New Phenomena... Anyone Else?

[Smile]

I had the strangest thing happen to me the other day and have no idea what it was or where it came from. It never happened to me before.

Here's what happened: I was shopping in a supermarket, just browsing the aisles. All of a sudden, all noise dimmed except for the rattling of all the shopping cart wheels in the store clicking on the ground. It seemed to be getting louder and louder & time seemed to slow down, it was like a scene from a horror movie. It went away after a minute or two... I quickly paid and left...

I emailed my T about it and he said, "it can come from a number of things, most of them benign. If it continues, we can follow up, but otherwise, consider yourself to have had a free lsd trip."

Anyone ever experience anything like this? Specifically what "things" can it come from & why?!

 

[TwoDee2ThreeDee]

I used to have these incidents routinely. I've never been able to decide if they were a panic attack or if it was dissociation. I also had the sound of blood rushing through my head. I'm curious to see what others have experienced, though, as I've never been able to describe it as well as you just did.

 

[franciemarnie]

I used to get the sound of bird wings flapping in my ear when sitting alone reading in my apartment. Stress for me I think. Virginia Woolf evidently heard that too. No drowning self for me. Though I'd like to have her writing brilliance!

Interesting your experience. I pictured a Hitchcock movie moment. Not Psycho!!! But when the focus goes to one small thing and the music changes.

I would like to think a healing change was going on in your brain for a couple minutes. Something rebooting, and the oxygen and other chemicals were drawn away from, or rearranging, in your ear canal and brain for a little bit.

 

[Upside Down Eagle]

This happens to me too sometimes, last time what happened is that all other sounds died down and all that remained where people's voices, nothing else. At other times I feel like the ground suddenly drops below my feet. Or is shaking. I actually like those experiences, call me crazy, but then again I'm not LSD's biggest enemy, either.

They do feel like a reboot! It takes me away from being stuck in my anxiety or my constant observation of other people's movements. Especially when everything becomes quiet I sense a kind of peace. I woulnd't worry too much about it! :-)

 

[Echo]

Years ago, I had met up with a boyfriend a long way from home and at the end of the weekend, he dumped me very suddenly. I was very shocked and started driving home down the motorway - far too fast, not caring if I hit anything (not my normal style, at all). Suddenly my field of vision narrowed to a tunnel - I could only see directly in front of me - and everything became black-and-white. I also remember feeling utterly numb emotionally. After some time, I realised I would kill myself if I carried on like that, and I didn't want to hurt my family. I decided to try to take pleasure in my surroundings, anything, such as a glimpse of a tree as I passed. Suddenly the colour returned to my vision and the field of vision broadened again. It is only years later that I have full-on symptoms and CPTSD has been diagnosed, but I can now look back and see there may be a connection. I have never discussed this particular episode with a professional, but it must have been caused by emotional stress related to abandonment and loss, I would guess. But I am not an expert. Either way, it has never recurred so I guess my brain dealt with it, as hopefully your's has with whatever triggered you. I hope you're not feeling too unsettled by it. Best of luck with finding answers.

 

[Lost Pup]

This used to happen to me alot. I chalk it up to dissociation, personally. My gut feeling when I look back is that the perceptual shift had something to do with my limbic system activating itself into a fight or flight response. My mind was somehow reading the sound of the wheels as a threat to very my survival and so I was beginning to focus on it solely, at the cost of the rest of the environment. As I integrated more of my trauma and it found its narrative "home" in myself and in my mind, I stopped having this kind of experience.

@Radise -- Funny enough, I never did any psychedelics when I was a teenager (thankfully, a wise choice for me), but have done mushrooms several times in my adult life and have been comfortable enough with my mind to really enjoy the sorts of perceptual distortions and thing that occur on them.

 

[franciemarnie]

I remember when my brother heard my father was dying. He woke up the next morning with no hearing in one ear.

When acid floods the system with stress and pushes out oxygen, it effects hearing without doubt.

You have this party coming up that I hope you cancel with your perfect idea of the strep defense, but anyway I would imagine at the least acidity came with the apprehensive stress and played tricks with the cilia in the ear. I am pretty deaf so Ive done a lot of research on ears.

 

[billie]

Yep happens to me...

 

[Emily18]

This happens to me a lot, sometimes its all sounds that go away or just a singular one that remains. It also happens with my vision, I like to describe it as tunnel vision. It looks like blackness is slowly fading in from the sides and I stop being able to focus completely.

I never thought of it as being related to dissociation but its possible.

 

[Abstract]

I have had many similar ish experiences and agree with lost pup that it is likely to be dissociation. If you want more specific information look up depersonalisation and derealisation. Distortions in sensory information or perspective are very common. Sound, sight. sensation and time.

Spikes in anxiety is the main trigger.

 

[Smile]

I used to have these incidents routinely. I've never been able to decide if they were a panic attack or if it was dissociation.

I've had panic attacks or most of my life but this never happened. Could be a new symptom? I don't quite know what dissociation is or if I've ever had it so hmmm :)

Interesting your experience. I pictured a Hitchcock movie moment. Not Psycho!!! But when the focus goes to one small thing and the music changes.

I would like to think a healing change was going on in your brain for a couple minutes. Something rebooting, and the oxygen and other chemicals were drawn away from, or rearranging, in your ear canal and brain for a little bit.

It's funny that you say that because my first reaction was that I going mad (psycho) :)

Than you for the "rebooting" analysis. It's a positive way to look at it.

I actually like those experiences, call me crazy, but then again I'm not LSD's biggest enemy, either.

Hah! I've never tried LSD but now that you mention it... ;)

I agree with you about it distancing me from my anxiety... I felt like I was adrift in someone else's world.

You have this party coming up that I hope you cancel with your perfect idea of the strep defense,

What party are you referring to? I assume this response wasn't for me but it's nonetheless apropos... When I was a child I had strep almost every other week and it was my constant excuse to get out of things :)