seeing things at night ? spiders and insects and people oh my !!

[kat2913]

i posted this response in another forum , and am re posting them alone because i feel there are some aspects that are different from the other cases , such as the tremors ,and the length in which this is happening to me ... not only in how long these attacks last , but also in the amount of time in my life they have been happening .

there are also some other symptoms i would like to add . such as a low heart rate , that is increasingly lowered during sleep time . and arm and leg pains that only happen at night . ive had an mri , ekg, cat scan , worn a heart monitor , slept at a sleep study clinic , taken vitamins  , gone to routine check ups . and there is nothing "wrong" with me . i am a healthly 26 year old female .

i think that its strange that every case i have read about everyone is seeing the same images , this leads me to believe and im not a doctor that these things are possible stemming form a part of the brain that would trigger these images . hundreds of people from all over the world that see spiders when trying to sleep . just seems odd that people wouldnt be seeing different things depending on the individual

i have been experiencing this since i was a child . when i was young i believed that there were people in my room at night standing over my bed watching me sleep . sometimes they would grab at me , i felt it as though it was really . my mother would tell me that i would wake up screaming in the middle of the night . but the funny thing was i wasnt asleep . i was only laying there ,sometimes i would wake up with strange scratches or marks on my body . the doctor said i was just a restless sleeper and  it quickly got brushed under the table so to speak as night terrors , and i learned to live with it , as time went on and i got older the "visions" changed . i would see what you guys are calling spiders or insects crawling on the walls , only i think your brain is choosing to see it that way because its something its firmiliar with . i believe that its actually more like a ball of electricity (like those balls in science class you touch and the electric charges shoot to where your fingers are )..... the more i focused on them the more it would look like spiders or something i would naturally see crawling on walls . i also still see people standing in corners . sitting on my bed standing next to the bed . always the same things .and unlike when your eyes play tricks on you i find that when i look away from the image instead of it moving to where i look it stays in one place . my "visions" have started to last longer instead of seeing them for 10 seconds and closing my eyes and having them disappear , its lasting 30 seconds or more . giving me time to actually ponder what im seeing . i am also experiencing a different symptom non of you have mentioned . i sake , sometimes either before or after the visions happen my body trembles i thought it was fear , but now i think its as if its decompressing . its hard to explain . ive seen many doctors , had every test you can think of preformed ,done more then one sleep study . and the diagnoses is all over the place ive heard diet , mild narcolepsy ,sleep paralysis , and my favorite that im stressed . non of which i feel is correct im not excessively tired , i eat healthy , and dont consider my self suffering for any extra stress . i think its strange that we are all seeing the same things , the same 5 images , and that there is no study being done that this could be a completely isolated experience / disorder . i would love to have some answers

[Suri123]

Hi kat2931, how are you? Have you been for a consultation with the neurologist or a sleep specialist for a sleep study as well? You might be having sleep terrors coupled with sleep apnea leading to narcolepsy. These hallucinations are seen if sleep deprivation does continue for long time. Do you fall asleep for more part of day? Are you active in daily activities? Hallucinations - Usually, these delusional experiences are vivid and frequently they are frightening. The content is primarily visual, but any of the other senses can be involved. These are called hypnagogic hallucinations when accompanying sleep onset and hypnopompic hallucinations when occurring during awakening. It is better to consult the sleep doctor at early and get evaluated. Keep updating on the advice. Take care.

[kat2913]

i have been seen and studied for all of these things . been to a sleep study a neurologist as well as spoken to physicians about narcolepsy . i suffer from non of the above in fact they claim im very healthy , im active in the day sleep about 8 hours a night . i do fall asleep very quickly when i do go to bed . but never with out warning or in the middle of the day

[Suri123]

Hi Kat2913, how are you doing? Thanks for your reply and the input. I agree that there could not be a known cause or a positive sleep test but the underlying stress you might be going through could be the cause as most of documentation focus on. These hallucinations are harmless anyway and can only get worsened with increasing stress levels. You could discuss the stress management with a change in place and people can be helpful. Relaxation through yoga can be looked at and continue your regular exercises.  Take care and share your thoughts.

[kat2913]

i actually do yoga . and other forms of meditation . and ive found that the only thing this helps with is realizing that my hallucinations can change form depending on what i want to see , for example the "spider" that everyone claims to see i believe is the first rational thing you brain grabs onto for what your seeking .ive been able to control that and now my hallucinations are just shapes balls of energy . they rarely take form . and as i stated in the other forum  . im more relaxed and under stressed then most people . and i get on adverage about 6 to 8 hours ofsleep a night i would in no way consider myself sleep deprived . i think the diagnoses for these symptoms from the medical world is a bit all over the board , narcolepsy , sleep apnea , rls, nutrition , sleep deprivation , stress , everything they can think of that kinda sorta fits , i just think that it need so studying as a seperate issue , as an adult i know that they are harmless , but as a child the fear of these experiences haunted my bedtime . and i was simply toldi  had night terrors . this could just be a new underlined affliction .

[aprilrena]

Ive just started having this problem in the last few months... it has been very disturbing to me.  I'm 32 yrs old... am I getting ready for my nervous breakdown?!  So I decided to research this situation...  It started off as me seeing like swarms of mosquitoes in my bedroom, swirling around.  I would stare straight at them and would sware I was wide awake.  It became really disturbing when I was talking with my mother one night... I was really sleepy... as we were talking I saw a spider trail down on its web in front of me... I reached out and grabbed the web with my hand, then it disappeared.  My mother was alarmed also to say the least.  Last night I awoke to a small swarm of mosquitoes in my bedroom... I stared at it as long as I could until it went away.  When it happens, it seems as if it is REALLY there.  You know you have this problem and you're trying to figure out why you see these things while you're seeing them!  It makes no sense to me... but I do know that I have been having trouble with low blood pressure lately.  When I awake at night while having the hallucination, I feel funny in my chest, like my heart is beating funny, slower and out of rhythm.  I wonder if maybe the low blood pressure leads to a lack of oxygenated blood to the brain triggering the hallucinations.  I havent spoken to a doctor about it yet, and just told my husband tonight.  My obvious fear is that someone will think I'm crazy.  I'm just glad to find out Im not the only one going through this... I'm  with you though... could it have it's own category?  Is narcolepsy too vague of a diagnosis?  I feel like it's way more complicated than that.

[mfaye77]

EVERYONE
OK SO I TOO HAVE THESE TERRIFYING NIGHT VISIONS! IT STARTED WITH SEEING SPIDERS CRAWLING UP THE WALL AND WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES AND REOPEN THEM IT STARTS BACK IN THE ORIGINAL SPOT I SAW AND BEGINS CRAWLING UP THE SAME PATH. IT DRIVES ME CRAZY AND SINCE I HATE SPIDERS I ASSUMED IT WAS SOME FORM OF ARACHNOPHOBIA UNTIL THE OTHER VISIONS STARTED TO DATE I HAVE WOKEN UP TO.... A SMALL BLACK FIGURE (LIKE A CHILD) WALKING TO THE BED AND STARTING TO GET IN BED WITH ME AND MY HUSBAND, SPOOKY I STARTED SCREAMING AND SCRAMBLING IN TO MY HUSBAND ALMOST SHOVING HIM OUT OF THE BED! I HAVE ALSO SEEN PEOPLE STANDING IN MY DOOR WAY AND MANY DARK FIGURES IN THE ROOM NOT TO MENTION THE COUNTLESS TIMES I HAVE SEEN SPIDERS ON THE BED AND THROWN THE COVERS COMPLETELY OFF OF US! SO THE REASON I LOOKED UP THIS TOPIC THIS MORNING IS BECAUSE LAST NIGHT WAS REALLY BAD I WOKE TO SEE A DARK SHADOW POINTING A GUN RIGHT AT ME AND JUMPED FROM THE BED AND RAN DOWN THE HALL TO THE GUEST BATHROOM AND LOCKED MY SELF IN, I WAS SO SCARED AND REALLY BELIEVED SOMEONE WAS IN THE HOUSE! AFTER A FEW MINUTES I REALIZED IT WAS ANOTHER EPISODE AND WENT BACK TO BED. I HAVE READ A FEW BOOKS ON RECOVERING FROM CHILD ABUSE AND SURPRISINGLY THIS IS A SYMPTOM OF POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DUE TO A LACK OF FEELING SAFE FROM PRIOR ABUSE OR TRAUMA. HAS ANYONE ELSE READ OR HEARD OF THIS AND I KNOW THIS IS PERSONAL BUT IS ANYONE ELSE A SURVIVOR OF CHILD ABUSE LIKE ME? THANKS AND GOD BLESS LET'S GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS AND GET SOME GOOD UNDISTURBED SLEEP!
~ MELINDA`

[shinytime]

Thank God for this forum or I would be admitting myself to a psych ward somewhere!  I am a 31 year old healthy female and I began seeing spiders just after wakening about 6 months ago.  It seems to have stopped for now, but there is no doubt in my mind that they were definitely spiders.  They came in different colors, were initially blurry but as I focused, they became quite detailed, some had webs, and some had friends!  I was never frightened, just curious, and they remained in spite of my blinking or telling myself to "wake up!"  After the third episode of this, I knew that it was some sort of vision, but it was no less alarming when it continued to happen.  

I had experienced this for about 2 months when I went with my Grandmother to the hospital for surgery.  One day when she was recovering from the anesthesia, she insisted that I wipe "all the ants" off of the table, which of course, were not there.  I told the Dr. about the "ants" and he said that it was a common phenomenon and didn't appear at all worried and that eased my mind somewhat.  

I may or may not have sleep problems, I can't remember the last time I dreamt, so I take that as an indication that I rarely sleep deeply.  I have a very low heart rate and blood pressure and I only mention that because I've seen that posted on other comments.  

I'd like to say that I'm not stressed, but after having Shingles at age 13, I came to realize that I may be stressed without realizing it.  

Whatever the cause, I too find it bizarre that we all see spiders.  I hope to God that I never see someone over my bed!!

[YellowDog33]

Seriously, has anyone found a solution?!  I've been seeing spiders for years, but they're usually on the bed with me (yes, flinging the covers off and ending up in the corner of the room staring at the bed in horror until I "wake up" and realize it wasn't real); and then the spiders stopped and for the last year it has became people - hovering above me, getting into bed with me, hands around my neck, just standing there looking at me, etc.  The experiences are insanely frightening and now I can't get through one night without a lot of anxiety, whether I have an "experience or not", the anticipation makes it difficult to fall asleep because it always happens within the first hour.  I have no history of abuse, I eat well, I run daily - I've been to doctors who tell me it's stress (I reject - we're all stressed, me no worse than anyone else) to hypnotherapists who tell me it's a psychic "gift".  I'm at my wit's end really - I really don't want to take anti-depressants, and a little tired (and embarrassed to admit) of telling people to leave me alone and go into the light.  Sheesh.  What has become of me.

[Nat31]

Hi everybody!

I too have these visions with spiders though I am healthy  female. Some times I do see dark shadows too. When I started seeing these visions It was scary at the beginning but I am not afraid of spiders never was. I thought something was wrong with me until now. I am so happy that we can share our experiences. I wonder why so many of us seeing same thing spiders?Why spiders?

[emz22]

does anybody see in day to day life (awake) the same numbers, like when you look at the clock its 11:11 or 22:22?

I too see all these things, and it started with the spiders then moved on to people standing over my bed and trying to grab me.

im just curious to see if these are linked. its all very strange.

[sleepyhead20]

After reading these experiences, I am somewhat relieved that I am not alone. I have long suffered countless episodes over the years of seeing things from spiders crawling to the point I am pointing at it and my husband says he can't see anything( that's how I know I am awake). I've woken up to seeing people from the distant past such as old white men with long flowing hair and beard dressed in white flowing rags with staff  in hand standing bedside, to opening my eyes to be unpleasantly surprised by a fully garbed medieval red headed  woman sleeping alongside me. The last episode I awoke to was a cloudy apparition like figure hovering over me which, since I am a christian I  rebuked it in the name of of Jesus and it just vanished as opposed to heading straight out the window or retreating into a corner as per usual. I am somewhat not fully convinced that it is due to stress a part of me thinks it is supernatural due to other experiences that I can't even share at this time.

[pamic]

This is really weird.  I have seen ( for years) 11 27.  It happens to be my ex husband's birthday so when I would look at the clock and see 11:27 I would think " oh, Bill's birthday" but then it seemed like I always happened to look at the clock at 11:27.  I finally made them two of my lottery numbers.  It still happens and I always point it out if anyone is around.  I happened to see your post and was thinking about replying.  I was wondering how old the posts were here so I looked at the date that you posted.  What was the date?  11/27.  Funny, huh? Guess that now I have to play the numbers tomorrow.

[roxiehelp]

Well I was Just looking for some answer I can't sleep at night lately when I try to sleep and I hear a noise an I open my eyes I see something crawling an the wall it's not only spiders but I also see other things I really don't know what to do I've been in the hospital alout since I've been a little girl now I get blood transfusions alout and it's scary because I don't know whose blood it is there putting inside of me but sometimes I wake up with my chest shaking really bad and sometimes I see little sparkles in front of me I try to brush my eyes and see if it would go away but it does not what can I do to sleep normally again I'm scared now I can't sleep till like 4 am and but that time I just feel horrible because I have to be up at 6 so I hardly get any sleep please help and tell me what I can do to fix this I'm only 27 years old and have 3 boys and with the work of 3 kids in the day being tired like this just takes a toll on me what can I do to help me and if anyones has any suggestions thanks for reading and taking your time to tell write back

[danter6]

Okay guys, surely with this many people (all women, I've noticed) experiencing the EXACT same thing, there must be a doctor who can explain this. I too see spiders on webs at night (definitely spiders, very realistic looking) and have long wondered why. I am definitely awake and grab them and turn on the light with an empty hand. I'm 40 years old and have seen them all my adult life. I've never been abused, and am not afraid of spiders (I'm a nature freak and would sooner play with them than kill them). I am also on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications, so whoever was thinking about that, it won't get rid of the spiders. I was very intrigued to hear that others had seen people in their doorways or coming to the side of their bed. That happened to me frequently as a young child, and I could never understand it. I thought maybe it was my parents coming to check on me at night, but it was always the same very tall, slender man with a short heavy woman (opposite my parents), and occasionally they had two children with them. That was the only time they came to the side of my bed, when they were all four together. Otherwise they just looked at me from the doorway.
ARE THERE ANY DOCTORS OUT THERE WHO CAN TELL US WHY THIS HAPPENS??? I don't even fear these visions as much as I used to because I've seen them for so long, but answers would be nice. Any sleep studies going on for this? I volunteer!!

[Jenyoungblood]

HI
I have had this problem seen I was a child, and I have been to Doctors to they have diagnosis me with narcolespy, noctornal seizure disorder, stress,PTSD, and conversion disorder. I don't think they know what this is because none have medication that will make the symptoms go away. I just wanted to know if I need a doctor, or a priest to help with this problem. Do the black images talk to any body? They do me and some times it feels as if I am sitting up half out of my body. Then when I try to come to I feel a surge of electricity going throw my spine and brain a low heart rate and then the sleep parlysis set in and after I come to I am so sleepy it is easy to fall right back into the same thing. Sometimes I am, so scared that I will not wake up. I hope that they find out soon what this is because it is hard to deal with at times. I am going on 23 years with this and it will go away, for a couple of months, but always come right back.

[Jenyoungblood]

I have seen the dark shadows that try to sit on my chest they stand around my bed at night. And I have seen people a woman and man dressed in the 50's they were both in their 30's it seemed at my door way I was mad and told them to leave. I have seen two children that looked a like and dress a like but one ones taller then the other walking down the hall to me. I have also seen the cloud figure over my doorway. But recently i woke up are seem to have and their was a old lady and old man dressed in the 70's in my doorway. I have seen spiders, but not that much it is mostly figures or people. They have talk to me they gave me a number once of 2117 and I still don't know what that means? I have never had children but it showed me in  a black mirror about eight, or nine months pregnant. Has anyone else had something like this happen to them?

[kenjenn]

Well, it certainly is a great feeling to know that we are NOT alone - lol - and no pun intended. I have had night terrors off and on in the middle of the night but far and few between.

The first spider encounter I had was once when I was around 18 or 19 and I got up and ran into the other room in what felt like my sleep because it was my first real "night terror".

When my husband and I first started living together about 5 years ago my waking in the middle of the night would startle him and freak him out but now he is gotten used to it. There have been times where he would catch me sitting up on the bed facing a corner and talking to people that were not there to him.

A year ago was my most frightening episode when I woke up feeling like my head was being zapped with a tazor gun. There were electrical currents running through it and I just grabbed my head saying "no no no". Grant it - I was under a lot of stress at the time and not getting normal sleep then so that is what I chalked it up to. I have ALWAYS been sooo healthy and life now has changed drastically a year later... so much less stress.

HOWEVER, the experiences are still there and not just with me. About 3 months ago, I saw a HUGE Spider dangling in front of me and when it saw my fright it faded away.

Then, the several weeks later my husband woke up and saw a spider too in the same spot of our bedroom! Now, I was so relieved to know I wasn't the only one who was crazy!

Just the other night, we were watching the Ghost Whisperer and all of a sudden I felt a whisper with air movement on my ear and turned behind me to look at my husband to see what - and he looked back and me a said what? I said I heard a whisper and he asked, "was it male" I said yes and he said "I heard it too"! Our dog had been barking outside our bedroom door moments before... so perhaps he picked up something.

Then, early last week I woke up screaming and when my husband asked what was it -  the only think I could describe was " a dark black small shadow disappearing under the bed."

Late last week, my 3 year old who happen to be sleeping with us woke my husband up in the middle of the night and said, "Daddy look! Spider!" . NOW, COME ON! All 3 of us having the same vision???

Last night, I was dozing off with my daughter and was awaken again to see a black solid ball forming beside my bed and I sat up and back to open my eyes wide to see if it was forming into that big ol spider and and it faded away instead. I texted my husband downstairs to tell him and all he said back was, " you mean that wasn't you walking on the stairs?" I came downstairs to talk to him about it and then we heard a noise at the other end of house and when we went into the kitchen to investigate - low and behold - there was a spider crawling on the floor!

So, something is seriously up with this and I am much more inclined to think that this is a spiritual Phenomenon  that we are trying to medically explain away. I would like to here an answer in that direction. Anyone??

I am with you - really would love to know!  

[Fran265]

I've questioned too, "why do we all see spiders?"  Thank God I have never seen shadow people.  I have heard that the veil between our life and the after life is thinning and more people are able to see deceased people.  I have also heard that deceased people can leave energy impressions.  Their ghost is not present but their energy is present.  That electrical feeling people are having has been explained by some that what is happening is they are astraling and the paralysis and tingling feeling is them entering back into their body.  This doesn't explain why we see objects, bugs, and other indistinguishable things.  My hallucinations can be seen in color.  Sometimes the colors are super bright and beautiful or just ordinary primary colors.  I've seen a strange object that looks like a large, opaque elbow noodle and later found out on the radio program "Coast to Coast" that other people have seen this.  They call it a Rod and astronauts have seen them flying around in space.  I haven't seen a Rod in a super long time.  My last hallucination was a blue and yellow object floating in the air that looked like a Fisher Price plastic toy.  My hallucinations come as I'm waking up.  My last spider hallucination was a bright red spider body with long black legs.  All I can do is stare at these objects.  I'm never frightened just curious.  I do tend to have low blood pressure and have wondered if I am experiencing some type of oxygen deprivation as I'm sleeping.  If I am experiencing a lack of oxygen it can happen really fast because I can fall asleep in a chair while watching TV and wake up to these hallucinations.  I have mitral valve prolapse and lower blood pressure (not dangerous low).  I do know that low blood pressure can affect the adrenal glands which produces cortisol and if you are stressed you can have a cortisol insufficiency which affects sleep and with the lack of oxygen to the brain.....hmmm or maybe we're the chosen ones receiving messages from the other side.  :o)

[TINKERBELL6877]

thank god its not just me seeing spiders and people beside my bed. I have always seen spiders once i was sleeping on an airbed in the front room and saw a tarantula go under my table. I was so convinced it was real i woke my stepson and made him check under the table. Another time i was in egypt with my partner and i jumped out of the bed across the floor on to a sofa cause i thought i saw a bright pink spider running towards me. i always wake 2 see people next to my bed which well freaks me out and cause i scream out loud i then freak my partner out i am a 32 year old female and find it weird that most of the comments left on here are from females around about the same age im not on any drugs "rec or prescribed" have had no form of abuse someone out there must know the answer to what this is.

[Fran265]

Hi,
I'm participating in a teleseminar with Dr. Steven Park who wrote the book Sleep Interrupted.  His guest speaker is Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum.  The title of the teleseminar is "From Fatigued to Fabulous".  I was allowed one question when I signed up and asked them why are so many people seeing spiders.  I want to know why the spider.  Hopefully they'll get to my question.  Maybe we'll have an answer soon.

[sporadic]

hi guys.  just thought i'd say something due to you all having similar things happen to you as i did.  when i was little i have vivid memorys of flying around my room and sitting on top of my wardrobe with someone who was a dear friend (not sure who).  i remember people putting sweets under my pillow and my dreams always being really exciting and fun! lol all lucid, basically i was playing in my sleep.

i also used to have night terrors and used to lye there awake and see things come up the stairs towards my room, i was frightened once or twice and then i told my mum about one perticular night when i was awake but suddenly found myself ontop of a cliff and falling.  she told me that i was to imagine a trampoline at the bottom of the cliff, so i did the next few times, and bounced back up to the top of the cliff (funny how when your three you know what a cliff is!)  i then told her about being frightened when the spiders etc came to the bedroom door.  she told me that my lion (had a cuddly lion toy) would come to rescue me, and i still to this day have a very vivid, cartoon like image of something scaring me and my lion toy funning across the 'screen' to save me.  by the way i was awake when these happened and it was usually just after mum sent me to bed and i was looking out the door not really wanting to be there!

needless to say i never had much bother from that form of night terror after that,  although i used to get a feeling which my mum tells me now is a night terror which i called 'big-small' where i have a feeling like i'm massive and tiny at the same time, (god i sound like a total fruit loop! but its all true!) basically this feeling is like a tingly feeling and i can feel my body turn massive at the same time as me being inside it and being tiny... it doesn't really make sense, i suppose the best way to describe it is as if i have on a huge balloon body suit that is shaped to me but is totally blown up.  there's then this huge gap of air in the middle and then there's a tiny me the size of a pin *****, but i can still feel the outer skin of the balloon body suit.  and i flash between the two feelings really fast (a bit like being in a strobe light effect)... the reason i can describe it so clearly is that after a while i could make it happen voluntarily as i liked the feeling, and thinking about it now i can nearly go into that state... i'm also very tired! lol

that all happened when i was around 3-5 and are some of my earliest memories. when i was 5 my granddad died and i cant remember much things like that happening, i feel due to me being so sad.  due to this all happening to me so young that was the first time i really experienced anything let alone stress, and definitely no abuse!

as i grew up i had the odd night terror, sleep paralysis and hallucinations (a huge spider at least 3ft wide walked through my bedroom door one time i had the flu and developed a migraine.  i looked at it went 'ok thats a hallucination and then rolled over and went to sleep!).  

i've even had what people call out of body experiances, but i feel this links very closely to sleep paralysis, as i got out of it the same way, i concentrated on my big toe.  the one 'obe' i remember in my teens was just finding my nose pressed against the corner of my bedroom roof just above my bedroom door.  i didnt freak out but i didnt know how to get down! lol so i concentrated on my big toe and then i woke up in my bed. my mum told me i used to come and tell her of it happening the whole time, but just really remember that one clearly, as i think it was the first one i had happened since i was little.

I do consider sleep paralysis different though as i've always been overwhelmingly frightened! but again i concentrate on my big toe and am out of it pretty soon. and thankfully have only had around 5 of them in my life! (dont like the fear!)

so yeah, no disorders/abuse/stress in fact these things usually happen to me when i'm happy! my first proper sleep paralysis where i saw a flickery woman dressed n black dancing and beckoning me with her hands was when i was lying in my first boyfriends bed very content and happy. totally freaked out afterwards of course! lol

my conclusion is that everyone is the same, and everyone at some point gets these because 99.999 whatever % of us is shared through DNA.  i just think that hardly anyone speaks about it because either their frightened that they'll look like there trying to be psychic or just simply people will think their mad.  and after reading over what i just wrote who can blame them! lol  

i don't know if its spiritual or chemical but my advice is don't worry and concentrate on you big toe ;D

[Fran265]

LOL!  You're funny.  I like you.  Fortunately I haven't seen the people.  My sister has astral experiences similar to yours.  I've been having more and more precognitive dreams and random thoughts that come true.  I don't have control of these dreams or thoughts.  They seem to happen when I least expect it.  I had to tell my angels, guides, deceased loved ones to please be more direct if they would like to send me messages.  It's frustrating if I have to try to decipher a dream that is clearly intended to be a message of some sort.  Maybe this is the start of the evolution of consciousness.

[sporadic]

Maybe fran :) its either an evolution or a reminder! lol i recon we've forgotten how to rely on our intuition and in bygone days, when material things wernt so important, all of this would have been normal.

of course the odd one or two would have had a stronger intuition than others and they would have become medicine people, but still i think its in us all, as we all share DNA.  animals are known to have a 6th sense and were really just a version of them with an extra section of brain! (depending of course on the animal... or human for that matter! HAHA!)

i've had a few dreams that have come to something in one way or another, i usually dream about natural disasters or something big, but then i have predicted deaths from my dreams, and then have had the more specific dream related to illness (one time i dreamt my great aunt had a clot in her leg that i was really concerned about, and when i told my mum about it she said that my aunt had just been to the doctor and had the exact thing i'd dreamt, the funniest thing i thought about it was that i'd been sleeping when she'd gone to the doctor! lol )

i have on average three dreams a night that i remember.  i love my lucid dreams, these ones always happen in the same places and i get to go down streets in them that i've not been before.  i remember one time i was walking down a street and then these two men turned to each other and asked what i was doing there.  i said i was walking they then looked at each other and said i shouldnt be there, i then started to lose my breath before each of the men took an arm and then took me to the top of the street where i woke into the lucid dream, i then woke up out of breath!

i think its really interesting!  

[Fran265]

Two sleep disorder doctors from this forum have been asked about why we are all seeing spiders and shadow people.  Steven Y. Park, M.D. said, "sorry, but this is an area outside of my area of expertise."  Gregg D. Jacobs, Ph.D. said, "I have never heard of this in all of my 20 years in Sleep Medicine."  I can't find any answers as to why we are all seeing spiders.  I tried to buy Dr. Park's book, Sleep Interupted from Amazon but they were unable to get the book for me.  They greatly apologized because I did order it from them.  Devine powers saved me $24.99 because Dr. Park doesn't know about spider visions anyway.  Where do we go now?  If this isn't a sleep disorder what is it?  What I do know is when we are in that half asleep/half awake state it's like a hypnotic state.  I'm so perplexed.

[Fran265]

I'm just curious, are any of you who see spider hallucinations of Native American Descent?  

[CMM709]

I am 26 years old have the exact same problems - I usually see a spider, bird, wolf, or a man's floating head.  I had it often during college, it went away for awhile and has now come back.  For the last week it has been happening every night.

I felt funny saying anything to a doctor but my boyfriend convinced me to look into it.  My doctor has never heard of anything like it and said I'm probably having night terrors.  I think it’s crazy so many people have the same issue and doctors are familiar with it.

I am of American Indian decent, why?

[bassclef22]

The reason that we all see spiders so often is (simply and roughly put)  because our brains are waking up before all of our other senses and catching on to all the electrical signals in the space that were in, be it led light, moon light or other reflection and our brains play an association game: what does this look like that is most familiar to me? Bugs ie spiders. Our brains are complex yet logical... STOP MAKING THIS SPIRITUAL/ANCESTRAL/HYPNOTIC or you name it. Hallucinations during sleep are awful, painful and a REAL medical condition, and to even think that its something besides medical diminishes the fact that this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed by the medical feild. So please, stop.

[Knives]

Im very surprised that i am not alone with this, for the longest time i have told friends and family about waking up and seeing shadowy figures in my room standing over my bed, reaching from the side grabbing at me. I also see spiders in my bed or on my wall or ceiling and freak out only to find they aren't real. This has been an on and off situation and i have noticed it only happens when im stressed out by something in life. They first started when i was having major issues with an ex girlfriend of mine, which stressed me out more then i had ever been in life. i would wake up seeing people in my room only to see them vanish moments later. Recently i have been seeing spiders after waking up from about 1 hour into sleep. This has been happening about 4-5 times a week. After that it usually takes me a long time to get back to sleep. i have even had such intense night terrors that i fall out of my bed and hurt myself badly. One time i knocked over a dresser and fell into the corner of a wall trying to escape the large moving truck that somehow found its way into my basement. after running into my bathroom and actually waking up i realized nothing was there and that i might be going insane. Im glad to know im not the only one, and i think doctors should take a huge look at this to figure out what it all is and why we are all seeing the same things. With me at least it only happens when stressed or lack of sleep. There is definitely more to learn about all this then what is known.

[sporadic]

hi,

if your comment is directed at me then i recon you read it again without your back up.  i never suggested anything other then physiological simmilarities that cause similar physiological sleep conditions, due to us all sharing 99.9999 whatever % of DNA.  

all i was saying was that in the olden days i recon this wouldnt have been such a taboo subject, and a lesser educated society, (as in non state education, mass media, internet etc.)  would maby have made these people medicine people.  not that i think theres anything wrong with people having these kinds of belief, as what do they effect me!

i just said what happened to me.  if you want to think what you thought thats up to you.  i dont think there in anyway 'psychic', but then again what is the true meaning of psychic? is it not just 'something of the mind or sole that cannot be explained' as is the question of this blog?

sorry, i'm just a bit annoyed that you've totally misconstrued what i was trying to say and regurgitated it in an anger burst that was totally unnecessary.  again, this is probably half the reason that hardly anyone speaks about these types of conditions, they cant help but sound like there trying to make more of it then they are, and its probably why doctors don't hear of the conditions so often.

on that note, as allot of what is written above does sound to be some form of night terror and/or sleep paralysis, are there any doctors with any practical advice, such as concentrating on your big toe, to help people get out of these type of attacks?

i remember hearing somewhere that sleep apnoea was something similar to having epileptic fits, could these type of 'visions' not be classed as something like having partial seizures? (not to worry anyone, its probably not, just something that popped into my head)  that would tie in with the electrical idea.

also bassclef, before you rip into me again about my 'predictive' dreams, i again have a scientific belief regarding it. i believe its only a case of interpreting the tiny geomagnetic movements in and around the globe, not to mention everything else in the universe. very much in the same manner as your mind has interpreted the reflections you speak of.  its of course proven that everything gives off this energy, and other types of animal use these energies the whole time, pigeons for example rely on these energies to direct themselves.  

That's why i call it intuition, its not psychic, although using the proper meaning of psychic could be described as such! lol  It just is, as we have evolved from animals that rely on these energies, and as there are far more than the pigeon,  would it not make sense that we can 'tune' in every now and then, and again it makes more sense for us to do so when were half asleep, and to tune into big global events, like an earthquake, or into people we care about and who's energies we are familiar with.  did you know that animals flee from natural disasters, sometimes days before the event?  and would that not also tie in with my great aunt and the concern every member of my family would have been feeling while i was asleep, all of them giving off some type of this energy, namely noticed in the emotion worry? (obviously i had no idea or i wouldn't have been sleeping! lol)

but anyway, no hard feelings, just a misunderstanding, makes sense considering all you know of me is two blog pieces on the randomly huge world wide web, and the nature of these blogs! HAHA! ;D  how could you possibly know i hold a psychology degree and have a huge interest in science! or even that i did my dissertation on dreams and there relation to conscious cognative abilites! lol

anyway! interesting!

[K47B]

Wow, I've seen spiders as well...though I thought they were more like huge daddy long-legs that were iridescent and sort of swirling...I even saw them in the toilet!  
The difference with me is that the nights these visons have happened, I had taken too much of the same sort of medication.  I have insomnia, and can only sleep with medication.  I have tried everything from ambien to other mood-related meds.  I am now on Seroquel, a seratonin and dopamine antagonist.  I also know that a lot of hallucinogens from nature (mushrooms) and acid work by mimicking serotonin, and too much seratonin = hallucinogens.  I don't know what role dopamine plays in hallucinogens, but I think (could br wrong) that there are a few drugs that work by mimicking dopamine as well.  

What's strange is that medications like Seroquel (anti-psychotics) are given to bi-polar and schizophrenic people; and yet in a "normal" young healthy person, too much can cause hallucinations similar to the ones you've all talked about, anxiety/panic, etc.  I told a neighbor once before I realized I was out of it that I was calling an exterminator to get rid of the "alien bugs" and "serpents" in my house.  Sooo embarassing.  Another night I had mixed Seroquel with Ambien because I was having such a hard time sleeping, and never went to bed because all the little piles of clothes and things around my house appeared to be sleeping scary homeless people that I couldn't get rid of.

Anyway, I was just thinking that the rods and cones the  little light receptors that collect images and sends them to your brain could be affected by something (anything) that affects levels of Seratonin or Dopamine.  For example...I think anxiety attacks are related to high levels af Seratonin.  It's interesting that we share the same sorts of images, but I'd guess it has something to do wtih how our minds are processing these simlar light patterns by the receptors in our eyes.  Not that it doesn't feel totally real...my last time, I called security in my new apartment building because I was convinced this old guy was messing with my door and knocking every 5 minutes all night long.  Very strange.  

Anyway...because for me, taking one or more of these medications is what triggers the visions, and they are medications made to TREAT seratonin and dopamine mood-based disorders, I wonder what that means for people who are not taking any medications and have this same reaction?  Would something like Seroquel make it go away, or make it worse?  It's scary when it happens, even when we tell ourselves it's not real and the visuals keep happening.  

Just my 2 cents.  I think my old neighbors probably kept their kids away from me after my comments that one day... ; P  I realized eventually, kind of a slow let-down, that it was related to taking a high dose of anti-psychotics to sleep, and thought you all might find it interesting.

[anne816]

well this was certainly interesting!   how disappointing that the drs had nothing to say.. I have never seen spiders...... but I have seen people around my bed, and at times it was unbelievably terrifying.  I had one person around my bed when I was very young that was *not* scary.... she was  a lady dressed in white, she looked kind of like the blue fairy from peter pan..  but as an adult the figures I saw were menacing, and very scary.

I have learned from other sleep forums that these are very likely hypnagogic hallucinations (sp) which SHOULD BE very familiar to sleep doctors HINT HINT. I am so sick of doctors who dont know what they are talking about and make us all feel crazy.

from what i understand these happen from a mixup in how sleep cycles happen, such that there is  a little bit of REM cycle still occurring during a semi-waking state,  hence the 'hallucination' part, I do *not* know why the content would be spiders or people.... but this is also why sometimes the body feels paralyzed during them, because the natural sleep paralysis that keeps the body still during normal dreaming is still continuing.

I have also heard that a cure for them is to sleep on your side, rather than on your back. goodness know why, however, this is what I have heard. I have not had one of these in a long long time.. I would be interested to know if these experiences happen when people are on their back. it is true in my case, I was always on my back when having these experiences.

so if they bother you try sleeping on your side. what can it hurt.   Id be interested to know if that helps anyone else.  

[Fran265]

I do apologize if I offend anyone speaking about paranormal subjects.  I,like everyone else began this journey thinking I have a sleep disorder.  I have learned a lot from this forum and do not discount the fact that my brain may be playing tricks on me.  I'm a very healthy woman with no mental illness.  I do not take any medication except for an occassional tylenol.  I eat mostly organic and I exercise daily.  I'm in great physical condition.  I go to church.  I pray daily. I have a healthy loving relationship with my husband.  I take care of my elderly father and I give in many ways to my community.  I'm a Vaccine Safety Advocate (www.nvic.org) and I've raised 2 beautiful well adjusted children.  The only thing that seems to be out of step with my life are these hallucinations and I think it's incredibly odd that we are all seeing the same thing.  I feel blessed to say that I do not see shadow people.  I see spiders, and shape shifting objects.  For some reason I see toys.  I also see this huge mass of string and one time it was covered in fur just like my yorky.  So, I've had a few test and my doctor thinks I'm fine, 2 doctors on this forum can't explain what's happening so I read on.  There is this woman named Rosemary Ellen Guiley and she's conducting a study on people who have seen the shadow people and she wants to know your story.  I haven't seen the shadow people but I did tell her about seeing the spiders and that you people see the spiders and the shadow people.  I don't know if it's connected or not.  If you're interested her website is www.visionaryliving.com and click on shadow people.  My sister has seen a shadow person crawl across her ceiling.  For a long time I was thinking that the spider was an animal totem and it had something to do with being of Native American descent.  Now, I really don't know what to think.  Once again, I would prefer to focus on a sleep disorder and understanding the brain but I can't discount the fact there are other forces in this universe that may be having an effect.