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Original poster

Does anyone else ever have this?

37 replies

Ironytheoppositeofwrinkly · 26/10/2022 22:36

Does anyone else ever have the weird feeling I'm about to describe as I've just told my partner and I think he thinks I'm losing the plot.
So I'll be lying in bed, just reading or whatever, and all of a sudden everything looks bigger than it actually it and further away than it actually is. It only happens at night and comes along with a really strange physical sensation that I don't know how to describe? Like it almost feels like I can't move, but actually I can, it's really bizarre, but good old Dr Google doesn't throw up any answers.

OP posts:
mimosa1 · 26/10/2022 22:37

Migraine? They can sometimes distort your visual field.

HailAdrian · 26/10/2022 22:37

Yeah, I used to get something similar with sounds too when I was little.

Original poster
Ironytheoppositeofwrinkly · 26/10/2022 22:38

mimosa1 · 26/10/2022 22:37

Migraine? They can sometimes distort your visual field.

I don't think so, as I've never really suffered with migraines of any sort, although I couldn't rule it out.

OP posts:
WednesdaysChild11 · 26/10/2022 22:38

I don't but it sounds fascinating.

BattenburgSlice · 26/10/2022 22:39

Have a look at AIWS (alice in wonderland syndrome).

Cherryana · 26/10/2022 22:39

Not quite the same but my hearing changes as I am going off to sleep, everything sounds further away but clearer. I do like the feeling. I always put it down to some sleep hormone change thingy.

Original poster
Ironytheoppositeofwrinkly · 26/10/2022 22:40

BattenburgSlice · 26/10/2022 22:39

Have a look at AIWS (alice in wonderland syndrome).

This is what I saw on Google, but it seemed like a more serious phenomenon than what I experience. May have to have another look.

OP posts:
PriamFarrl · 26/10/2022 22:40

Alice in Wonderland syndrome? en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_syndrome

PriamFarrl · 26/10/2022 22:41

Crosspost.

XenoBitch · 26/10/2022 22:42

Yep, Alice in Wonderland Syndrome.
I used to get it a lot as a kid/teen. I would be in bed , but it felt like my face was up against the window about 6 metres away. It used to terrify me and make me scream.
I still get experience the same every so often as an adult. It is horrible.

MaryQueenOfSwots · 26/10/2022 22:43

Yes!! Always used to get this especially when I was a kid. Everything feels enormous and simultaneously really far away and close. I really like the sensation it’s quite comforting and it only happens when I’m about to fall asleep. Never heard of anyone else having it.

Original poster
Ironytheoppositeofwrinkly · 26/10/2022 22:43

PriamFarrl · 26/10/2022 22:41

Crosspost.

Yeah I've just had another look at Alice in wonderland syndrome, and it's definitely not that, as it's something that's been happening since I was a little child and I'm now in my 30s with no health issues. How bizarre, maybe it's just a quirk of my brain.

OP posts:
Ivyr0se · 26/10/2022 22:43

I get something similar to this. I usually have to concentrate on breathing when it happens. I don't have any problem breathing but I need to remind myself to, if that makes sense.
I get a weird feeling too. I never really thought about it though, I just presumed it was a processing delay probably to do with tiredness.

Original poster
Ironytheoppositeofwrinkly · 26/10/2022 22:44

MaryQueenOfSwots · 26/10/2022 22:43

Yes!! Always used to get this especially when I was a kid. Everything feels enormous and simultaneously really far away and close. I really like the sensation it’s quite comforting and it only happens when I’m about to fall asleep. Never heard of anyone else having it.

Yes! I quite like it too, although it's very unnerving when it's not happened for a while! Glad it's not just me though.

OP posts:
MaryQueenOfSwots · 26/10/2022 22:46

I always thought it was just a normal drifting off thing when your mind wanders? Going to see if I can do it tonight.

upinastar · 26/10/2022 22:47

Sometimes when I'm tired things look smaller than they really are, and I feel as though I'm looking down on things even though I'm not. I have a cyst on the left side of my brain, I sometimes wonder if that's what causes mine, but I always forget to ask when I have appointments in neurology.

dragonfly16 · 26/10/2022 22:48

It's called hypnagogic hallucinations. It's normal is some people.

postcardpuffin · 26/10/2022 22:50

I used to get this a lot as a child - like a shift in size and perspective. Used to most often happen at night when I was close to falling asleep. Haven’t had it for years — but then these days I’m normally so tired I fall asleep the instant my head hits the pillow!

MarthanotMarfa · 26/10/2022 22:54

As a child I had similar and it was a horrid feeling I’ve never forgotten. Mine was that everything was shrunk to tiny infinitely thin pieces and massive at the same time and I sort of felt it. I still can’t explain it properly and it still unnerves me.

Original poster
Ironytheoppositeofwrinkly · 26/10/2022 22:55

I'm so glad it's not just me! It actually feels like you're having a mild drug trip, but it's not an unpleasant feeling.

OP posts:
LazyJayne · 26/10/2022 23:03

It's a perspective thing. Optical illusion. Different parts of your brain play a role in forming the 'world' you see in front of you. When you're tired or not actively focussing some parts of your brain aren't as 'active' as normal. In the case you're describing, you're still getting light but the bit that works out depth and context (the bit that knows where you are and the layout of the space you're in) isn't kicking in. You can force it to kick in if you focus.

dudsville · 26/10/2022 23:08

I don't experience what you describe, but something not completely dissimilar. When I'm ill and happen to be standing i can sometimes feel very small and too close to the ground. It's weird. It never occurred to me to Google about it, I've always forgotten it as soon as it's passed, until your thread, that is!

Kocduw · 26/10/2022 23:16

I've had this. There is no fear or anxiety about it, it's just a mild feeling for me. Things just seem mini in perspective. A comparable feel would be deja vu.

Orders76 · 26/10/2022 23:25

Do you wear glasses? I typically close one eye at night reading now. Regularly have to take glasses I need off.
There can also be visual issues with migraine - aura (so much fun), changes and distortion.

quietnightmare · 26/10/2022 23:37

I found my people. I thought it was normal until just now. I like it too. As PP said similar feeling as deja vu.