I know this is going to sound really bizarre but it is freaking me out a little now as it keep happening. Please bear with me!

At night when I am laying in bed, this strange thing happens. It's as if a camera flash is going off in my brain or in my eyes. It's a really bright light that makes me jump, sets my heart racing and I can almost hear a kind of 'clicking' sound too at the same time. It flashes really quickly, its really bright and makes me open my eyes and look round.

Y'know when you are just dozing off and then sometimes your muscles tense and you jump, feeling as if you are falling, well it's almost like that except that most of the time when it happens, I'm not even dozing. I'll just be laying in bed,. thinking abouty this and that, and it happens. Now if I was half asleep then I could understand, but most of the time I'm not. It can happen sometimes only a minute or so after I close my eyes.

My room is dark apart from a clock radio with a red LCD display. My door is shut, no lights on etc etc.

Anyone any idea as to what this is or what maybe causing it as it's really starting to freak me out.

Thanks :thumbsup:

I get a similar thing if I am very tired and stressed but mines usually accompanied by a strange feeling that I cannot really describe too, right at the point when the flashing occurs. I also have nightmares pretty much all the time when I am stressed too so if I get the flashing I know I am in for a bad night. There is also a sort of humming sound with the flash, not sure if its in my ears that it occurs or inside my head. I have had this for several months now and I think mine could be linked to the stress I have had recently.
I find mine gets worse the closer to actually falling asleep I get, sometimes I know a nightmare is on the horizon so I have to fight like hell to try and wake myself up. Maybe I am going insane :(

I had that happen to me once too. I also felt as though someone had pushed down on my shoulders quickly and forcefully. It really freaked me out!!! I wasn't even nearly asleep. I never did find out what it was but it still makes me wonder as it was so wierd.

Ohh look what i just found!!! we are not wierd, I think.....

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=134753

Originally posted by bonny
Ohh look what i just found!!! we are not wierd, I think.....

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=134753
Well done :thumbsup:
:( I get all three at once sometimes...bad luck eh

Oh so just "exploding head" syndrome then.

Doesn't sound like much to worry about does it?

:hihi:

It is actually annoying though because recently it has been every single night. When I manage to pull myself out of some of these dreams I dont even know where I am or whats happening for a while. It takes a few seconds for me to get my senses back to normal, if they ever were normal.
I find them keeping me awake until the extreme early hours and only really fall to sleep properly because I am so knackered.
As long as my exploding head syndrome never gets as bad as JFK's then I dont mind.

a lot of these things acompany strees, or tiredness so if you have been stressed or run down of late then that could be an answer.
when i am stressed or upset i start to awaken suddenly from sleep gasping for air, its as though someone has covered my mouth.. when these happen to me i know its time to slow down, it was really frightnening at first and i thought i was going to die in my sleep. but now when it happens i just relax take deep breaths and have a herbal tea which seems to calm me enough to sleep.
if you are really worried though go to a doctor or even better an optician as they are usually first to spot anything wrong.:thumbsup:

I tried the herbal tea but it kept falling out of the Rizzla.

Phew! I'm glad I'm almost normal! I get the head click thing, the flashing behind the eyes, the whole works. As many of you have said, it's mainly when I'm tired/stressed but sometimes occurs at other times. When I'm REALLY tired it sometimes acts like a strobe, with three or four flashes in rapid succession. Doesn't half shake you up if your trying to sleep (or 'rest your eyes' if your in the office ;))

Phew!!!

I was beginnng to think I was either going mad or there was something seriously wrong with me.

It really does seem/feel/hear as if my head is going to expolde and is very scary. I am so relieved after reading about it to find its totally harmless.

Interesting to read also about sufferers also suffer from migraines. I get these very severely along with cluster headaches.

Aanyway, at least I can stop worrying aboutit now!

When i first started reading this thread i thought you were all suffering from the same sort of Migraines that i have. Now i can see it is something completely different.

I had to spend a day in hospital having all sorts of tests done but at the end of it all, the neurologist's decided i was experiencing all the symptoms of severe migraines (flashing,dizziness,nausea,tingling sensations etc etc) but i never get the pain :suspect: The only pain i get is after the symptoms have gone. Then i feel as if i have banged my temple on something :?

There are lots of different types of migraines. I get abdominal migraines sometimes. These are acute stomach ache accompanied by dizziness/feeling faint, visual disturbances and the general 'aura' of a migraine but without the banging head ache. Wierd? Yes I know. I had 2 MRI scans and the electrodes on the head/flashing lights tests too. They thought at one point it was MS but thanksfully it is 'just' migraines.

Thank goodness I only have the 'jerk' sometimes I jump almost out of bed!

Try eating a banana before you go to bed, apparantly they help you sleep .... Zzzzzzz

I sometimes experience a wierd heart thumping on another sphere thing.
And i think im going to die.
Im awake but everything seems strange.
I have to go to the bathhroom and walk up and down to regulate my heartbeat.
If i look through the window its like i dont recognise things as they really are.
could it be a small part of my brain is still in dream sleep or what.

Ive also had the thing where you try to move but cant and you think youre shouting someone but no one hears.
But i know the reason is your brain has woke up before your body.

Can anyone explain the former.

Also i sympathise with anyone who has the bright colours migraines as ive had these since i was twelve.
brought on mostly by looking at lights or by stress.

Originally posted by vidster
...i was experiencing all the symptoms of severe migraines (flashing,dizziness,nausea,tingling sensations etc etc) but i never get the pain :?

I'm so glad I'm not alone, it's hard to explain to someone that you are a migraine sufferer, but don't get the throbbing headaches associated with it. Looking at flashing lights usually sets me off... Vidster, your avatar has the potential of setting off migraines too, if you look at it for long enough!!

I also suffer from sleep paralysis, they are so scary. My ex thought I was having an epileptic fit in my sleep!!

Night terrors too, often involving spiders sat on my pillow, watching me as I sleep, but I'm not asleep, I'm wide awake, cowering under da covers!!!! really really scary :shocked:

Originally posted by FetishFairy
It's as if a camera flash is going off in my brain or in my eyes. It's a really bright light that makes me jump, sets my heart racing and I can almost hear a kind of 'clicking' sound too at the same time.

I get this a lot too, but I don't have a click with it, I have a woosh (like a plane going overhead). My neurologist told me to think of it as your brain cooling down - a bit like a car engine ticking after you turn it off. It's normal. Well, it must be if so many of us have it! :D

Originally posted by 1_HotGal
I'm so glad I'm not alone, it's hard to explain to someone that you are a migraine sufferer, but don't get the throbbing headaches associated with it. Looking at flashing lights usually sets me off... Vidster, your avatar has the potential of setting off migraines too, if you look at it for long enough!!



I never thought of my Avatar like that before :o

I remember the first time i tried telling by boss's that i had a Migraine coming on. I told them i had a tingling sensation in my lips and in my fingers. They thought i had gone crazy! :suspect:

Normally 5-6 hours sleep and i'm fully functional again. I feel sorry for these people who have them for days/weeks at a time :?

The worst bit about migraines is the woolly feeling for about 3 days afterwards... like you're there, but not really there. Walking up and downstairs is a right old laugh. :(

Originally posted by feargal
The worst bit about migraines is the woolly feeling for about 3 days afterwards... like you're there, but not really there. Walking up and downstairs is a right old laugh. :(

Yeah it's like having one mother of a hangover whilst still being partially drunk, yet not having had the pleasure of the drink in the first place. I get slurred speech during an attack too so people have often thought I was drunk.