I have wondered that myself before - if it is just that some people perceive it when others don't. Like some people will notice details of a situation when others don't.
OMG! I am so glad that this seems like a normal thing. I too started having the same fast speed effects in my head, than it seemed like I was going fast in what ever I was doing. I too had this happen when I was a child and off and on in my teens. I just assumed it had something to do with my being born with a mild case of cyrival palsy. It started up again just a few days ago and again yesterday. As the rest of you , it too only last about 5 minutes or so, but seems longer. I too wish I could find a name for this. I could understand if I was someone who did drugs, drank or anything like that, but have never done any of that. So like the rest of you I would love to find out what and why this happens? Good luck all.:-D Kelly
Your son has had a very similar experience to me, especially with the fever aspect which was when I first had this particular feeling. The reason for being on the forum at this moment in time is that I have just had a mild episode for the first time in around 8 months. I think personally that stress is a factor as the last three time I can remember having it are moving house, exams and a bad week at work, however I am sure it would vary massively from person to person. In terms of seeing things which were not there I did have the same aspects when I was younger at night (worst times when I had a fever). The dreams use to be as if I was awake in my room with this "feeling" that there was a count down or something (not good) was imminently about to happen. It would often end with me waking up and running to find my parents at the time without being able to explain exactly what I had been thinking/ dreaming of. I think that because perhaps that feeling has come about during a period where you a bit more lucid the dream can seem as if you are not / were not asleep at all. I have had these feelings on the odd rare occasion and it feels as though your conscious mind and your un-conscious mind / feeling are conflicting in a very extreme way. For me almost the psychological effects of panic (not physiological) without there being a rational topic to immediate panic about and so there is nothing for the feeling to be dispensed on.. Very strangely as with a couple of posts further up I also have clinically shaky hands (Benign Minor Tremor) and I am 22. Also this is a side act to what is the feeling however I think caffeine and stress could precipitate or perhaps increase the chance of this feeling. Does any body else out there suffer from shaky hands? or perhaps low caffeine tolerance? or remember drinking caffeinated drinks prior to the periods of "fast thinking" HB.
I am 16 and i get this about twice a week. I got it the other day whilst in the car, so everything that was moving past was a blur, i almost felt as if i had no energy or unable to move during the process of it. I felt as if i was being forced into a small space and very claustrophobic at the same time as everything moving incredibly fast. It also gave me a severe headache and my eyes hurt and i was really scared! I get this all the time and my friends say when i get it i act really slow and tired as if lacking energy. So interesting to know im not the only one who gets this, if anything further is found out please do inform me as it scaring the c**p out of me at the moment haha
My step children (twins, boy and girl aged 19) described this to me some years ago as they'd both get it usually after or during sleep. It seems there grandfather also has this happen to him. I'm now researching it as my 5 yr old daughter has started to experience it too and it is really scaring her. The symptoms are exactly as described by the original poster. I thought it was maybe a genetic thing and was wondering whether it could be to do with an internal body temp regulator going 'off' a bit when too warm at night?
Hi I wrote a post a while back about my 10 year old daughter. We just finally had our appointment with the pediatric neurologist. The doctor said it is AIWS. She only has auditory perception issues. She'll hear us in the other room and think we are speaking loudly/aggresively and that are voices are sped up, also the voices she hears in her head is actually just her own thoughts, it's almost like a narrator is yelling everything she does. The doctor questioned her about this... like did the voices tell her to do things, she told him it was just like her thoughts were screaming what was going on. He assured us and her that this was not schizophrenia or any other mental illness, but that it was AIWS. She doesn't have any size perception issues but he said not everyone does and since she hasn't already she shouldn't . Some people can even have sensations like the floor feels spongy....it can exhibit in more than just one of the senses it's just more talked about with the size proportion. My daughter also gets the feeling that everything is sped up. Just knowing other people have it made her feel better. My daughter has migraines. The AIWS is just a symtom of them. AIWS is usually a symptom of another problem Seizures, Migraines, mono,Brain tumor, and it can even happen when you get a fever or are fighting an infection, which sounds like what your daughter is probably dealing with. Even though we knew it was probably migraines our pediatrician sent us to the neurologist to rule out seizures and brain tumor. For now he is having us give her supplements to try and prevent the migraines before trying prescription meds. Ibuprofen works for her but he said we don't want to be using that more than three times a week. There have not been alot of studies or research done on this mostly because not alot of awareness about it. Most children don't mention it because they assume everyone else probably has it and they don't know how to explain it anyway, and when they realize it isn't the norm there is the fear of appearing crazy which was what I secretly worried when my daughter first told me.... so i would make sure that you speak to a doctor that is familiar with AIWS, because even though mental illness is prevalent in our society you wouldn't want your daughter to be misdiagnosed. I would make an appt with a pediatric neurologist and in the meantime tell her what the doctor told my daughter that even though it's scary when it's happening that it can't harm her she'll be ok. I am not the best writer but I hope I have conveyed my thoughts well and that this helps
I am the quest you were replying to. I don't think caffiene is related to my son's episodes, because he doesn't drink much soda. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in another post, but he began having the dreams rather frequently in maybe 6th grade, and a friend in the medical field questioned his eating and recommended we stop the bedtime snack. When we did, the dream stopped, too. I don't think he's had the dream ever again! I like your explanation of concious/unconcious mind conflicting. I wondered if it was a similar phenomenon to what happens when you startle at the feeling of falling when falling asleep sometimes. I wish I knew of a study on this, that did brain scans ..... wow! I just realized my sister is friends with the wife of a neuro-surgeon. I am going to have her talk to him about this, and let him know about this thread. He might like to do some research! I can't believe I never thought of this before!!! Will keep you posted!!
Wow okay so lots of people have this then. I've had it since I was at least 5 and had no idea what it was. I've never had the big/small feeling but definitely the speeded up one. It also kind of felt like while everything was speeding up, things were going really slow as well. I know that doesn't really make much sense but it was like those two sensations overlapping. If I do deep breathing then it usually goes away after about 5 minutes. Strange though, good to know I'm not the only one.
yes, I have the same thing. Was wondering about it myself. I get almost embarrassed sometimes because I think I would look like I'm moving really fast around other people lol. I usually get it when I'm writing an exam or am really focused on something at work. I'm 28 now, but have had it my whole life. Weird how no doctors can really understand or care to understand about this. Doesn't feel like I'm in danger, but still you'd think someone have looked into this.
Every once in a while I have the feeling that the world around me has been put on overdrive. I have these episodes every couple of months. I'm almost 50 and have dealt with this as long as I can remember. Another part of this is the sensation that what ever I touch does not feel as big or little as it should be.
Until this evening, I thought that I was just imagining that this was happening to only me. In a conversation with my younger brother I found out that he also deals with this. He had heard that this was related to migraines. We both suffer from migraines.
My brother had said that this syndrome is commonly known as Alice in Wonderland Syndrome. Google it and you will find all sorts of info
this isn't an episode of star wars this is an actual medical condition that many children on this board have. Please keep that in mind when posting