Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with visions

Bad Not-Quite-Dreams

Anonymous — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:00:55 -0800

After many years of chronic depression I have finally achieved a reasonable facsimile of mental health. Except... When I close my eyes for sleep I am troubled by visions of killing myself in various gruesome ways. These visions range from flashes to full-blown plans, but they are uniformly gory and highly disturbing. I do not know exactly how long this has been going on, but my guess is for at least half a year.

To be clear: I do not wish to harm myself or anyone else; when I do remember them (because these visions never jump from the pre-sleep stage to full-blown dream) I am disturbed but rarely suicidal. And I know myself well enough to realize when I need to take the necessary steps to ensure I will remain among the living.

I've been on these meds (zoloft and occasional trazadone) for a year and a half. After discussing the pre-sleep visions with my shrink, he doubled the recommended dose of trazadone from 50 to 100mg, and recommended I "try to think about something else." He did not have answers to my concerns about this advice, namely the increased dependency/decreasing effectiveness of trazadone over time. Also I am unsure how to follow the second bit of advice: how does one let one's mind relax while concentrating on something one is trying not to think about? (Don't think of purple anteaters!) (Too late!)

Although the visions of self-harm only occur when I prepare for sleep it is beginning to affect the rest of my life. I realized I was staying up later, and reading far beyond the point of being tired, in order to avoid them. They are that bloody.

Have you ever experienced this? How did you recover, or learn to deal with it?

Is it possible there is another factor at play here? Lack of exercise? Mold spores? Brain tumor?

I am a single mid-thirties male and can be reached at badnotquitedreams@gmail.com.

Name for visionary state?

R. Mutt — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:44:46 -0800

Is there a name for the act of seeing (projecting) something that is questionablely present? (For example, seeing the face of God, or Elvis, in the burn marks of your toasted bread.)

Near-Death Experiences

felix — Wed, 29 Dec 2004 12:51:45 -0800

We've all seen reports of Christians in fiery plane crashes or otherwise at death's doorstep experiencing visions of Christ showing the way out of the wreckage/beckoning them into heaven/etc., etc.

Do members of other religions report the same kind of experiences?

Parenting a Visionary Child

putzface_dickman — Thu, 23 Sep 2004 06:45:14 -0800

My 6-year-old daughter sees things other people don't. "Skitter scatters," ghosts, auras. She just started school and there's something in the lunchroom only she can see, and this one makes her nervous. [mi] First, I'm asking for someone who's had them to tell me how he or she dealt with these experiences, and how that turned out.
Second, I want to know what myth/story/magic/cinema might yield to identify this mysterious object.
From my girl:
It's on the ceiling of the cafeteria. It's the size of two adult fists. It's black and white and swirls. It's shiny but not sparkly. It is magical and not mechanical. The one picture she has drawn of it shows an uneven black band swirling around a mostly white center. (I imagine it's motion and appearance are like Jupiter's red spot.) It seems to float against the corrugated metal of the ceiling.

Believe me, I would be no less skeptical than some of you surely are, but I have chosen to respect her experiences and I'm asking for people to respect this query. There are familial precedents that have been that have been used to reassure, but not encourage her. Please don't advise meds, or counseling.