flashing images before sleep

[emilyemily]

sounds random but lately ive been having flashing images as soon as i close my eyes for sleep or whenever i try n relax. dunno if ive just attached on to these flashes?!?! its just annoys me and they are usaually random or things ive seen in the last few days. maybe its just anxiety- thinking about thinking. but wanna know why im doing it or if any one else gets them?? think i may have just tuned into them because i have been thinking alot about everything!! or does anyone know how i can focus away from them? argh!!1 annoying!!

[keenan]

hey, weird. i've never heard anybody else talk about this, but when i get stressed i have a similar experiences. just as i'm drifting off to sleep i get these really brief 'scenario' flashes of bad things happening--both little (tripping, falling, papercuts) and big (car crashes). they don't last long ('cause i fall asleep!) and i never really think about it when i'm awake. but i've wondered once in awhile what's really going on w/ that. in real life i'm not a morbid person at all (sassy and a bit cynical, yes; morbid, no), so i don't really understand the 'pain' aspect of my flashes. pls keep me posted if you learn anything!

[ShySoul]

I often think of things at random when I want to relax, and can lay awake for ages before I can fall asleep. My mind doesn't mind to shut down, stays active all the time. Find myself thinking about anything and everything.

 

Has anything major happened recently? Any changes or experiences that would be on your mind more? Sometimes if we have a lot on our minds and are trying to deal with a lot of issues, or something really important, its difficult to get them out of our minds.

[emilyemily]

well ive recently moved back from uni and i suffered really bad anxiety and did get confused alot of the time by thinking alot bout basically everything. thye dnt cause me pain but just annoying and random. be like a second and i think it only happens cos i start thinking about them kinda imagination over drive!! just annoying wen i wanna sleep. i had alot of fear about lossing control and going mad and i think these thoughts are just a spin noff from this anxiety. dunno, but i cant sleep!!! x

[keenan]

I often think of things at random when I want to relax, and can lay awake for ages before I can fall asleep. My mind doesn't mind to shut down, stays active all the time. Find myself thinking about anything and everything.

 

Yeah, I experience this all the time, too. I really battle insomnia, and my name for this is 'spinning brain'. But emilyemily used the word "flashing"...so I wonder if this is a different phenomenon than thinking about things and not being able to turn it off. I know it is for me. Dunno...maybe I'm the only one. EmEm, whatcha think?

[keenan]

sorry, our posts crossed.

[emilyemily]

thats okay. dunno think its cos ive been stressed and not relaxed and i start panicing wen its time to sleep cos i think it will happen again,,, and it does. are mind over matter i think, i usually manage to sleep and then in the morning i wonder how!! think it is anxiety ive read alot that obtrusive thoughts is a thing that comes along with anxiety!silly brains!

[ShySoul]

Could be something more serious. If you are really concerned, check with a doctor. I'm thinking stress is the most likely culprit, but you never know.

 

If it is stress, find activities to help relieve the stress. Do things you like to do. Physical activities, sports, art, anything that can help calm you down. Never tried it myself, but may meditation or one of those relaxation tapes with the calming of the ocean tide. Really, I'm stretching. I've fought the overactive mind for years, still have trouble with it.

[coollady1957]

I have read some of your previous threads about how you are feeling, the confusion , and trying to understand life and what its all about. It does sound like your brain and your mind are in OVERDRIVE. Maybe you are thinking on so many things, that the images just race in your mind.

I know when my husband died a little over two years ago, my brain just went goofy on me, and I had kinds of just strange thoughts and images in my mind when I would close my eyes at night. I was going through alot of anxiety about the changes that had occurred in my life and wondering " why why why" on so many things. When I would go to bed, I would have flashes and images of every thing that was happening. or that I had thought about during the day. It got so bad that eventually that when I would go to bed at night, all I could see was a big black hole in outer space that was sucking me in. I know exactly how you feel. I found a support group and group counseling on the issues at hand. I was going through so much stress and anxiety that I guess it took over my thoughts as I tried to go to sleep. I got to a point of where I woke up either every hour on the hour , or either I would lie in bed for hours on end trying to go to sleep. Find something to relax your mind before going to bed. A few tips below, that might help ....

 

 

Tip:

When we are stressed and anxious, we can often find it difficult to get to sleep as thoughts keep on whizzing through our heads, stopping us from relaxing enough to fall asleep.

 

 

 

If you find this is the case:

 

Make sure that you stop doing mentally demanding work several hours before coming to bed – give your brain time to calm down before you try to sleep.

 

Try reading a calming, undemanding book for a few minutes, again to relax your body, tire your eyes and help you forget about the things that are worrying you.

 

Write persistent thoughts and worries down in a notebook and then put them out of your mind. Review the notebook in the morning and take action if appropriate.

 

Keep the same bedtime. Let your body and mind get used to a predictable routine.

 

Cut back on caffeine and alcohol. Some people find that they sleep badly if they drink coffee or cola after 4pm. Others find that if they drink alcohol to excess, they wake up in the middle of the night and cannot get back to sleep.

 

I hope that you start getting a handle on what is causing your troubles. I absolutely understand getting the weird images and it can be quite disruptive and disturbing.

[ShySoul]

Great tips coollady. Especially like the notebook idea. Writing things out can help you find any pattern to the thoughts and worries you are having and can help you determine what to do about them. Also, writing your feelings out can be a sort of mental exercise that helps you deal with them just in doing that.

[emilyemily]

thanks so much, yeh im gradually dealing with alot of my anxiety and confusion and stress. think its my mind on overdrive! im gonna try and go to bed now and relax with some calming music. its nice to think that people understand me! i hope this is just a bad patch and i will get through it and calm my mind down. i realised i drunk some tea before bed which wasnt a good thing to drink!! i havent done a topic in a while cos ive felt alot clearer minded since removing the stress of my previous house and moving home. its just this whizzing of images that i felt i needed to conquer to remove most of my anxiety. ill message this topic after a few days and tell u how ive coped. im just glad that these flashes arent abnormal but just related to my own stress and anxieties. its nice to know there are still nice caring understanding people around xx

[coollady1957]

I really do think you will get past all this. It took me some time, but I conquered it and I feel that you can too. I and everyone here , are supporting you and want to help you.

I have been through so many things in my life, that I try draw from my own experiences in some way to help others. However, I realize that even though we may have similar problems, that they are also different in some ways, so that what might be the right advice for some , might not be for others.

Everyone has their own thoughts and opinions and input, but of course you know its up to you to take whatever advice you feel appropriate for you and put it to work for yourself. Get back to us when you feel the need.