To ask if I’ve just been woken by a spirit?

[peanutfoldover]

I am currently awake in bed, feeling a bit freaked out.

I went to bed at about 9. Fell into a deep sleep quite quickly.

I do have dreams most nights, usually really boring ones. Or anxiety dreams like I’m running late or I’ve forgotten something. Nothing scary ever.

So tonight, I was dreaming that I was lying in bed in my childhood bedroom. (This is quite a common dream setting for me actually, my childhood house) Then I felt a hand resting quite firmly on my head and one on my shoulder shaking/rocking me gently - as if you would to wake someone. It was happening to the ‘me’ in my childhood bed in my dream, does that make sense? So the ‘me’ in my dream ignored it.

Then it happened again but this time much more vigorously and it woke me up but in real life and - this is the freaky bit. - I was still being shaken while I was awake. I felt pretty annoyed because I assumed I was being woken and I tried to bat them away because I HATE being woken up. Only to realise nobody was here at all

In my completely freaked out state my instinct was to check the other people in the house... (my crazy head thought “maybe it was a warning!!!”) My 5 year old daughter is in her room sound asleep but snoring weirdly like her nose is blocked. My husband is in his room, also asleep.

I’ve never ever had anything like this happen before and I don’t actually believe in ‘woo’ stuff at all (I’d be the person replying to this thread saying YOU HAD A DREAM YOU IDIOT) but honestly I feel a bit shaken up by it because I felt REAL physical touch and movement while I was AWAKE!!!

Could I have had some kind of seizure?!!!!

We had a Chinese before bed.... could that have induced a dream so vivid it felt physically real?

Can you please give me a logical explanation, I’d quite like to go back to sleep but currently slightly shitting myself!!

Ive texted my mum (yes I'm 39 but she’s a night owl so knew she’d be awake!!) and she has told me it was just a dream and possibly I’m a bit on edge in general because I had a miscarriage 2 weeks ago. But I don’t feel like I’m still in emotional shock from that event at all. I feel sad of course but I’m back to work and everything.

Anyway..... looking forward to hearing some logical explanations and being told sort myself out!!

Thank you.

Google Hypnopompic/hypnogogic hallucinations. I used to get them. They feel so utterly real!

It felt absolutely real!!

Should I check on my daughter again???

I’m going to have to watch Love Island to bring me back to mundane reality I think

I've experienced sleep paralysis where I'm totally unable to move or wake up and felt like I'm literally unable to move; that I'm dying and floating upwards until I feel physically shaken and wake up. This has happened a few times during my adult life. Or I've been shouting out and my partner has woken me. This has normally happened during times of great stress or suffering a loss

@stefoscope ok, so maybe I’m still a bit sensitive after the miscarriage and everything. I don’t feel like I am though, the last few days I have really felt like I’m getting back to normal.

But maybe my subconscious isn’t quite there yet.

This is totally illogical but I feel like it was a warning to check my daughter!! (Which I did, but I feel like I need to go back!!)

But maybe that’s just my subconscious l’ way of processing the loss of my other child recently.

Usually I’m completely unaware of having a subconscious because, if anything, all it seems to worry about is losing my keys or being late for work.

I’ve had this while being half awake drifting off. The whole bed shook. It did freak me out for a bit while I was still a bit dozy. In the nicest possible way OP, you’re probably very stressed and sad and it really was just a dream. I’m so sorry about your miscarriage. Check on your daughter to reassure yourself, but it was just one of those random sleep things like dreaming you’re falling and waking up when you land and jumping. Everything is fine. xx

I've experienced that kind of thing a few times, including the bed shaking /being shaken awake. Other things too like noises that seem to have woken me up. Hypnopompic/hypnogogic hallucinations like pp said. They feel really real and freaky, but it's normal I promise.

Sorry for your loss

I’m sorry you had a miscarriage. I can remember having odd dreams at that time and also when I was pregnant with my third child but fifth pregnancy. I dreamt I would haemorrhage and it was so clear that I feel some of it was while I was awake. I only told my husband and then my GP because he was concerned about me. He knew something was worrying me.
I had the baby and all was well. I was back home on the 13 th day when I had the same dream again. I even dreamt the thought that it was the same dream. Again I woke up but still felt it was happening. I was haemorrhaging. The oncall GP arrived and took me up to the hospital DH arrived with the baby once he got someone to watch the others and they kept me for a day. My GP couldn’t believe it when he heard and came to visit me.
Another one I have every now and then is someone knocking on the door. Our kitchen door is the other end of the house and downstairs. This has happened about six or seven times. It is so real that I have gone down to check. We live in a rural village so not kids.
It does shake you. Have you checked on her again? It might help you settle.
Dreams. I did read up on it ages ago it was quiet interesting.
Take care of yourself.

I,like you,don’t believe in this stuff yet something happened to me years ago that I’ve never been able to explain.
My two daughters were very young at the time and were playing in front of me. I phoned my cousin for a chat which I often did. We’d both been going through a pretty rough time. I had quite bad PND and my cousin had also been through a period of ill health. During the call we were talking about how fed up we both were and were both feeling very down with our situations. We were trying to tell each other that things would improve,be positive,etc but neither of us really believed it.
Soon after the call ended,I remember sitting and feeling so miserable. Suddenly I felt pressure on my shoulders. It was like someone had put their hands on me but of course no one was there. I wasn’t scared at all but remember feeling a bit strange. I could then smell something. It was a nice and familiar smell. I soon realised that it smelt like my Nan (also my cousin’s) who had died several years previously. As soon as I made the connection the entire thing stopped. I remember going around the house smelling candles and various things to see if that was where the smell had come from but there was nothing. The whole thing was over in seconds but I can remember it quite vividly. I immediately called my cousin back and told her what had happened. She just burst into tears.
The only way I can explain it to myself was that my PND was very severe and maybe it was some form of psychotic episode or something. Whatever it was,it was not scary and felt reassuring so even if it was imagined it doesn’t matter.
I just wish I knew for certain.
I’m so sorry you’ve been through a hard time and send you best wishes for the future

Thank you everyone. Im still awake having watched 2 episodes of love island as it’s the least spooky thing I could think of!

@dita it’s so strange you should mention your experience with PND and a smell!!!!

I had PND after my daughter. It was pretty bad, hence waiting 5 years to try for another. Anyway, for about 6 months after I had her I was very aware of a smell following me around. A faint mixture of chamomile and wood smoke. I kept smelling myself wondering if it was just what breast milk smelled like. I was going around sniffing everything wondering where it was coming from. My mums best friend (who was very close to me growing up) smoked and always had an open fire on the go. She died a few years before I had my daughter. Whenever I smelled it I immediately thought of her because she’s really the only person I’ve ever known who had an open fire so it was a reminder of her. But in the end I decided it must have been a neighbour smoking in their garden and it wafting in, or someone having a bonfire.

Then we moved house and the smell followed me! And then in went for ages ages. Just recently I’ve said to my husband that I can smell that smell again. Im convinced it must be a hormonal thing.