Moments of Delirium

[MellowCat]

I am unsure of how seriously this topic will be taken. Mind you, I embrace humorous responses but at the same time, I'd like to have some genuinely information on this topic as well. And I want to add that I am not asking this out of concern for my mentality, as I know I am mentally sound, but more out of curiousity.

*Ahem*

My question is, do any of you ever have delusions? I don't mean the drug-induced or mentally ill-sort of delirium. More like exhaustion-based delusions, if you can call it that. Many mornings, where it's too early for comfort and I am unready to face the day, I will go through my routines in a zombie-like trance...

The unusual bit is where, say, I take a shower, but throughout the process, I internally have conversations with myself. Sometimes to an unknown person. Sometimes I'm not having a conversation at all, rather hearing two unknowns speaking! What's worse, it's always gibberish. I've asked others if they had experienced such a thing, but got negative responses.

Sadly, I cannot recall any of these exchanges, but the best way I can describe them is the sort of dialogue you'd get from a dreaming state. For example, they could go something like this,

"Did you forget to take the toaster out?"
"I don't have a toaster"
"Don't get wet-bottomed. Forget the throw pillow. Forget the fleece."

Perhaps in these moments shortly after I've woken up, I am still not fully conscious? Am I still dreaming?

[Worm of Despite]

It's strange (well, uncanny!) that you have even some inkling of this event. It seems more like something that would occur in sleep-walking or just deep sleep itself that you wouldn't be able to experience consciously.

As for myself: yes; it's kind of happened to me in a different way.

I was so tired today, going into work, that I remember remarking on something annoying in the car and 2 seconds later unable to remember what I'd just remarked about.

Don't worry, Mellow Kitten! I'm sure it's just your system warming up!

[hierachy]

My question is, do any of you ever have delusions? I don't mean the drug-induced or mentally ill-sort of delirium. More like exhaustion-based delusions, if you can call it that. Many mornings, where it's too early for comfort and I am unready to face the day, I will go through my routines in a zombie-like trance...

The unusual bit is where, say, I take a shower, but throughout the process, I internally have conversations with myself. Sometimes to an unknown person. Sometimes I'm not having a conversation at all, rather hearing two unknowns speaking! What's worse, it's always gibberish. I've asked others if they had experienced such a thing, but got negative responses.

I'm very similar. Instead of conversing with myself I have an internal voice narrating my actions.

[Fist and Faith]

MC, it would probably help us understand what you mean if we could see some videos of you taking a shower. Maybe we'd be able to see if your eyes looked focused, or whatever.






Pretty slick how I made that sound all clinical, eh?

My wife eats in her sleep. We wake up in the morning, and find leftovers of really weird foods and combinations of foods on the counter. I lock up the fridge every night. In the house we used to live in, I locked the bedroom door. With a padlock. She would wake me up in the middle of the night trying to get me to give her the key. But she was still mostly asleep, giving me ridiculous reasons for needing to get out of the bedroom.

[Vraith]

Maybe, Fist, if we had some video of you imprisoning your wife we'd understand it better.

It doesn't happen a lot, but sometimes I have dialogue with other peeps in my head...I've even been known to exclaim out loud "WTF are you talking about?" and such.

I've also had the narration of actions Holarchy mentioned.

My wife says sometimes she can listen in on conversations going on between other voices in her head.

Apparently, it's not unusual judging by the responses in the thread.

It does make me wonder about the mechanism of true delusions, though...and where the line is to be true delusion. Actually, if there IS a hard bright line at all.

[MellowCat]

Bahahahhahahha!!! Yes, Fist and Faith, I was totally convinced that you were giving me professional advice there.

It's good you keep the door padlocked. I've heard that sleepwalking can get pretty dangerous! Haha, I really want to know some of your wife's strange reasons for wanting to leave the bedroom. XD

[hierachy]

I've posted on a forum in my sleep before. fml

[MellowCat]

@Vraith

Haha, it's funny you have conversations with others in your head. I didn't think to mention it, but I have been known to do the same. Once, at my old job, this man told me that my knee socks looked "weird." I don't think that was the exact adjective he used, but anyway... several hours later, after he left, and I was quietly working, I suddenly exclaimed, "YOUR FACE IS WEIRD!" with my co-workers standing all around me.

I've never experienced anything like your wife has though. I don't know what to make of it... but it's interesting.

[MellowCat]

@Holarchy Haha! Was your post in gibberish? Or did it make any sense? That's so funny!

[hierachy]

@Holarchy Haha! Was your post in gibberish? Or did it make any sense? That's so funny!

No, it wasn't gibberish, I quoted someone and wrote a relevant, legible, and fully punctuated response, albeit a single sentence. I made it from my phone at a time when I should have been asleep for about 4 hours, and 4 more before I woke up. Even if I had woken up and didn't remember it, why would I be using that time to check internet forums??? It made me confuse.

[Cambo]

I do all sorts of weird shit when I'm alone, especially if I'm half asleep. Talking gibberish to myself I get. Sometimes it's not even gibberish, just bizarre noises I make impulsively. I then catch myself and go "wait, what the hell am I up to?"

Orlion's got a good point about the line between actual delusions and this kind of thing. Having been legitmately delusional (or the term I prefer, batshit crazy), I should have some kind of answer....but I don't. I can say that my actual delusions were accepted unconditionally with that weird un-logic you get in dreams sometimes. Whereas the everyday oddness of my thoughts and behaviour is more like a daydream; you immerse in it for a while, but it doesn't impinge on your regular mindset or activities.

[[Syl]]

Yeah, I gotta say that sounds like some kind of hypnogogia. Do you ever experience anything similar while falling asleep (including, but not limited to, sleep paralysis, twitchy movement, alien/succubus visitations, etc.)? For instance, starting in my early 20s, I occasionally experience a very loud, um, "VRRRRRRRRRRPTHTTHTHTMT," like my ear is right in front of a speaker with cross-connected inputs. Only happens when I'm dead tired and kind of fall asleep while still awake (like lying in bed waiting for my wife to get done brushing her teeth). Scared the shit out of me until I found out it was fairly common.

Not really a delusion, but I do talk to myself (and answer, and occasionally argue) sometimes, usually while I'm grocery shopping. Also, sometimes when I'm kind of dazing out during a conference or something, I see a blurry, slightly brighter outline around the speaker (and no, I don't consider that an aura).

And I'm probably the closest thing to a solipsist as most people will admit. It's not that I necessarily think I'm the only real being in the universe, but it is a valid way of looking at the world (but so are you, and you and I are in reality actually the same thing, so there you go).

[aliantha]

I used to do the "narrative of my life as it happens" thing in my head all the time. I like to think of it as the authorial voice.

And when I'm alone, I constantly hold conversations with people who aren't there. Of course, usually I'm telling them off.

[MsMary]

My husband does that - tell people off out loud when he thinks he's all by himself.

[Shaun das Schaf]

Yeah, I gotta say that sounds like some kind of hypnogogia. Do you ever experience anything similar while falling asleep (including, but not limited to, sleep paralysis, twitchy movement, alien/succubus visitations, etc.)?

I used to be very twitchy on the edge of sleep and have also had the 'hag' squashed-on-chest paralysis experience when coming out of sleep (which had a 'lovely' NOT- feel of to it) <-- Mind you that was in a house with a record of 'paranormal' happenings. But that succubus thing Syl, that's by far the scariest experience of hynagogia I've had. Worried about oversharing (but screw it, this is KW right? ): I was sleeping with someone I didn't want to sleep with and on the verge of falling asleep, I had a succubus thing attach itself to my shoulder and whisper into my ear, "If you tell them, I'll kill you." That was very special, that was.

[lucimay]

Yeah, I gotta say that sounds like some kind of hypnogogia. Do you ever experience anything similar while falling asleep (including, but not limited to, sleep paralysis, twitchy movement, alien/succubus visitations, etc.)? For instance, starting in my early 20s, I occasionally experience a very loud, um, "VRRRRRRRRRRPTHTTHTHTMT," like my ear is right in front of a speaker with cross-connected inputs. Only happens when I'm dead tired and kind of fall asleep while still awake (like lying in bed waiting for my wife to get done brushing her teeth). Scared the shit out of me until I found out it was fairly common.

Not really a delusion, but I do talk to myself (and answer, and occasionally argue) sometimes, usually while I'm grocery shopping. Also, sometimes when I'm kind of dazing out during a conference or something, I see a blurry, slightly brighter outline around the speaker (and no, I don't consider that an aura).

And I'm probably the closest thing to a solipsist as most people will admit. It's not that I necessarily think I'm the only real being in the universe, but it is a valid way of looking at the world (but so are you, and you and I are in reality actually the same thing, so there you go).

HAH! i was just going to say that i thought i remembered syl talking about some sort of state very similar before falling asleep.

i remembered you posting about this before syl and ever since reading that post about this hypnowhatsits thingy i was sort of disappointed because i have that thingy before i fall asleep a LOT. lots of times i will hear people talking, many times i'll hear people saying my name or like...calling out to me.
like saying my name throught the babble of a world on the verge of sleep.
sometimes when it's happening i'll try to listen closely to discern what they're saying and the harder i listen the less i can hear and then BOOM i'm asleep.
i was disappointed because i'd always just considered that i was hearing the thoughts of others like me, on the verge of sleep. it made me feel connected.

I had a succubus thing attach itself to my shoulder and whisper into my ear, "If you tell them, I'll kill you." That was very special, that was.

ok THAT is perfectly horrifying! -----> shaun

[Shaun das Schaf]

Thank-you lucimay. I'm so glad deer requested and kevinswatch delivered that wonderful little emoticon.

And I can see why you'd be disappointed with the neuroscientific explanation of people calling out to you. I much prefer your connectedness explanation!
I hear my name a fair bit too. Sometimes I hear it during the day and that 'worries'* me more than hearing it when I'm in between consciousness states. (*the hearing voices connotations.)

[deer of the dawn]

If I do the slugabeds thing in the morning, like now that I'm on holiday (extended due to national general strike) I slip in and out of dreamland, usually waking when I think, What the hell? Then I open my eyes, realize I was in the Zone, and usually decide it's time to get up and make coffee.

I have a strange thing when I am falling asleep. If there are any sudden noises, I see brightly colored patterns that explode and immediately fade away. But no voices directed at me, thankfully.

[Cagliostro]

The voices in my head tell me you are all nuts.

[hierachy]

Your name and avatar tell me you might be a little more sympathetic so such phenomena than you are letting on.