i can get out of it is to talk aloud to myself. It works everytime, i think it must realign your sences or something wierd. I just say the alphabet to myself slowly...A B C D E ... and it gradually goes away. Usually by the second time going through. So good to hear im not the only one, you can imagine how mental i must look on my own, saying the alphabet out loud! haha

[Bhaidani]

That is EXACTLY my situation! It always happens to me when I'm concentrating really hard on something. It happens during math tests too. Everything seems amplified and time feels like its sped up but slower at the same time and it's as though my mind blocks everything out but it only happens when I have no sense of time. Once I hear music or someone talking, I come out of it

[Luke951]

My 8 year old daughter has just described these symptoms to me, she had a fever with illness last week and had the first episode then,
She says it's like her mummy is shouting at her from the inside and her fingers go all heavy. She is very worried about it and says she doesn't like it at all as it scares her.  
It's good to see how other people have dealt with it in their youth, i will have to pass some of the idea's on to her, she has found some comfort in knowing that others have had the same thing.

[firokyoko]

I just finished having an episode of this. I'm so happy I found this page. I thought I was the only one who had this. when I told my doctor about it he couldn't explain it. It starts out as a difference in the way I feel weight. Then I become hypersensitive to touch and sound,  finally time moves faster as of I've pushed the fast forward button on my life. I want to know what its happening to me so I can stop it. It started when I was 10 I thought then it was because I had adhd and was taking adderal for it. When I was older I started smoking and that would relax me and stop the episode when I would have one. Now that I had quit a year ago the episodes are frequent and severe. I want them to stop.

[Nathan58]

Here's the thing. I get this once a month or once every two months. I am 22 and have experienced this more and less frequently for about 10 years. I don't remember the first time, but every time it happens, it scares me.

It seems to sneak up on me (always when I'm alone), like a wind-up-toy. Then before I know it, all thing perceived intensify: sounds become louder, thoughts and movements speed up. Getting up and moving around is scary. It feels like somebody has pressed the fast-forward button on my life's remote. Nothing I do calms it, it just disappears after about 15-20 minutes.

There must be an explanation for this. At least now, I know that it's not just me. But at the same time, it doesn't solve anything. I have spoken to a doctor, but they had no clue what-so-ever. There must be a neurobiologist expert out there who knows what is going on. Trying to explain it to anybody is difficult and whenever I try, I sound like a nut-case.

[wlyb]

I seriously thought I was the only person out there with this "condition"!  I even searched about it a while back and was not able to find anything about it.  And if you can't find something on the internet, you know you're in trouble!  So it is AMAING to finally hear other people so accurately describe this sh*t!!!!  Really, its like a huge weight off my back that I am not losing my mind.  I actually thought it was some sort of special gift :) or that I was half-retarded.  No but serious, its beautiful to hear all of your stories.  With my personal experience I have always noticed it come on if I spend a lot of time in my head like sitting in my room reading (typing this message...), just anything that is solitary.  And it definitely started when I was kid.  Long before I put any sort of mind altering drug in my body. So I did always take solace that I was born with this!  When it comes on I usually feel numbness in my hand, also like the weighting of my hand is off, definitely some sort of textual thing.  And when I know its coming on then everything speeds up meaning the way I am talking, everyone else is talking, music, my heart beat, EVERYTHING, Its scary fast.  As I got older it even evolved to screaming in my head and just craziness up there- I never wanted to kill anyone or anything like that!-but its just uncontrollable "noise" up there.  And the best is when you are with a few people and you try and play it off.  The only comfort I take is hearing them talk fast and shout because then I feel a little more comfortable talking even though I'm thinking to myself, "Don't they see that I'm yelling and talking at the speed of sound?" But I eventually just say "I need to go for a walk", and I just let it take its course.  Usually tell myself this is the last time and Im getting a brain scan.  The last few times it was scary, heart beating fast or at least seeming like its going to burst from my chest, intense yelling up there.  DOesnt feel like its gonna end.  That gets me scared.  But luckily its only ever lasted 10-15 minutes, I think?  It hasn't happened in 2 years, which is great as it used to happened 2-3 times a year, but the fact that it can happen at anytime?  That **** scares me more than anything.  And Im an actor!  Cant imagine that happening before going on!!  But i must say Im so much happier seeing there is a community for us.  You guys know exactly whats happened to me my whole life.  I don't feel so alone anymore.  Im a lot calmer these days, mediation and yoga, and I'm wondering if that has helped to control the episodes.  Anybody notice that?  Well, now that its on my mind, i feel like I'm susceptible tonight so I'm gonna put some relaxation music on right now!!  Hope you guys  stay balanced!!!!!

[benji579]

Hey there Spencermax. Max I presume :). Saw your post and I thought it seemed very relevant to my deja vus these days(and for the record I'm 19 male).

As you said when you have these deja vu alike episodes you cant really grasp onto that memory, I could really relate.
When I get deja vus they always come in that manner, as if a memory(I'm not absolutely sure if it actually is) trying to pop up in my head but as I try to concentrate and remember in detail it slowly but surely leaves my awareness. Afterwards I can't simply comprehend what just occurred. Like it was nothing at all, at least that's what it feels like afterwards.
I find it so bizarre because of it's sporadic and elusive nature.

[Dabbz]

Wow, all these years and all these people having the same sensation, mine started when I was a young child and I had no idea how to describe it, although I knew I didn't like it at all and then they were less frequent and I don't think I had any after my twenties. Then my 15 year old son told me yesterday about this strange thing he experiences and everything sounds sarcastic, I knew straight away what he was trying to say I just wish I knew why it happens and what it is

[Dirtratjoe]

Is there any diagnosis for this, when I went to the doctors they said it was possibly a panic attack. I first had these attacks when I was really young, they were quite frequent then. They've never stopped but now they happen every few months, but seem to be more intense. Just now it happend when I was reading a book.
Reading these other posts I think it happens when I become really focused on some activity, not always a quite enviroment.

I find cooling down with cold water helps but would appreciate any other ideas.
Sorry to waffle
Joe

[BertWaffle]

This is exactly what happens to me! It only lasts for about 3 to 5 minutes but it is as intense as a psychedelic drug. it feel like every single sound that i hear converted into voices yelling at me. as if normal sounds are lower case and SOUNDS DURING THE TIME I EXPERIENCE THIS ARE UPPER CASE. IVE STARTED TO CALL THESE TIMES "UPPERCASE MOMENTS". BUT AS I HAVE DONE RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT WHAT WE DESCRIBE CAN BE CALLED "alice in wonderland syndrome". Our perception of sounds are crystal clear, its just the magnitude or loudness of the sounds are not how they normally are.

[youngglass]

i get it but i feel i may be the only person that enjoys it, you see i sit in silence all alone and suddenly get this overwhelming sensation of excitement even though i have nothing to be excited about, my thoughts in my head are like shouting they sound so loud to me and if i get up while its happening i feel i have to move faster and do every thing quicker i breath heavy etc, the only way i can explain it is its like when i tried mdma except i didn't have loud thoughts then, is it because i done the drug i get these, and or what is it? i have it nearly every time im alone in silence but strangely enjoy the experience although it scares me to think if its anything serious.

[BertWaffle]

It turns out Lewis Carroll, the Author of the novel "Alice In Wonderland", experienced the same thing we do. In the story, Alice sees the world she is in as smaller. Or is she just bigger than everything around her? The concept of perception of size relates to the perception of sound." did everything just get louder? or did my hearing just intensify?" Alice begins to cry when she cant find the answer which symbolizes how anxious and worried we become when these episodes come on. So there you have it, Alice in wonderland syndrome. check out the website :

http://www.aliceinwonderlandsyndrome.net/

[santy1991]

i have the samething but the only thing different i have that other people havent said is that sometimes for me its triggered when im watching tv everything gets loud and the image on the tv gets bigger like people faces are way bigger. it scares me but i can tell exactly when its about to start everything goes silent first then wow everything gets intensified.  

[ev1993]

Hello all!

so crazy for all of you to write everything that i experience! im 19 and i have these episodes every so often more so when im alone! infact im writing today as i had one! the first one infact for a couple of months the alice in wonderland syndrome doesnt seem to much like my symptoms its very strange, everything speeds up BUT yet altough im fearful i dont react i stay calm throughout the whole of the episode and although its so out of the blue i dont know what it is for some reason i just seem to go with it. i hear noises and buzzing and i have to talk to myself to calm myself down but these thoughts are just everyday thoughts but i scream them! my view of things dont change (im not really focused on anything else other than whats happening in my head.

anyone else done any other research id love to find an answer!

[azerty098]

I hve had the same symptons as all of you since i was 13 years old, i am now 41.Everything around me feels like its speeding up, voices, noises movements all seem way faster and louder and become overwhelming. I, like a lot of you,  thought i was alone. In my late teens it was happening at least once a day especially when i was under different levels of stress, like final exams, or arguments with family and friends. I went to see my family  doctor in my early twenties and he had me pass all kinds of tests but found nothing wrong with me. This was 20 years ago. Has anyone found the cause or the way to fix this? The only way I have found to reduce this is by smoking marijuana. The major draw back to this is that if I get an "episode" after smoking , I become super paranoid and anxious, in some rare instances i feel overwhelmed and have a strong urge to commit suicide. I am sure this is not a good solution but its the only way I have found to reduce the problem.

[Shizy]

Omg  I'm so glad I've found people with th same thing. Also myn started as a child. Used to call it the fast thing. It would just come from no where. I would be playing with my toys or whatever and suddenly everything started going really fast and so loud like people talking would be like they were towering over me yelling so loud and really cast it went right through me and it scared the **** out of me every time I would shut my eyes cover my eyes put my head down to Knees and say out loud please please go away. And pretty much cry till it went away. It. Could last for like ten minutes and mum did t get it so that would make it worse with her yelling at me. I would also have it when I was sleeping  . It was like horrible. Nightmares but of nothing just like flying colours or these wired slinking things that I called the scary spinning eyes. I would wake up in terror and those eyes would still be there. Or like a spinning wheel thing that I. Couldn't stop. Just as i slowed it down to stop it would start spinning do fast again in th other direction. I still get th loud fast thing occasionally and it gives me th swets too. But no where near a often as when I was a kid. And I am 30 now

[Shizy]

Omg  I'm so glad I've found people with th same thing. Also myn started as a child. Used to call it the fast thing. It would just come from no where. I would be playing with my toys or whatever and suddenly everything started going really fast and so loud like people talking would be like they were towering over me yelling so loud and really cast it went right through me and it scared the **** out of me every time I would shut my eyes cover my eyes put my head down to Knees and say out loud please please go away. And pretty much cry till it went away. It. Could last for like ten minutes and mum did t get it so that would make it worse with her yelling at me. I would also have it when I was sleeping  . It was like horrible. Nightmares but of nothing just like flying colours or these wired slinking things that I called the scary spinning eyes. I would wake up in terror and those eyes would still be there. Or like a spinning wheel thing that I. Couldn't stop. Just as i slowed it down to stop it would start spinning do fast again in th other direction. I still get th loud fast thing occasionally and it gives me th swets too. But no where near a often as when I was a kid. And I am 30 now

[flora321]

OMG this literally sums me up. When I was younger I used to have these feelings where I was sped up and that my actions and thoughts and speech were faster. Like I was rushing and I couldn't stop, I would try and slow down what I was thinking and doing but it just felt wrong. What people are saying on here about the CAPS is sooo true!! I would be thinking OK I JUST NEED TO WALK OVER THERE AND DO THAT AND THEN I NEED TO GO AND FIND THAT. It would just be like screaming in my head... sounds so crazy! Once I asked my sister if I was speaking fast and loud when I spoke to her and she said I wasn't. It would last about 10-15 minutes maybe more and would really freak me out.  I also remember lying in bed at night in the corner of my room and having the feeling everything in the room was bigger and further away from me and when I lifted my hand up I felt really small compared to everything else. I've never told anyone because my family would just think I'm crazy and a hypochondriac. I'm 18 now and I don't remember having the distance feeling now but every so often I have the rapid thoughts that are shouting for a few minutes. So weird..

[Starside]

This used to happen a lot when I was in school the sound of people writing, turning pages, my best discription was that everything sounded angry. I don't know if this is another symptom of whatever this is or just an effect I also felt panicked. Calm on the outside but raging on the inside. One time when it was happening I felt my pulse to see if my heart was racing but it was slow and steady. I'm 30 now and haven't had this problem in a long time but I just had the most intense "episode" I can remember.  So like others I googled it and here I am. It's so disturbing I don't know what to make of it I feel so out of control.  It's so hard to explain but you all know what I'm talking about so that's reassuring.  I wish I knew what is wrong with me.

[Thatstasty]

This is very interesting to hear all of your experiences. I have a question, has anybody ever prayed and asked God for wisdom, knowledge and understanding about these episodes? It really sounds to me like an out of body experience, where your really made more aware of the spiritual world around you during that time, more so than the natural world you actually live in. One writer spoke about Alternate dimensions/consciousness, we have to realize that there is a natural awareness and a spiritual awareness, and that spiritual awareness we hardly know anything about it. I haven't shared in your experience, but as I said earlier, being a Christian, I know that there is more to us and our own consciousness than what we know and perceive. See if praying could offer any help. I am very curious and pray you all find the answers that you need to be able to offer help to each and multitudes of other's who are still seeking help. Thank you for sharing, God's Speed!

[negreb]

Same... same... since a kid.  Talking out loud or 'forcing' myself to move would usually snap me out of it.  I'm now 33 and it has intensified - longer and more regular.

About praying... I used to be quite scared of it and would pray for God to bring me out of it.  The fear has definitely gone - I'm more curious than anything now to figure out what it is.  Not AIWS for sure though.  Quite different.  Also, I wouldn't describe it as an out-of-body experience.  Quite the opposite; more like an intense inner-body experience.

Any neurologists out there want to put their name to this phenomena?  There's definitely enough of us who are experiencing the same thing.

[Jason200957]

I'm another one who gets these.

I used to get it almost always when I had a fever as a kid.   But I also remember feeling it sometimes in hospital (I was in a lot to have surgery on congenital hand problems).

I'm 42 now, male.  I tend to get it when I haven't had enough sleep or under certain quiet conditions.    I also get anxiety-like symptoms and often this perception will come along at the same time.

It's amazing to see so many people who share the same thing.  it's extremely hard to describe but the original poster, 123que, did a brilliant job at doing so.  I haven't read everyone's posts yet but will read through them now.

[brett615]

When I was quite young (about 4) I used to get these really strange sensations where I felt like I became really really tiny and the room around me became immensely big, and it would then switch over and I'd suddenly feel really huge while my surroundings became small and tiny.
It was so weird, but it only ever happened when I was in my bedroom by myself, usually at night before bedtime. It wasn't at all uncomfortable, in fact, I remember almost liking it, but whenever it happened I felt completely immobilized and I just sat there staring at things.
I remember once trying to explain it to my mum, but all I could tell her was 'that the room had become really big', and she ignored me.
It's funny, I'd forgotten about this for so long and it was only this morning something triggered my memory and I remembered what happened, and this forum is literally the only thing I've found that comes close to explaining it.
Anyone else?

[reedandg]

AHH! Yes! People who've experience this and understand.
I just had a fairly intense episode now, happens a few times a year since I was young (I'm 22 now). This time I was listening to music in headphones in bed and it crept up on me. For me it's not scary or bad at all, I enjoy it.
Everything (including myself) seems really huge, really heavy, and really close, I feel that if I reached up I could easily touch the roof or any point in the room. Thoughts shout and activities like typing seem like huge heavy logs smashing onto a giant keyboard.

When this happens I always have the thought "why is this perception of size necessarily wrong? Who's to say that things are 'in fact' smaller than how I feel they are right now' (especially because it's not just my surrounding that seem huge, it's me too). Sometimes my depth perception remains and it feels like everything has suddenly grown proportionately, by the same ratio, like the size of everything in the universe has been multiplied by 10 (which I suppose if did happen, wouldn't change how big we feel, because it's all relative, but everything definitely feels huge and heavy).


Also (this part is probably unique), if I close my eyes I ALWAYS (since very young) get a clear mental visualisation of what looks like shortbread (smooth and heart shaped) first clean, then with black grease (or vegemite or something) spread on it, and these two images flip back and forwards between each other. Strange.

I'm really interested to learn more about this phenomena?!

[gedphil]

my daughter who's 9 years old had the same problem tonight. she woke up at 12:10am & she said that everything seems small and far, and going fast. i thought she was just disoriented because she just woke up. so looked really, really scared. so i calmed her down and we finally went back to sleep. but at 4:30am, the same thing happened again and she was scared again. i did the same thing and now that she's sleeping, i am scared for her that's why i'm looking it up. i hope someone else can shed a light to this problem.

[kroe21]

Same here,
20 years old and when i first got them it was when i was a kid and i used to get 'night terrors' i would swear i could feel it before i would go asleep and sure enough id wake up and the only way i could describe it as a kid was i was still 'half in my dream' perception of everything was wayy off size sounds thoughts etc.  now that ive gotten older its completely different, no 'hallucinations' visual perception is completely normal. the only similarity is my thoughts are MUCH louder but not "angry" like some described before me but almost clearer and more intense, and i suppose my hearing doesnt get better but i definitely take in more sounds around me, since ive gotten older ive never really thought it was a bad thing, if anything its a heightened sense of things...
side note im going into the us army special forces soon and i wonder if this is some sort of gift (loosely using the term)...

would love some feedback from someone with a background who has any sort of clue

[Akjm123]

It's a relief so many other people have experienced this. I had this as a child, have had a few episodes in my adulthood and its totally frightening. What made me research this is due to my daughter waking up screaming last night saying everything was going fast and she was really scared, it was heartbreaking as i could relate to exactly how she felt and I knew how frightened she must of been and there's no explanation for it. I just tried to reassure her by saying I had the same feeling as a child and its normal ( just thinking oh it's not). I'm going to research some of the syndromes you guys have spoken about. I feel so much better already knowing its not just me (or my daughter)

[tconn37]

omg im having one right now!!! its so weird like my typing on my iphone seems so fast nn my eyes are rushing everythinng and ive had these when i was younger n sick n i have it now when im alone n doing alot of thinking. what is this!?!? its getting faster now n its worrying me! doesnt anyone no what this is amd why it happens?? its just getting faster n faste! n the more i type the faster n mre intense this becomes and now i seriously feel like my fingers arw falling off n i cant hold the phone! someone tell me what this is!

[bakerLAD]

I've had this exact thing since i was young. And i also get it when it's been quiet for a while. My vision feels as if it's expanded and every noise is so loud, it has only ever happened when i'm lying in bed, even the sound of my feet moving in my bed in so loud within my head and it feels as if the room is so big. It also feels like that i'm no longer in this world and that if suddenly i was in  normal busy place it would automatically go away. and all can imagine is people shouting really loudly. I've cured it by sitting up and trying to focus on my hand.

It's cool to know other people are feeling this too, by the way, i'm 15 :)

[joelm457]

This is me, i get these like once a month, i thought it was from watching to much t.v or being on my laptop to much, this is probably the most annoying thing i have ever experienced

[Aadam1]

I have the same thing

[tmc11]

I am in my 20s and have been having these attacks since i was in my early teens. If you start doing something,(drinking a drink, walking, brushing your teeth, doing homework) and move super slow while continuing to remind yourself that you are moving slowly, the sensation of the room speeding up seems to stop. This works for me anyway.

[fedro711]

I get the same thing, everything is kind of loud and angry and chaotic in my head, and i looked it up because I just had one of these happen again, but this time I kept remembering a nightmare i had a lot when I was younger, but the nightmare makes no sense because it's not anything that should be scary, I'm just stuck in a film and I have to do certain things or everything stops and I wake up crying, it seems like a panic attack.

But yeah, it seems like everything is kind of intensified or amplified, but the main thing is the chaotic yelling in my head, and the anxiety/panic i feel during the whole thing...

[gus179]

This happens to me, im only 12, but i sometimes experience this when im lying in bed and have a cold. I feel like everyone is yelling at me and everything is getting closer and there is too many voices.  its quite a traumatic experience. I wish there was an answer.

[cadderaxx]

I know im only one person but,  HEAR ME OUT. The first time i felt this feeling   i thought i was gonna die, i kept running into the walks, i was breathing 5 times faster then normal.  feeling to just Run and get away, ya know had the biggest eager to get the feeling away, so i tried being really fast and Really didn't work, i really couldn't think at all and when i did think about doing something i'd already be doing it, but not on my command of physical ability, so that made me more scared. I found away to make it slow down and be easier BY FOCUSING ON ANYTHING FOR A PERIOD OF TIME. I stare at my hand for a while and everything goes back to normal for a while. But not forever. Just knowing that others have experienced it too is gonna make it easier for me to take it in. :)

[Harrisonhud]

Had a conversation about this last night with someone and it was weird cause neither of us really noticed anything was wrong with us until we both had it, it was pretty freaky hopped on the internet, and glas to see im not the only one. I feel like we should inform people about "Alice in wonderland syndrome" this could be a thing many more people suffer from and want to find out about

[ajs875]

This is so weird, i have the exact same symptoms. For me its only when im sick with a high fever but things get exactly like you guys say. It always seems like the room i'm in is silent, then i get the feeling that everything gets really intense and my thoughts start rushing and get really loud. its like i try whispering to myself with my thoughts but theyre really loud. It's crazy but its kind of good to know im not the only one with this. i wonder if its a neurological disorder or something

[alissathorne]

I think this just happened to my son!! He is 8 and woke up freaked out explaining a very intense feeling and being scared complaining that everything feels very loud...he also has a fever. What is this??

[bobscrub]

Been having this happen to be since I was a kid (21) now. Basically your thoughts feel like they are being yelled at you some how in your head and any sound that you hear feels cringingly loud in a weird way. The good thing is, is that it is similar to dejavu that it only lasts a few moments to a few minutes, and bam its gone leaving you with a hard to explain phenomenon.

[johanna89]

yeayyyyy im not aloneeee

[erinhensley1998]

I used to wake up in the middle of the night when I was a child all the time like this and I would be all sweaty and scared and my mom would ask me what was wrong and I wasn't able to explain is to her and it seemed like she was yelling at me. Those went away later. And then after that for a while I had these weird episodes where I would sort of freak out and get really nauseous, but never throw up. My teeth would chatter and I'd get really cold and then really hot. I did go to the doctor for it, but they never knew what the problem was. About two years ago when I started my period the episodes ended and I started getting migraines around the time of my period. A lot of people get menstrual migraines, so I wasn't really worried. Those happened almost every time I was PMS-ing and were almost debilitating. I went on birth control to help with my PMS and my horrible periods and it has seemed to help. Now about two or three months ago, I have started having this other original episodes. (The ones where everything seems really weird/loud/fast/intense/aggressive and it's almost as if you can hear you're thoughts and they seem extremely loud.) I've wondered if all of these things are connected and has no idea that other people have experienced the same things. I just really wish I new why it happened.

[bem3373]

I'm 16, and this has been happening to me since I was about 10. It used to happen a lot in the morning, and has become less common as I've gotten older. It's not as terrifying to me as it seems to be to other people since I've dealt with it for so long at such a young age. This sensation more affects my hearing then anything else. Or my perception of my hearing. Everything feels very loud and sped up, like if my life is on TV, they just turned up the volumn, and pressed "fast forward". It's a bit unsettling, but if I take my mind off of it by watching TV or something else, then it will go away in a matter of minutes. However, recently it happened while I was in class, and it was the worst episode I've ever had. It lasted for a good 10 minutes, and I was freaking out, feeling like I was going to pass out from the intensiveness of the situation. I don't think that it's the simple partial seizure or the Alice in wonderland thing just because those seem to focus more on sight, and my sight has never been affected by this. It's always either my hearing, or my perception of my hearing. If anyone has any ideas of what this could be, I would greatly appreciate any help because if these episodes get worse, it could start to physically affect me.

[IvanMendez]

I've had the same exact symptoms like all of us. But I've found out that there's nothing to be scared of. Next time you get this, do something completely unexpected.
During this weird time, it seems like we go inside a bubble that only we can see, and the more we think about it, the more we expand the bubble and let our voice, music, and other things, we use to distract us from it, be numb to it. So the problem keeps growing. The more we focus on something the more we'll get from it. Whether we focus on getting more of these symptoms or focus on stopping them. What we have to do is not even think about it as big deal — completely discard it. Replace it with something else in your mind and go invest your time into something more fulfilling.

Have a good day everyone!

[JSnow]

I just experienced this:

Just having had an intense night-mare, where I was running from a myriad of colorful creatures attacking me, I woke up to this episode.  Every sound around me was extremely intense and overwhelming.  My fan, that I aways sleep with on, was unbearable.  It was so loud and almost piercing.  Every movement I made felt intense and uncomfortable.  Yet I felt weak.  After turning off the fan with a struggle, a plane went by overhead. The spectrum of sound from the plane, from far to near, and to far again, was so intense and built up to overwhelming at its peak before fading out again.  I became very scared at this point.  I got up to go to the bathroom and splash some water on my face, but this short-walk was also intense.  I felt every sensation in my body with vivid intensity, speed, and discomfort.  These feelings were not pleasant at all.  I did not feel super-human with my senses sharpened.  I felt like I was on the verge of death and my body was releasing chemicals to save me.  

I remembered that I had this feeling when I was a young child.  I remember getting sick with fever, and after having woke up, I experienced a bout of this.  It lasted a short time and I figured it related to my sickness, or something to do with waking up from a vivid-dream.  

Does anyone know if this can be a serious condition? i.e.: stroke, brain tumor, seizure, etc. The feeling I got with this episode was not good at all. The intensity was building up so much that I thought I was going to lose consciousness or worse.  I have been known to suffer Migraine Auras in the past.  But they were nothing like this.  I also suffered from panic attacks when I was a teen.  I remember the panic attacks were accompanied by a violent shaking of my body, almost like I was cold and shivering.  Towards the end of my episode today, I felt the shivering.  But that might have only been triggered as a result of my fear associated with this episode.

If anyone has come upon any more information regarding this, I'd really appreciate any insight.

[mylernh]

My son had experienced these episodes since he was about for years old. He goes through stages when this occurs daily, mostly triggered then ( he is now 8) by car rides due to staring out the side window and during his early sleep stage. It used to freak him out and scare me, thinking he was having a psychotic episode. They last 5 -8 minutes. I used to think he was dizzy the way he described things sounding and moving fast but now that he is 8 he says it's really just sound is amplified and fast, distorted. He goes to his room, demands total silence and gets really agitated when people talk. When it stops it's like a switch and he resumes normal activity. It scares hi, and he hates it. He calls it a "funny feeling".

We related it to food intolerances or milk and citrus, thinking it caused an inner ear reaction, and with these eliminated for the most part they disappeared for a few years! Maybe a coincidence.....? Now they have returned. Playing on his new IPod induces these episodes, and also his early sleep state occasionally about 45 minutes after falling asleep although these are super  extreme episodes and he us almost having visual / perceptual hallucinations. He is terrified to the point that he cries and feels sick. We limit sugar before bed to see if this helps.

Our pediatrician did hearing tests and we went to an Ear Nose Throat specialist who did in depth hearing testing. We also saw an eye doctor. I  do not think any answers will be found by these measures. I do feel better knowing there are others who experience this. I think it us a type if hallucination. I used to hallucinate with fevers growing up and that is when I experienced this aside from one time that I laid my head on an aromatherapy pillow ad an adult, go figure! My other son who is 4 has never had this! So wierd!!!!!

[zebaskidgoku]

OH MY GOD THANKSSSSS TO EVERYONEEEE I felt it was the only whit this scary sensationnnn, HAD THIS SIMILAR SENSATION AS I CHILD, ME DURING ONLY 7 OR LESS SECONDS, LIKE THE REALITY DIFERENT, LIKE IN A DREAM, SOMETIMES WHEN I CONCENTRATING I FEEL LIKE COME,
I FOUND ON INTERNET AND MAYBE ARE THIS AND SORRY FOR MY ENGLISH

SIMPLE PARTIAL SEIZURE
DEREALIZATION AND DESPERSONALIZATION
ALICE IN WONDERLAND SYNDROME

[Scake]

I have had these episodes for over 30yrs never really looked into it. That was until my daughter started to have the same thing. In my time I have learnt that for me they are brought on with tiredness, illness, solitude and sometimes driving. As you all probably know you have pre warning to when these attacks may happen. What does help is if you change your focus immediately say from reading to get straight up and use your phone for example.
I have tried to explain this condition to my Doctor but didn't get that far. Later on in life I had a unrelated health problem that led me to have a full health check including MRi brain scan, nothing abnormal was found, this was after 25yrs of suffering these attacks. So I really don't think there's too much to worry about. I believe it's some sort of sensitivity in the brain and ears that after time becomes more panic attack like the more we worry about what's happening.
I also found that when these attacks happen don't sit in silence worrying. Think that it will end, probably no longer than 10mins. Walk about, look in the mirror, try to be positive, if there's someone you can talk to talk to them. They soon go, don't worry to much ;)

[nielsveneb]

wow, i really got worried for a minute thinking i was the only one..
I was listening to Goa psytrance mix while i was laying in bed, suddenly when i almost fell asleep the music became extremely dynamic and loud !
its very easy to control to, but very very weird...

[MikeD919189]

I have been getting this for years and I thought I was just insane Hahahah. After about 8 years of it I decided I should probably google it. I was so shocked to find out I wasn't the only one. I feel the exact same way only I feel like every noise is almost angry at me. I guess the intensity is a same way of describing it. Music, people, TV... Everything sounds like its yelling at me. Comforting to know I'm not the only one.

[ollie901]

I used to get this as a toddler and then less and less frequently as I got older (I'm 20). I had it yesterday when I was doing some coursework for uni. I've found I normally get it if I try to do something interlectually stimulating when I haven't had enough sleep the night before.
For me when it happens everything seems to be happening really fast, even if I look at the second hand on the clock it would appear to be moving quicker then it should and so on. I also get really exadurated 'loud' thoughts in my head, but they arent in my own voice, but in the voice of an angry woman which used to scare me when I was younger. I also become extremley aware of my fingers to the point where they don't feel like they shouldn't be there. Thats the best I can explain it really, it's really odd. Usually lasts around 10 minutes.

[Forever_daydreaming]

Thank you! I thought I was the only one who had this! Everything goes blurry and I am suddenly moving very fast. I just stay where I am and wait for it to stop. I started having it after I got a very bad fever on one new year, it mostly comes when I am studying. Never told anyone before but this year I told my mum and she said that she has it to! Maybe it can be passed down? I'm not sure.  Or maybe it's just a coincidence?

[peteking]

I have the same problem but have never seen a doctor about it.. Has anyone seen a doc about it? If so what was their diagnosis??

[DeeRoo1992]

This is so weird! Until last night when I found this post, I felt ALONE. It was last night when I was watching television and suddenly the way I viewed EVERYTHING changed. I literally felt it. It's so hard to explain. I was aware of what it was and I remembered that as a child I would always get these terrifying episodes. It's like I REMEMBERED something that I didn't even know existed! I didn't want it to go away so I stared at my door knob and analyzed exactly what was going on. I felt like I was going through a portal in my head, yet I was still looking at the door knob! I was wtahcing TV with people in it, and I felt myself inside the people and sudden;y I was able to see what they saw. I tried to not blink at all just to see how far I can get but it died in less than 10 minutes. I tried going back to the feeling but it just left as quickly as it came. I couldn't even remember what it had felt like and even right now I can't fully explain it, but since everybody on this post seemed to have experienced it, you probably already know anyway. I also remember that as I was going throught the portal in my head, it sounded like a thousand voices just yelling and yelling loudly and when I would loose focus they would die. But if I concentrated, they would come back. UGH! It's scary but in some freaky way I think it's beautiful! And I mean, just reading through these comments, It feels so damn good. It may not be the entire world, but it's a world in this little post with dozens of people who have all felt the same and can't explain it. I mean, I thought I was CRAZY experiencing these things as a child so I would try to ignore them, I don't believe it's a disease or anything bad. It has to be...just has to be something beautiful far from our understanding. We're all connected in some way. It's just so damn incredible. If this happened to us as kids when most likely we didn't use drugs or anything of the sort than causes episodes like this, then, what is it? In another sort of freaky way, I felt more conncted to the source (GOD) believe in him or not, something created us. Something created our perceptions on reality. Our emotions. Our ability to love, to laugh, to cry. It's all happening for a reason. I think it just might be some sort of spiritual awakening. Call me crazy. I don't care. I think this is something truly remarkable, and even more that second that we clicked on this post and realized how alone we aren't, but how close we really are. Yes, I agree, these episodes are SCARY but...I don't know. It's scary in a fantastic way. O rmaybe it's just me. A huge thanks to the person who created this little thread. Amazing.

[kelseyabd]

I have had these 'spells' happen to me since i got valley fever about 10 years ago and my fever spiked up to about 104. When i was sick i got them on a regular nightly basis along with my fever, but then sometimes i didnt even have a fever. Now, it happens also 1-2 times a week.

I noticed it is mostly going to occur when  I am relaxed i.e.: reading a book, ready for bed or just relaxing with not much on my mind. I know it will start to happen because my heart starts beating profusely and then, the racing thoughts start to happen, i talk aloud SLOWLY and it seems lightening fast.... I move my hand in front of my face and it seems to fly by when i know it isnt. The only thing that makes it go away is just continuing what i am doing until it decides to go away, which for me, lasts about 15-30 minutes. (Or so it seems)

I remember being a kid though and the noise of fans or typing or knocking were EXTRA loud to me... im not sure if that is when it really started and now it is more intense.??

Any updates? Has anyone found out what this could possibly be? I'm going to check up on this thread and see what others have to say.

I try to describe it to my fiance and he thinks im nuts i swear....


It's so hard to find ANYTHING out there with information on this...

[pokemaster]

i am 11 and this has been happing to me every 2-3 weeks and it is freaking me out! i am sleeping in my room all the sudden my mom is watching CSI and i told her turn it down and she said ok she turned it down and it just got louder and i was like mom i told you to turn it down not up she said she did so i fell asleep and i woke up an about 12:45 and i got this weird felling in mt hands and sometimes even mouth i checked my tempature was 104.3 and i freaked out woke up  my mom and dad the let me sleep on the floor near them in case something happend and i heard a grown man screaming and i told dad why are you screaming  he said im not son. so i fell back asleep at 1:00 and woke up to more screaming at 1:15 and i noticed no one was awake fall back asleep agian 5 minutes later and i woke up at 2:35 and i was seeing things like witches and flying pigs and stuff and my hands were feeling weird and i was like what is this and like i said every 2-3 weeks it happend to me and still is and has for about a year  and a half i havent seen a doctor yet and it scares my mom and dad to where they want to call the cops its so bad so if anyone has any soulutions to this please tell me thanks and you arent alone

[pokemaster]

i am 11 and this has been happing to me every 2-3 weeks and it is freaking me out! i am sleeping in my room all the sudden my mom is watching CSI and i told her turn it down and she said ok she turned it down and it just got louder and i was like mom i told you to turn it down not up she said she did so i fell asleep and i woke up an about 12:45 and i got this weird felling in mt hands and sometimes even mouth i checked my tempature was 104.3 and i freaked out woke up  my mom and dad the let me sleep on the floor near them in case something happend and i heard a grown man screaming and i told dad why are you screaming  he said im not son. so i fell back asleep at 1:00 and woke up to more screaming at 1:15 and i noticed no one was awake fall back asleep agian 5 minutes later and i woke up at 2:35 and i was seeing things like witches and flying pigs and stuff and my hands were feeling weird and i was like what is this and like i said every 2-3 weeks it happend to me and still is and has for about a year  and a half i havent seen a doctor yet and it scares my mom and dad to where they want to call the cops its so bad so if anyone has any soulutions to this please tell me thanks and you arent alone

[pokemaster]

i also had night mares

[rae1988]

I am so happy I found this thread. Ever since I was young ( around 5 yrs old) I have been having these episodes I am now 24yrs old and still experiencing them. I've had them both in solitude and social situations. The social situations are the worst because I feel like I am acting awkward and sometimes yelling and become extremely self-conscious. I just had one at work and its such a weird mix between feeling so out of it and so focused. I saw people mention various things in the thread

SIMPLE PARTIAL SEIZURE
DEREALIZATION AND DESPERSONALIZATION
ALICE IN WONDERLAND SYNDROME

Should I be worried about any of these? Is there anything I can do?

Also, sometimes to help force myself out of the episode quicker I try to talk out loud. It seems to make the episode short,. However my perception of time is also very skewed so I'm not exactly sure.

Not sure if anyone else has ever done this and if so has it worked for you?

Thanks again for everyone who has commented and responded. It makes me feel less like a crazy person. haha.

[harrumphicus]

Just found this page after an episode. My symptoms began as a young child (roughly 8-10 IIRC) and the episodes occurred sometimes as much as several times per day and probably as little as once per week. They tapered off by the time I was 13 or 14, but I remember having one at school one day when I was 16 that lasted for at least 20 minutes. And always, except the times they were at their most frequent, I would forget it even happened very shortly after. When I was 17 and 18 I began experiencing migraines without the auditory/visual distortions and recently (maybe beginning at age 20 to my now 24) they're actually increasing in frequency again. I've never noticed them lasting only a minute except on rare occasion as they're usually closer to 5-10 minutes. Just did a bit of research, and I think it may be closely related to Alice in Wonderland syndrome (good site is aiws.info) or temporal lobe epilepsy. I, for one, will not be dismissing these as anything but negative until I can confirm that it is not a form of epilepsy, though I can see with the increased focal abilities during these episodes how they could be used for good.. Anyway, I was very relieved to hear I was not the only one experiencing these as I once thought. Best of luck to everyone!

[abhimon]

Im glad im not the only one with these symptoms....can anyone tell me, what kind of a disorder is this?

[nadratch22]

I get this quite often. Its really scares me though. When I can feel it approaching my heart beat increases and I can here the pounding of it so loud. I get all panicky and start shaking and it feels like I'm moving at 100mph so I purposly try to slow my movements down even though I know I'm not moving any quicker than usual. I tend to get it when I'm alone so I try and go and talk to my family or text my friends but then I'm paranoid that they're going to see I'm acting strange. I'm only 15 and absolutely terrified of this. I haven't told anyone because they might think I'm going crazy or something. We need to find out what this is!!

[MrFunnyHeads]

I am 37 years old and had my first episode at about the age of 6.  Since then I would say I get them about every month.  I call them my "funny heads".  They used to scare me as they were a little bit like a nightmare but you were awake.  Quite quickly I realised they did not last for long and did not seem to be doing me any damage so now although unpleasant I am not at all bothered about suffering with them.  Interestingly I have an identical twin brother who says he also gets them so maybe there is a genetic prevalence.

Last night I had an episode and hence to try and refocus to make it go quicker I decided to Google my symptoms and was relieved to find this forum full of people who seem to have exactly what I have.  Always good to know that you are not the only one and are not going mad or a prelude to something more serious.  Like many I have never really spoken to people about my episodes as they did not worry me too much and basically sounds like I was bonkers.

I can feel the "funny head" coming on.  Firstly if I am reading or have my open I lose my depth perception.  The book I am reading seems to be getting further and further away, if I hold out my hand it appears tiny.  Whereby I was reading words I am now only able to really see the entire page fully of tiny words.  At this stage I have rarely been able to stop a full episode occurring,  I think this is because I now start to focus on what is happening which exacerbates the situation.  If I am not reading or have my eyes closed the start of an episode is highlight my thoughts speeding up (usually revolving around numbers), I then tend to open my eyes to try and get out of my head and then notice my depth perception has altered.

The next stages tend to happen all at once and when they arrive I know my “funny head” is in full flow.  The full list of symptoms are;
Depth perception gets distorted with things seeming much (about 3 times) further away than they actually are.
My hearing becomes like superman, this is the bit that impresses me,  I can hear the neighbours turning a light on.  Last night I thought someone was walking down the hallway next to my bedroom with big boots on only to look out of the window and see someone gently walking down the road.  I also can hear my heart beating and blood rushing around my body.  I would say my hearing is about 3 times as sensitive.
Times seems to speed up, this is the weirdest one.  Everything seems to go about twice as fast when in reality clearly it is not.  If I get up to walk out of the room it feels like I am running.  I run the tap and it looks like I am about to flood the bathroom (and sounds like Niagara falls).  If someone talks to me it sounds like they are shouting and talking at a million miles an hour.  My thoughts also speed up and bombard me.  I think this explains why I feel like my heart is beating so fast, I was relieved when I once asked my wife to check my pulse whilst I was having an attack, I thought it was going like the clappers but Jen said it seemed normal.

In conclusion, I no longer find these episodes scary, especially now I know I am not alone (my brother never complains about them just says yeah me too when I occasionally mention I have had one).  I am confident that they are doing me no damage and are not a sign of some future illness or condition.  In fact sometimes I decide to go with it and marvel at how my senses can so suddenly and so dramatically be altered.  Maybe this is not curse, maybe we have some amazing condition that connects us with a whole realm that others never experience, to date however, I have not really been able to find any positives apart from it must be like being on a free drugs trip (not that I would know).

Happy to connect on twitter with any other people who either have the condition or are researching it @ChrisDownham

[MrFunnyHeads]

Don't be terrified, it is causing no damage.  I am 37 and had these episodes for 30 years.  You tend to feel them coming and they can go quickly.  Best thing to do is not get uptight, go with it and change your focus.  Just another example of how amazing the human body / mind is.

[MrFunnyHeads]

I agree, scary in a fantastic way.  I also get what I call "funny heads", I really should find a more grown up name but they started when I was about 6.  I enjoyed your post.  Best thing which we can control is not to freak out.

[MrFunnyHeads]

My symptoms sound exactly the same as yours, I get it about every month.  Only thing I can control is my reaction to them as in not loose my mind, not freak out and not get terrified.  You may well find they happen again but if they do just treat it as one of life's weird things and not something at all ruinous.  Take care.

[contagiousIQ]

It's relieving to read this stuff. I get this once in a while (often in the middle of the night) and I feel, like what I perceive is rushed into my brain and multiplied, intensifying exponentially, and the more I think about calming down, or try to breathe slowly, it just adds to this sense that my mind is on the verge of bursting open and letting all this pressure out. Exactly as you all described. So, does anyone have a scientific explanation? I imagine this has been recorded and diagnosed, no?

[JammerDNA]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who experiences this. I just finished with one. They used to frighten me when I was younger. I used to talk out loud to myself to make them stop. Now that I'm older I let them go on. I can hear my thoughts extremely loudly and outside noises as well like the furnace clicking on and off. Plus there's some "background" noise that I can't make out. That is why I let my "episodes" go on. I want to know what it is. Have any of you ever heard "A Day in the Life" by The Beatles?  It's kinda like that.

Like a lot of you it first started when I was a child. I too remember having a fever. Now it happens when I'm sitting quietly - usually when reading. I looked up AIWS and its not really like that. Everything looks the same just movements and sound (especially thoughts) get really REALLY LOUD and echoey.  

I'm just glad I'm not the only one. Part of me thought someone/something was trying to speak to me. Who knows.

[tails91]

this sound like simple partial seizure or some kind of epilepsy, the best you can do is , get a eeg and mri to discard something neurological problem,

[Williamo614]

I am very glad to hear others experience this aswell! I have these about once a mounth. It feels like as if I'm having a panic attack almost, everythings rushed and loud and fast moving and every noise I hear is much more exaggerated. I would love to know what's happening?  

[astich]

I had this since childhood as well--I always assumed it was anxiety-related.  I also have a seizure disorder (usually complex partial seizures) and never connected it to that, but I haven't had this happen since I've been on anticonvulsants.  

[PMiller16]

FINALLY! I have been looking for years to find a post of someone with similar a similar condition. I've often found it hard to Google my symptoms because, well, like everyone's said it's a bit hard to describe! I've seen the various names people have thrown out that seem associated but after Googleing each of them I've found those aren't quite the problem. Even though I doubt their would be a cure or anything, it would be nice to know scientists have put a name to it. Many people have said their episodes have been fascinating; although I agree that it's pretty crazy, I find them near unbearable! It makes me horribly upset, which is why I think it must be connected to anxiety somehow!

[PMiller16]

After Googling a little more, I found this page:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/08/misophonia-annoying-noises-disorder_n_953892.html

This is not quite what this thread is about, but after realizing I found that I have this too! I never knew what it was, but whenever I hear snoring or obnoxious chewing (and a couple more) I get HUGELY annoyed and sometimes angry. I am and extremely nice and passive person so this has always bothered me. I'm just wondering if anyone who has the condition discussed in this thread ALSO has this?!

[MTrchist]

yeah i used to get sick and have these symptoms but i felt things were slower.First time i was 7 and it felt like i could hear like a war around me but couldnt see it but the sounds would almost show me where they were,like boulders being dropped off the banister of the 2nd floor and landing around me,my family were very religous and put on prayer tapes and it got worse for some time before it stopped.At 8 i got sick and i could here my heart and see it beating. Happened again some years later and i remember mom tryin to fill my water glass and it seemed to take forever,the sheets on my bed felt so strange and smooth, i even remember feeling like my mattress was lifting up.Im now 32 and this happens much less,last time was probably 6 years ago and i remember sitting in the tub trying to get it to stop but the sound of the water out of the faucet was so intense and seemed to just go on to long.
  Now my daughter told me today it happens alot to her at night without being sick,shes 7, and it really freaked me out cause i remember being very scared as a child,not really the last time in my 20s but was concerning.No one has ever known what i was talkin about but now it doesnt seem so rare but how do i help my daughter who descibes it as war right outside her window?Thanks im lookin into AIWL .

[Pauleoo]

I have noticed this before, i just came home from night shift in work and it happened to me for about half an hour at the most, everything seems speed up and sounds become different, i find it really hard to explain, I know it happened to me when i was younger but can't recall when, it only happens the odd time like i have started night shift now for the past 4 weeks and its happened twice but apart from that it must have been years since it last happened.

[Tstuck44]

I am 16 years old. I never thought I would find anybody that had this same thing happen. It all started when I was about 12-13 and I had gotten the flu, I was prescribed codine for the cough which had knocked me out not too long after I had taken it. After I woke up I had this weird feeling everything was loud even my thoughts. I was too afraid to say anything to anyone so I just played it off as if nothing was happening. I walked into my room where my brother was watching tv so I layed on my bed thinking in my head "please go away please go away" which sounded like I was screaming at my self in my mind. I didn't know what to do I was so scared. It eventually went away. And this would happen in my dreams in the years following where something would happen in my dream and I would wake up with the same feeling. I finally told my mom ( who is a nurse ) and she told me that this could be anxiety. It still happens to me about once to twice a year. But only when I'm sick or under stress.

[Brittany4life]

I've had the same problem a few moments ago.. My mom was doing the laundry , and everything around me felt like it was speeding up .. My fingers felt heavy and it try felt small as well. I'm 14 now, but I've had this happen to me for a while now. I then got my earplugs and tried laying music to calm it down , and it helped. I'm not sure if this symptom will ever go away ?

[jefferg]

You hit it right on the head. Think of a bunch of extremely loud drill sergeants all around you, each one shouting something. They are all talking really really fast, and you cannot understand any of them. All of a sudden, they all stop, and it is completely silent. Nobody moves. Then, they start shouting again.

[pegall]

Thank god I'm not the only one. These experiences happened to me since I was a child (7 or 8).
They would happen a lot more frequently then but now (at 16) they have only happen in the last 6 years about once a year.
I had one last night but it was very brief and short however it reminded me of the problem I used to have when I was younger so I searched for it on the internet and this was the only thing that matched what was happening.

The worst one I had was over a year ago when I was away on holiday. It was so bad, every single movement and noise was so loud and sounded terrifying, especially the sound of my own breathing. It was like things were going in slow-motion but really really fast which doesn't make any sense. I felt tears on my face as I got so scared. I knew it wasn't real and knew it was another one of what i'd been experiencing for many years and I tried to snap myself out of it. But it didn't work.
I got out of bed (which was so terrifying) and walked into the bathroom turned on the light and washed my hands. It still wouldn't go away and the sound of the tap and water was so loud even though I knew it was probably really quiet. I went back to bed and obviously eventually it all stopped.

I told my friends what happened in the morning but everything doesn't make sense when you explain it so they didn't really get it so then I shut up about it and never mentioned it to anyone.
It happens normally when its too silent but only when im tired, feeling sick and trying to get to sleep or in bed.
They are less frequent now but still come up every now and then and it's absolutely horrible. It kind of feels like having a nightmare while you're awake.

[James2024]

I can't believe I've finally found people describing exactly what happens to me. It's nearly always when I'm alone. Noises including my own breathing etc become very very loud, I get a horrible feeling of dread and a weird feeling of a certain texture I can't describe. Things seem to speed up, so if I move around I feel a bit too fast for control. And I always recall a certain flash of memory of someone shouting my name and a strange "textured" dream that accelerates suddenly (only way I can describe it!)  that always comes back to me at these times. I find it quite upsetting when it happens. Doesn't sound like there's any point talking to a doctor from what people have said. It doesn't happen very often to me anyway.

[kickingkatie]

I get this exact same thing happen to me. It began when I was younger and I hadn't experienced it for quite some time but now I'm 22 and experienced one the other day, everything is so much louder and exaggerated and I feel myself trying to talk slower and here myself slurring to come out of it. My partner found it strange when he was watching me go through it, I thought i was the only one but my sister explained the exact same thing to me. She has always suffered from very intense hallucinations. I on the haven't. Weird.

[Annette90]

Hi everyone. I just had an episode of this in the bathroom while washing my face before bed - this is pretty much how it always starts. Everything in the house is quiet and the running water starts to become quite loud in my head and like everyone else has said all sound and movement are intensified, louder, rapid/aggressive and thoughts are out of control. When I searched "loud rapid thoughts and intensified sounds and movements" I was amazed at this post of the exact thing. Wow. My husband also has no idea what I'm talking about and got quite freaked out actually. Like I'm a crazy person. Would really love to find out what this all means. If anyone has any information please post! Thank you!

[tateybugs]

I'm so glad I've found others that have had te same symptoms as me. I can't find these symptoms anywhere else on the Internet. As a child I experienced quite bad episodes, they also featured dizziness and slight distortion of objects (E.g. Things would seem further, or closer than they were). Everything moving louder and faster was crazy. I also felt as if sounds echoed from the volume. It always made me extremely scared and paranoid, and it didn't help that my parents thought I was being silly. Usually would happen after waking up or before going to sleep. At about 13 I learnt to calm my mind and could feel when an "episode" was coming on. For me it helped to turn the television on and concentrate on the TV show, and I sit up straight and not move. Rarely happens anymore, as I learnt to control it whereas as a child I could not. I am 18 now and definitely hope it doesnt return. Would love to know what it is that causes these symptoms...

[nanodgb]

That part in "A Day in the Life", from 1:45 to 2:17, is an absolutely accurate way to describe the feeling! At least the hearing part. I always make people listen to that when I'm trying to explain it :)

[jmored94]

I get like this a lot too! more so when i was child but still quite often now when i am 18..... it happens to me when things are quiet for too long or when i get really mad. its like every sense is enhanced and you have a voice in your head, but its your voice and its yelling out everything your doing and thinking, and if you have a fun on it sounds like a machine gun going off or people that talk to you are in a really sped up voice that sounds angry i really want to know what this is, i would tell my parents but they might think i am possessed or something cause were catholic

[etherdeath]

I'm having one of these experiences right now.  It's been quite some years.  I am 37 and it's probably been a least 4 years, but definitely a few other times I felt them coming on.  It happens when I am alone, and it seems like computer or television use and laying still exacerbates it.

It's so strange and I don't know how to feel about it.

In one sense, it's sort of what I might have imagined it would be like to be inside the head of an extremely violent person going into an awful rage.  But somehow, there's also a sense of calmness about it.  I have no actual violent or angry feelings myself though.  It's odd because I know this sounds like a contradiction, and that's why it is hard to explain.  One way to describe it is like being in the middle of a terrible scene, but you are somehow calm.  This has lead me to think that it is some residual effect from early childhood trauma.  But I would expect the episode to be harmful and traumatic.  But it's not at all.  When they end, I'm fine.  Sometimes I feel like things will just get faster and faster, and how fast can they get?  Won't something 'pop' eventually?  That probably won't be good.

Since I am calm, but the experience is not, and it's only going on in my head, I have sometimes gotten the sense I am feeling something other than my own feelings, which has then lead me to think I might be developing some kind of super power.  Sadly, I cannot seem to move light objects across the room using only my mind.

I just took my pulse and it's pretty normal. 80 bpm, which is just about right.  I started typing this and it has gotten amazingly intense now.  Sometimes I wonder if this is my brain speeding up, or perhaps slowing down.

I can see why some people might think it is a spiritual awareness thing.  I generally am a very grounded person.  I've never been on prescription medication and I rarely take medicine in general.  I have been taking a lot of vitamins lately, in particular nootropics.

I think once I saw something that sounded similar to symptoms of diabetes.  I am pretty healthy and fit.

I remember in my 20s I felt like if it was coming on, I was able to allow it to happen rather than make it go away.

It's currently 4:47 AM CST and I have been in the middle of an episode for about 25 minutes.  It is fading now, and I have no idea why.

[etherdeath]

I would like to add that I have had my DNA sequenced at 23&me.  I am able to hear higher pitches than most people can hear and I have slightly low blood pressure.  Other than that, I can't think of anything else all that physically 'out of the norm'.

[vics2013]

I have been researching this because I too had this a lot when I was young - just as described with my thoughts shouting back at me etc. I am 41 now and had a few episodes in last few years, but v rare. I mentioned it to my partner some years back and was amazed to discover he knew what I meant (as my parents never had) as had had them too. I then discovered  younger half sister also has them (especially when concentrating) and NOW my 8 year old son is experiencing it frequently, as well as distressing deja vu type nightmares - WHILST AWAKE! He recently had fever and sickness bug and they have come on frequently since that, although he had experienced them a couple of times before. It is at least nice for him that I know what he means, but he is having a terrible time as been getting them many times a day in the last week. Hereditary I wonder?? It so wierd . why if so many of us have them, is there no medical record of anything like this - except the Alice in Wonderland thing, which does not seem quite the same??!!

[vics2013]

I have been researching this because I too had this a lot when I was young - just as described with my thoughts shouting back at me etc. I am 41 now and had a few episodes in last few years, but v rare. I mentioned it to my partner some years back and was amazed to discover he knew what I meant (as my parents never had) as had had them too. I then discovered  younger half sister also has them (especially when concentrating) and NOW my 8 year old son is experiencing it frequently, as well as distressing deja vu type nightmares - WHILST AWAKE! He recently had fever and sickness bug and they have come on frequently since that, although he had experienced them a couple of times before. It is at least nice for him that I know what he means, but he is having a terrible time as been getting them many times a day in the last week. Hereditary I wonder?? It so wierd . why if so many of us have them, is there no medical record of anything like this - except the Alice in Wonderland thing, which does not seem quite the same??!!

[Sussanno]

This thread is old now but I have the exact same thing. It started when I was 5 years old... Except mine would happen at night or in the morning when there was silence. Later on playing computer games would bring on the same symptoms. I was diagnosed with epilepsy. And put on 500mg of epilem a day. But if I look at the computer I can feel the onset of it again. As long as I stop at that moment and relax the symptoms subside... I'm not sure the diagnoses was correct as the lady who did my brain scan disagreed with my doctor.

[IRONXSPIDER]

I'm glad I found an active thread on this. I think mine started very similar to alot of others, I had a terrible fever as a child and coupled with an intense nightmare is the first instance I can remember of it (I was about 5-6) I used to get it very frequently as a child but not so much a I got older. One of the other sensations I would get was objects seeming like they were very far in the distance when in reality they were in the same room as me. Again same with a lot of you it only happens when I'm by myself.

I'm 21 now and just had the first one in a long time however it didn't even last a minute.

[REBAROME]

I have the same issue... my thoughts seem to be  very intense,almost an evil negative voice. It really bothers me, i have had this snice i was a kid basically as long as i can remember and as someone else said talking out loud use to help but recently it has been gotten more frequently and it last way longer than in the past. I have called this "poochie cocks" ... it wasn't till the past five years i have told anyone about my poochie cocks and discovered my sister has it happen as well. And like i said being that it has gotten way worse any explanation would be of great help. I have never spoken to A doctor about it but if it keeps getting worse and worse it seems that the only option. Someone please give me some advice or help. Thank you

[chucknorris401]

it happens to me about once a month to my family thought i was over exaggerating it and never took notice of it when i came complaining OMG i thought i was the only one so relieved

[eekawolf]

Ok- I thought I was losing my mind as well.  I have the exact symptoms as everyone else....the loud thoughts- like yelling in my head but not voices....feeling like everything is moving fast- or the world is slow...too intense-and it always seems to come on when I am in a quiet room or when there is a "white noise"  fan, water running etc.  the only solution I have found...same again as others- is visual/auditory stimulation: watch TV or turn on the radio.  TV seems to work better....  I am on Topamax as well (same as a few of you)  thought that may be part of it....and it maybe it is?  Since this is an anti-epiliptic drug..... I'm a chronic pain person...I had not mentioned this to my Dr or friends- thought they would think I was losing it....so I am glad to see there are a few of you out there.....if anyone has other ideas of what might be causing this or how to make it stop...would love to brainstorm... lol!

[Cocopai]

Google: Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

I also had this when i was a child. Not often, maybe 2-3 times in total. The first time was when i had a fever. I was sick and in bed, playing gameboy. I almost fell asleep and thats when it happened. Everything got extremely intense. It was a total nightmare. I remember the characters from the video game were still kind of in my head, all over the place. I got up from bed and walked into the hallway to find my mom. The laundrymachine was on in the bathroom and i remember the sound of it got extremely intense and slow. I felt like i was walking in slow motion and my legs and feet were HUGE. I somehow got my moms attention and she talked to me and that snapped me out of it.

I never found out what it was until many years later when it happened again in my 20s. I was in bed about to fall asleep (after playing computer games for a while). And all of a sudden i got the feeling that a needle on the nightstand next to me was massive. I instantly realized what was about to happen and got out of bed and into the bathroom to splash some cold water in my face. That got me out of it before it got too intense. I googled it and found that Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is probably it.

As mentioned, ive only had it a few times, but it seems that a few common factors are: fever, when i am about to fall asleep, and after sitting in front of a screen too long.

Hope this helps someone else out there! Its certainly a feeling impossible to explain to someone unless they have experienced it! Very uncomfortable.

[mrgiggles]

I've had these episodes many times as a child. I had not happened for the longest time, but happened twice in the past 2 months.

I seem to have a different experience from most here in that I really enjoy these episodes. In fact, I began looking up what this was to hopefully find a method to aid in inducing it. Is there anyone who knows how to induce this state?

[Lesly]

What you are all describing is somewhat similar to what started happening to me when I was about 15 years old.  However, mine are a bit different.  I have tried googling the symptoms over the years trying to find answers, but haven't yet.
I was sitting in class listening to the teacher drone on for quite a while.  I began to zone out a little almost like I could sleep.  I was watching him as he spoke and suddenly he began to seem further and further away.  His voice sounded loud and I began to feel I was no longer in the room with everyone, but possibly dead and watching from a distance almost like tunnel vision.  I was very aware of everything, but felt as though people didn't know I was there.  I would have to have others reassure me.  Before I mentioned anything to anyone though, I swiftly ran from the class.  My teacher got angry and chased me out to the hall to discipline me.  I began to cry and was sent to the sick room where my mother later picked me up from.  Once I got home I went right to bed where I lay there cringing in fear and bawling.  This went on for the entire rest of the day and night.  The next day, my mother took me to the doctor.  He sent me in for an E.E.G.  He thought I may have been having small seizures.  I never found out anything more, but the episodes continued on and off daily.  

I attributed it to a few months previous, when I had gone out with friends during school lunch hour and smoked a joint.  It was my very first time and I had a very bad reaction almost immediately following smoking it.  I began to see my friends body's distort into pencil shape people and I panicked and ran almost getting hit by a car.  That lasted for about 3 or 4 hours, the whole time crying in fear.  I couldn't understand why it didn't happen to any of the others.  I never tried it again.

The episodes that began in class and after getting the E.E.G.  lasted on and off getting less frequent for about 10 years, until I was about 25.  Every now and then when I am concentrating hard or staring into space, it begins to happen but I can shake it off.  I googled this today still perplexed about it and found this page.  Sure would like some answers.

[Lesly]

I think I forgot to mention that the people talking seem to be at a great distance away as in they look further away during the episode.

[mrgiggles]

I had a similar thing when listening to people talk for an extended period. They seem to be further away coupled with a little tunnel vision. Similar to movies where it zooms out fairly rapidly from a closeup. It always made me think of them as an action figure. It happened recently at work in a meeting. It tends to happen when I focus a lot on one person talking.

[jojo1jma]

i cant believe this im so glad i looked this up. whatever it is ?  i have had this condition for years on and off,months spread apart. first started when i was a child like most of us. i find that my hearing, my brain, my touch, everything heightens. can be very scary and overwhelming. mostly happens when im in bed but occasionally happened at work or just random. i have tried to study it when it occurred just so i could explain it to someone . but even then it is very hard to explain. one time i actually found that when i focus, in my head, about a super flat surface it will start up, almost like i controlled it but found myself overwhelmed again. best way i could stop it was to distract my brain onto other things, like a story or a song, something that doesn't take much effort to think about ,, if that makes any sense,,  and will slowly pass, but even that can sometimes be a challenge .. good to know im not the only one .. : )  

[Lesly]

Exactly

[Lesly]

It did have a huge impact on my studies.  Especially if it was necessary to listen to a long lecture.  I was not able to concentrate on a person droning on.  To this day I am not able to do that and I am now 48.  Hope there is an answer for this one day.

[JBirdy123]

I jst had one of these what I call"fast motions" I was in bed and it was really quiet it lasted about 10mins I find playing music on my phone and singing loud to it goes away. I've had them since I was 10 and I used to tell my dad about them and he never really said much cause he had no idea wht I was talking about. I haven't had one for about 5 months and the one tonite was really intense and everything felt like it was times 10 sound, movements and walking I find is the worst. I woke my girlfriend next to me n told her I had one n she thinks it's weird but told me to google it, so glad I found this I thought I was the only one for years I showed my dad n he's now interested in finding out what it is too. I'm 23 now and would love to find what it is!

[Blaise_Bailey_Finnigan_III]

I have experienced these echoing feelings that you have described several times before and it is super weird. All my thoughts sound like their being yelled at me SUPER LOUD and everything just echos on and on and i tense up like crazy. It's kinda like being pissed, except also tottally not. As this happens, i shut my eyes really tight and i see tons of angry, fat, black lines go across my vision, like Jackson Pollocks moodier paintings, except angrier and faster and bigger. Everything rushes in head and My brain yells everything i think right back at me but angry and loud, like being cussed at really pissed off, but faster and, ****, i dunno. Crazy as hell is what it feels like.

[kattsqueen]

sometimes sensory overload issues can be attributed to mineral deficiencies. For me it is a potassium disorder that I suffer from.. my body and mind require more potassium than the average American diet provides.. it is considered (for me anyways) to be part of the bigger picture of an ion channelopathy which is very much improved with diet and potassium supplementation,, kcb

[crisfromQC]

try listening to white noise with earphones on, by the way i dont think your son is experiencing the same symptoms as these folks, your son seems to be suffering from 'fatigue' this happens to me when I'm extremely tired you want to go to sleep so much that anything bothers you so you can't...

[FloMop]

I have often had this same sensation.  I never paid much attention as I always knew I was "different" anyway.  But then, as I got older the sensations didn't happen as often.  When I was married and had children, they still occurred but less often.  One day my 8 year old said to me, "Mamma, do you ever go fast?" and I knew exactly what he was talking about.  Then a few years later we were talking about an episode and my youngest child overheard and said she "goes fast" too.  We asked my husband if he had this sensation and of course he thought we were nuts.  Turns out that I have finally found the answer.  As our bodies react to frequency:  frequency to change mood, frequency to heal, we also change frequency to meditate.  Some people are natural "channelers" for meditation.  When this sensation occurs, it means that you are open to a frequency that is coming to you.  It happens when your mind is most open...during times of creativity most often, or illness because your mind is not focused on any one thing.  The way to get it to stop (if that is what you want) is to focus on something.  However, if you are open to it, then release yourself to it.  Close your eyes and let it in.  PLEASE be sure you are in an area that is safe and you can sit and be still.  You will be amazed at where you can go and what you can learn.  It is a gift!  If you don't want it, then focus on something and it will stop.

[daniel105]

My son is experiencing this after having a bad first case of Herpes. He feels like everyone is yelling.  He had sores in his mouth bad with fever.  I read about alice syndrome and it is also related to a form of herpes called Mono.

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epstein-Barr_Virus

[john605]

Dude I was feeling fairly similar its hard to describe in words how i feel. I definitely agree with the everything sounds more intense and kinda louder but mine kinda feels like everything slows down kinda but slows down and is intense like its so strange. How I can try to describe it is i feel like every sound I hear is like a hostile sound like umm while im typing the sound of my keys clicking give me like a feeling like the tone they are giving off is annoyed haha i feel like im sounding crazy im just trying to describe it in words which is very difficult It just makes every sound I hear sound either more intense but like gives me a bad vibe its so so strange haha but im glad to see there are other people having similar feelings haha I thought I was alone.

[john605]

Dude I was feeling fairly similar its hard to describe in words how i feel. I definitely agree with the everything sounds more intense and kinda louder but mine kinda feels like everything slows down kinda but slows down and is intense like its so strange. How I can try to describe it is i feel like every sound I hear is like a hostile sound like umm while im typing the sound of my keys clicking give me like a feeling like the tone they are giving off is annoyed haha i feel like im sounding crazy im just trying to describe it in words which is very difficult It just makes every sound I hear sound either more intense but like gives me a bad vibe its so so strange haha but im glad to see there are other people having similar feelings haha I thought I was alone.

[john605]

Dude yes! I couldn't think of a way to describe it but yes You feel like everything is yelling every noise you make is being yelled at you and your thoughts are like THIS IS SO WEIRD! IM HUNGRY IM GONNA CHECK THE FRIDGE! I'm so glad I finally remembered to google this when it was happening its so strange I really wanna know why this happens or what this is. But yeah like you said its kinda fascinating at the same time and you do feel different with your surroundings. Personally when its happening I feel like against my surroundings more than united haha its so weird. I feel like every noise I hear is like **** YOU or YOUR ANNOYING ME JUST SITTING THERE!

[john605]

Could you elaborate more on your experience on what its like to "Let it in" I am like afraid to even try that because when I have this experience I feel a negative vibe from it...So if it was some sort of spiritual thing I get a feeling of bad not good...Should I still surrender to it? I don't even know If I would know how to do this. If you could please respond ASAP and elaborate on your experiences with this it would be greatly appreciated. I'm very curious about this now.  

Thanks

[emk1989]

Wow, very crazy! I thought I was the only one. I just experienced this earlier today while I was sitting at my computer in silence looking something up. Everything was normal when all of the sudden this feeling overcame me, like a wave of anxiety (hard to explain) and then inside my mind I started SCREAMING every word that I was reading on the internet. Even if I'd try to focus and read in a normal tone, I couldn't. Then my boyfriend called me and it went away immediately. It's always my own voice, screaming at myself. It happened about a month ago while I was putting on my makeup. I was screaming at myself in my mind while looking in the mirror. Just like someone else posted up there ^ saying to myself "OK NOW I'M GOING TO PUT ON EYELINER! YEAH MAYBE A LITTLE MORE BLUSH!..." Very fast, loud and intense screams. I have also gotten the sensation of feeling very small when this happens. Like if I weren't looking down at my arms and legs, I'd think they were tiny and I feel very very short (I'm actually pretty tall). Gahhhh, it's SO BIZARRE!! It doesn't happen to me too terribly often, but it has happened since I was a kid. When it happens I get super anxious, my heart races and I feel absolutely crazy. Every single time it's happened to me I have been in complete silence and kind of alone in my thoughts. Usually if I turn on the radio or tv or something it goes away. I would love an explanation for this, but it is definitely reassuring that there are so many others experiencing the same thing. I guess we're just special! :-) haha

[Jessicabee]

I know so many people have said this but it's absolutely wonderful to find so many people who experience this when I thought I was the only one! I've never told anyone, not even my parents, in case they thought I was crazy! I'm a 17 year old girl, student, going to uni in September, and these "attacks" as I've come to call them (they really do attack you!) started when I was about 12 or so. It's always when I'm in bed, about to go to sleep, and I'm just casually thinking about stuff, and then it comes, and I'm like oh no oh no please don't, but it's too late and I can't stop it, and my thoughts get louder, the sound of them magnified, every noise in the room like some huge smack to my eardrum! Even moving your eyes or trying to switch your mind onto something else just magnifies it even more!! All I try and do is breathe slowly while sat up, though sometimes it's so bad it has me in floods of tears when I feel like my brain is going to explode! Does anyone feel sometimes like their brain won't survive it? Or their heart? (since it's beating ridiculously fast!) Sorry for the ramble- but it's amazing to find you all!! Thank you!!

[shamrock245]

Glad im not the only one..ive had this all my life so far, started off when I was very young in dreams when I was ill with flu or fever..my sister had the same dreams like this where everything went either realy chaotic and rough or the other is really smooth and slow. .but ive worked out what brings these episodes on, its when im overly tired and think about things to much, it lasts about five mins and with concentration on deep breathing im back to normal..I think its your brain just telling you to bloody relax and go to sleep..what does anyone think of this then?.

[blakey0]

I commented on this near the beginning of the thread and since then it seems to be spreading lol. IT IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE EFFECTS OF DMT. Since my last post I've antagonized the episodes, ie; dropping/smashing things,  screaming and yelling but I don't recommend this as IT GETS A LOT MORE INTENSE and it seems to intensify greatly with each episode. I'm not an idiot lol,  I've just tried to find ways to make it stop since I was a little kid but I can't and I'm 27 now. My email is rippin_it***@**** if n e one feels compelled to discuss and share, I do.

[Sam201111]

Glad I found other people, haha.
I only get it when I'm in bed at night for some reason, and I don't have to be ill or anything, just happens a couple times a month.
It used to really scare me when I was little, now it just interests me and when I feel it coming on I kind of look forward to it. Just lie there and feel very, very weird.

[Sam201111]

Would kill to put a name to it though?
Closest thing I've read on here is that Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, but that seems slightly different. Some of the noise and time distortion is similar though. And it says it often when you're in bed at night..
Sometimes I can be sat in class or a lecture and your looking at the teacher and you suddenly become aware that the teacher is kind of getting really small. Always followed by the feeling that me and everyone else are absolutely tiny in perspective to the earth and stuff.
Again though, not necessarily an unpleasant feeling anymore.

[Sam201111]

mrgiggles, if you found out then please share it with me haha, would love to know!

[krackajackz]

I finally found others! When I describe these symptoms, people stare blankly at me. Its so strange, been getting it once every few months for a few mins. It always triggers when im in bed and I am aware of my thoughts and the noises around me. Its like I enter a higher state of consiousness.
Sounds like every noise is aimed directly at me and there is a feeling of agression to the noise?? Even the wind or my own thoughts are shouting at me! "THIS IS WEIRD, I NEED TO GET UP AND SPLASH MY FACE" Last episode was last night and lasted around 10mins, any longer and I am afraid I would go insane. Possibly related is the feeling I get almost once a week at  night. either feel like im a giant and the room has shrank or im tiny and in my bed in the middle of a warehouse.. I have to open my eyes to make sure. wtf is wrong with my brain? I hope someone can explain this.

[famalam]

I have this exact same thing! i get it quite regularly and am eager to find out what it is. mine are always when I am on my own, and the yelling thoughts is the worst thing.

if ANYONE has been diagnosed at all then it would be great to post a comment if possible!

for any first time experiences i find joining  a room with someone is gd or possibly listening to music may help :)

[alex413]

i used to experience the same thing your son does  ....they would get realy realy bad sometimes like full blown half aslleeep half awake i thought my parents were killing me .... my mom would put me in a freezing cold shower and that would always bring me out of it....  i wish there was a diagnosis for this   but it always started with that loud feeling in my head befor i would go to sleep

[spade88]

I have been having these 'seizures' since I was a child.  They disappeared when I was a teenager but I'm 25 now and they have started to recur more frequently over the last couple of years.  I think it may, in my case, be related to stress.  I had a stressful childhood as my father passed away when I was 10, and can only ever remember talking to my mother about it, she said she understood as she also got a similar feeling when she was younger but they rarely returned.  Moving into my teens I was carefree, enjoying school, college and university but since then I have been having a rough time of it.  Financial worries and more personal tragedy, I believe, has led to these episodes coming back.

They happen when I'm alone, and are fairly infrequent (about once every month or two like most on this forum).  It is often when I am lying in bed in the dark and I can feel them coming on.  Recently they have been getting worse and sometimes can last up to 10-15 minutes.  However it seems a lot longer.  Everything is intense, the slightest body movement, the sound of my breathing and as most of you agree the thoughts in my head seem loud and have an aura of panic to them.  Regardless of all this I know I am still in total control of my movement, my speech and my spatial awareness.  I am incredibly intrigued as to what is abnormal about my brain that is causing this, the only link I can make being stress.

Unfortunately the medical world seems not to know much about our condition.  It will be Universities if anything that would be willing to research our stories however I imagine until we experience serious health problems due to this I would think we were back of the queue.  I will keep an eye out on here if anyone has any more information and will post if I get some - I'm going to book an appointment with my GP to kick things off as last nights episode was the worse I've ever had and I could not sleep for worrying about my health.

[James2024]

A consultant neurologist I know said despite some things not matching it is most likely still a variant of Alice In Wonderland syndrome due to a acephalic migraine (migraine without the headache part). He said however that in theory simple partial seizures could cause a similar phenomenon. It occurs so infrequently it's not really worth me seeking more help than that.

[marilynnewell]

FINALLY!!!! I have been trying to google this for YEARS since I started experiencing the same thing when I was 13.

Exactly as described in original post, and happens at similar times as other people: in quite rooms alone, when tired, usually hungry, staring at a screen for a while, after staying up late writing an intense paper or something...

I've been trying to explain this to my parents for years (I'm 21 now) and tried explaining how the "voice in my head" is aggressive and loud. They mistook that for me "hearing voices" >.> But it's my thoughts! It's just much more aggressive, like the capitals everyone's saying like OH HERE WE GO AGAIN OK THIS IS WEIRD WHAT THE HECK ALRIGHT LET ME OPEN FACEBOOK NOW IM GOING TO STAND UP AND GET A GLASS OF WATER OK WHEN IS THIS GOING TO END AM I INSANE MAN I WALK LOUD ON THIS CARPET

I definitely can relate to what everyone said about everything seeming like it's going 1000 miles an hour as well. I was definitely experiencing that but had a hard time explaining it so well. Sometimes when everything subsides (it usually lasts for under 5 minutes, but has lasted for up to 10 or 20 minutes), everything will be normal except for the perception of things moving abnormally fast. So strange.

My main difficult with it has been test taking. I used to perceive it as some kind of panic attack...maybe it is. It's interesting to read through all of these comments and see what people have "called it". "Episodes" is definitely one way i've tried to keep track of it as well as calling it "hypersensitivity" since that was the best way I could think to describe what was happening...there's definitely a mood behind the auditory perception, as other people have mentioned though. It's not just "LOUD" and "FAST", it's "AGGRESSIVE" and "ABRASIVE" which I think is what can make it be so stressful and scary, especially not knowing exactly what's happening.

I'm a college student (music) and even before college I would have an episode during a math test and it would really be distracting, and my grade would usually suffer from it (I'm usually a straight A student and would have a hard time finishing tests because of the distraction). I almost failed two Music Theory classes in college because it would happen almost every time and I wouldn't finish my test because I couldn't finish my thoughts when they were so aggressive and all the sounds were so overwhelming! The worse part is that I could never go in to DSS and try to get different accommodations (can't even think of what the accommodations would be...take the test in a NOISY room perhaps since it usually happens when it's quite!? haha!) because I'm not a disabled student and there's no name to this weird perceptive happenstance.

If you read any of these and experience these same things or have any info PLEASE contribute to the conversation. Thanks to everyone who did! Good to know I'm not on my own ;)

[j3ss3neu]

I have also experienced this a few times, but the occurrences are becoming more frequent now. It started when I was a child. Although I have researched it, there hasn't been anything specific. Maybe it's a sign of super- powers. ;P

[beingbrad]

@marilynnewell  

OMG, I laughed out loud at "MAN I WALK LOUD ON THIS CARPET".

So perfectly describes what happens to me. Every thought sounds super loud and aggressive, every external sound is extremely loud, but only in hindsight if that makes sense. I hear it, then somehow I remember it as crazy loud and aggressive.

I've had people tell me it was a panic attack, so that's what I've thought all these years (I'm 38 and have had it since before 10 - it went away for about a decade but has returned now in force - 2 this week). But I don't think what I have is a panic attack or Alice in Wonderland syndrome, my symptoms are almost exclusively in my perception of sound (or the idea of sound as my thoughts aren't exactly making noise) and time.

Sound: Everything seems super loud and aggressive (even though I'm fully aware it's not)

Time: I feel as though there is a delay from when I hear something to when I process the sound.

As a kid I remember thinking it was a superpower so when it would happen I would try to concentrate of tiny sounds that I knew were imperceptible (like an ant walking on pavement). It never worked.

We need a name for this thing.

[javijav]

So glad I found this. I too experience the weird loud thoughts. I have not read every comment but I think I may be the only one here that can on demand trigger it.  Whether it be by a noise sight emotional feeling or touch. it just takes plplenty of concentration and im in that zone. I first experienced it when I was about 15 now 23 and have learned to turn it on but sometimes randomly kicks on as well. I have not been to a doctor or psychiatrist but I would really like to soon being that sometimes it's just scary when I can't snap out of it for hours.

[Boliath]

I get the same thing, only immediately after I wake up, in the middle of the night. It has been happening since I was a child, I too had a fever when I experienced this for the first time. I remember that moment, clear as day.

I don't really know why I want answers, I guess I'm sick of that scared feeling. It happens too often now.

[sibuna89]

I too am part of this surprisingly large group of people reporting this exact phenomenon. Decided to google when I experienced it just recently.

How I experience it is that the sound seem to intensify and keep getting louder and louder, and most importantly they feel aggressive. But it's not me who gets aggressive, quite the opposite. I feel like that person who's watching other angry people and feels sorta intimidated by being around there "calm down". That, but in my head. Now there's small disconnect for me with the sensory experience of the phenomenon. The actual sounds seem to intensify, but not get louder. It's more akin when you have a microphone and you're listening through it and keep turning the mic sensitivity higher and higher.
It's hard to describe but for example when you type with keyboard each letter hit feels sharp and angry, like I'd be typing some text really angry when I'm not. But what actually gets more loud is my own thoughts in my head. That sound, your own voice in your head when you're reading a text or thinking, gets louder and louder as does the hiss in your ears (like tinnitus, but normally inaudible).
However, I don't have feeling of my size changing, nor do I feel sluggish or fast. More like that my head is processing every auditory input really fast so that the time between say two keystrokes feel longer, when they really are not. Like when working with overtaxed computer and you have to wait it to catch up with what your doing. Someone mentioned the Beatles song "A Day in the Life" between 1:45 to 2:17 is quite good representation of that feeling.
It is not dreamlike, nor out-of-body experience, the opposite in fact. Like a heightened consciousness of sorts.
(I'd like to point out the observation that maybe there are two groups here discussing sightly different things. Some are describing AIWS, and some are reporting increased loudness, like me. But I don't know if the two are in fact related.)

I too used to get these more frequently when I was young. Now I'm 24. They always seem to happen when I'm slightly tired, concentrating on something for a long time and I'm in a environment that is quiet or has constant a white noise (like a computer fan) in the background. I've never been scared of the feeling nor have I found it uncomfortable the least. As a child I used to think that it was a neat little glitch in the head akin to Deja-Vu nothing more that happens only so rarely.