Maybe not trauma related at all, for me, but curious as to whether other people have experienced this. (I suppose I'm a bit fascinated by sleep anomalies and dreams, as they give a glimpse into that evasive unconscious mind.) You wake up from a "loud" "BANG!" and a sensation of having been hit on the head, but can't remember a dream relating to it, and haven't experienced such a thing in waking life. It's happened to me at least twice.
"Bang!" on your head in the night.
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whiteraven
MyPTSD Pro
There's a thing called Exploding Head Syndrome (really) that I have, where I wake to a very loud noise like a "bang"--it doesn't include a sensation of being hit, though, as it's considered a type of hallucination.
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Thank-you so very much for sharing that. I'm going to look into it. It's interesting to me also that for you it is "heard" but not "felt".
whiteraven
MyPTSD Pro
Yeah, I'm not sure about that part. If you find anything, I'd be interested to hear about it.
Friday
Moderator
Nope.
Although I’ve been woken up by real bangs and blows to the head, I’ve never bolted awake from dreamt ones.
Although I’ve been woken up by real bangs and blows to the head, I’ve never bolted awake from dreamt ones.
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Hi @Bamma , one of my sisters for sure and myself get this occasionally, but there's a loud bang, a jerk (muscle spasm I think, but no feeling of being hit on the head. The hardest part is waking and wondering if it was a bang (external)? I've heard of EHS and it seems to be it, benign and I know at least a couple of causes they think are attention issues/ abnormalities in the brain when transitioning between the sleep-wake stage, a spike in sensory neuron activity, possibly stress or exhaustion. I believe there are other causes as well. I get migraines (in general) my sister does not. Her blood pressure is abnormally high and mine is now abnormally low. The 1st time you wonder if you had an aneurism, or a car drove in to the house? lol. I think I get a bright flash but I can't say I can recall for certain. It's unpredictable and doesn't happen that often for me. (We both have arthritis in our necks, she also had a serious injury involving C3.)
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Do you and sister both have strong startle reflexes in real life, by chance? That's what it feels like to me afterward - like when I've been startled. Not a feeling of terror.
Well, I can't speak for her though I've wondered if she has ptsd, certainly trauma. I would say yes but that might also be our neurobiology, we're pretty energy-filled. And traumas, well, when you hear a bang the 1st thing is to jump up or get ready to of course. For me I wouldn't say hypervigilance, as I've heard small noises that seem relevant (I suspect) and have woken up standing at the window. For a while I slept with my clothes, even shoes on. I think for me it's more as they've described, transitioning or neuron misfiring. I think I'm so busy listening if it was 'real' (relevant) I don't really notice how I feel otherwise. I can go back to sleep after. I find it more disturbing to have that falling/ heart jolting-awake feeling, and I think that's from exhaustion (my guess).
whiteraven
MyPTSD Pro
Not really.
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