Help me to work out what's happening to me!

[Honeymoonmummy]

Right, this is going to be the vaguest OP ever. I have had anxiety and depression for the past 6 months, previously had pnd with both dc (5 and 3 yrs ago approx).

Over the past say year on a few occasions I have had a weird "episode" which I really struggle to describe hence the vagueness. I have thought about writing this thread a number of times but just didn't know how to describe things. I have just had another episode tonight and wanted to try to describe it so hopefully someone can tell me wtf it is!

I have just been driving home from the gym and suddenly had a flashback to a dream I had as a child. Moments later I've forgotten the details, it only happened 20 mins ago and I have no idea what the original dream is but in the moment I get a "vision" of it.

The thing is that when I'm in the moment I just get this overwhelming horrible feeling, I can't describe it but I would do anything to not feel that feeling. I think it is a flashback to a nightmare I had as a child but as I say I can't recall the details after the event. It probably lasted around 5 seconds then went and has left me really shaken up.

This is not the first time it has happened, I would say it's probably happened 3-4 times previously, probably within the last year. I've not discussed it with anyone except DH because where do i start?!?

Does anyone have any idea what the hell this is? The only thing I can think is some form of panic attack but at the time it happened I was fairly happy, we're going on a camping trip tmrw and I've just done a workout at the gym.

Another time it happened I was lying in bed next to DS (3.3) while he went to sleep in the afternoon and it felt like I couldn't move for a minute or so, I had the flashback to the same nightmare and the same horrible feeling and i was doing deep breathing to get through it and nearly asked DS to go downstairs and get DH. I didn't need to do deep breathing tonight.

Can anyone help?!?

Hi Holey, no it's much more vivid than that, it's like I'm back in the dream. It's very weird and very upsetting, am still quite unsettled by it even now.

It's not the same every time. The time I'm describing it was probably only 20 seconds max, the time before it felt like a couple of minutes although it was a while ago. Sorry for delay replying!

Do you ever suffer from sleep paralyisis?

is it a level of conscioiness that taps into a bad dream memory?

Even if you dont establish what this is in the short term and why etc. You can try controlling your response. You need to think of a reassuring mantra that you focus on until it passes, along with breathing.

It kinda sounds like a panic attack but visual? Is their anything triggering a bad memory? anything familiar to both episodes?

Keep a diary, book in to see a GP.

Andsmile your second sentence sums it up,that's how it feels.

I didn't have a traumatic childhood, some bullying but that's it, no mistreatment as it were, I did have bad nightmares as a child tho but don't really have them as an adult. I don't want to recall the nightmare as I feel it would trigger another episode.

I was not feeling stressed either time the last 2 times, can't remember before that. Am guessing from responses that there's no "easy" answer. There's months between episodes so don't feel worth mentioning to the doctor, may mention to the counsellor during my next session. Thanks all

Don't have any answers but this has happened to me (sort of). Left me with a weird phobia. I also suffer from anxiety

Not to alarm you, and this may be wide of the mark in your case, but sudden feelings of dread or indeed euphoria can be a sign of simple partial seizures.

I am being referred for investigation into possible epilepsy at the moment and I am very familiar with what you are describing. In my case, there is a very extensive history of close relatives with epilepsy.

Have a look here and see if anything looks familiar to you:

www.epilepsychicago.org/epilepsy-facts/seizure-types/partial-seizures/

Wishing you the best,

C
x

From how you're describing it, I think I've had similar episodes to these and they can be very disturbing. Is it like you very briefly have almost a flash of a nightmare whilst awake? For that split second, it's as though you are completely immersed? The main recurring one I have entails hearing a screaming sound & have a really bad feeling something ominous would happen. It comes out of nowhere & is gone in a flash, but I can't shake off the feeling for ages. I always rack it up to being one of the many joys of anxiety, though also assumed it was remnants from PTSD when I was younger.

Cailleach - it's really interesting that you mention epilepsy. I'll definitely look into that.

Hi again honeymoon - interesting, think after the cails post it might be best to run it by your GP and tell him your concerns re Epilepsy.

Hope you find out what it is.

I had panic attacks in my late teens that were very similar to what you describe - flashbacks of dreams that I'd had ages before. Sometimes, I would have a wave of dreadful nausea and vomit, but not always. I'd feel very lightheaded afterwards. It was pretty horrible at the time.

One of my dc suffers from anxiety and had CBT, I sat in on the sessions with him and the therapist was saying that the best way to handle panic attacks is by breathing really deeply and slowly. Reassure yourself that it will pass and you'll be fine.

When I was growing up, between twelve and mid twenties I'd get these episodes where I'd be going about my business and suddenly i'd feel like I'd done that before. even though I knew I had, and I would feel sick and scared. The intensity would last a few minutes but I would feel tired after. I just thought I was odd. It was only a few years ago when I remembered the episodes and I decided to google that I realised it had a name. Apparently it's commonly called déjà vu and is a form of epilepsy where your brain briefly bypasses your short term memory and puts what's happening in the present into the long term memory bit, something like that. If it sounds at all familiar give it a google.

Gosh, I'll look into this thanks. There's no epilepsy in the family though and I've never had any other signs of epilepsy to my knowledge.

I've read the links and it does sound like it might be this. Found a link talking about temporal lobe epilepsy and this sounds very similar to what's been happening. I'll go along to the doctors. Thanks all

Shit, just read an Nhs article about tle and it says often caused by febrile convulsions as a child. I had these really badly when v young, approx 1.5-2 yo, was in hospital for a while. I'm 40 now, can it really take so long to start?!?