does anyone else get this weird feeling? everything seems loud, forced and forced?

[char123]

Hi,

I thought I'd post something that has been bothering me and making me anxious for a while now. I'll apologise in advance because this feeling is so hard to describe and makes me sound crazy.

Okay so occasionally I get a 'trance' like feeling where sounds I can hear seem to be louder in my mind and actually seem harsher like aggressive, forced and scary to me. Also, it's like my movements seem forced and emphasised in my mind when they're not. This weird thing only lasts like 3 minutes and doesn't really panic me when they're happening but afterwards I think about it and I feel like I'm crazy or have a neurological disease that NO ONE else has. I usually Google things for reassurance but I've only found one website where people have had similar experiences

But that panics me because I start to think 'what if what I'm feeling is different to them and I'm the only person who gets this', or 'what if I get it again and I can never come out of it' and no one actually knows what it is. It's so freaky and scary but not actually when it's happening. I make it worse in my mind after it has gone. By the way it goes when I stop thinking about it so I'm wondering if it's just happening because I'm waiting until it does and because I've attached fear to it. I'm so scared it is something serious though.

I remember having it as a child like 9 years old (I'm 16 now) and I had it 2 years ago in an exam . But 2 weeks ago I had it twice i think and I had it once again today. I guess because I'm anxious about it it's more frequent.

I haven't or won't go to see a doctor about it because I don't even know how to describe it so he can't help and I'm so scared, I don't want to have brain scans or anything like that. I hate hospitals . I just want to know if anyone has experienced this and has any answers?? Or just any reassurance that I'm not crazy?? Please reply nicely, I freak out easily. Sorry if this hasn't made sense but it has been on my mind a lot.

Thank you

[Emilym80]

I would look up depersonalisation/derealisation and see if it sounds familiar :)

[MyNameIsTerry]

Part of the fight or flight response is to sharpen the senses. If you think about it, its logical given it was to avoid being eaten or killed by predators back then.

I have had this myself with the noise perception. The first time was my first experience of anxiety at work and everything became louder & harsher yet I also felt that I couldn't really hear things properly as if I couldn't take them in.

[Lyn89]

I used to get this too-- it started when I was 12 in a gym class. It's basically you being hypervigilant and aware of your surroundings a lot more than usual because you're anxious and expecting a threat. It's flight or fight kicking in. I hated gym when I was in school so it made sense with me, but if you worry about it happening again then that's what's triggering it again. I used to think it was something wrong with me too, but if it happens now that I know what it is (which is practically never now) I can just dismiss it in an instant and it stops then and there. So it's something that lasts long only of you're afraid of it, and if I can get rid of it just by relaxing and knowing what it is, you can too :) if it really was something physical or to worry about we wouldn't be able to do that, so just reassure yourself that it's anxiety related and in your control.

[xvolatileheart]

I get episodes of this. I feel hypersensitive to everything - my body and movements feel strange, what I'm hearing feels intense, my vision seems strange. It is a normal part of anxiety but feels awful, doesn't it? :wacko:

[char123]

Hi, thanks everyone for replying!

It's put my mind at rest knowing that other people has experienced this, I actually thought I was going crazy. I don't think it is depersonalization/ derealisation as I've experienced that before and it wasn't similar. I think that the 'hypervigilant' and 'fight or flight' state is what is happening to me. It is so reassuring that it is a normal anxiety related thing though. And yeah it is such a horrible feeling, hopefully now it will happen less because I know it is normal :)

Thank you again for replying