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Fear on sleep bothers me.

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Due to having a strong imagination and some infancy traumas related to people telling me scary stories they SHOULDNT have told to an extremelly impressionable kid, then I am alone and trying to sleep I am suddently struck by an anoying fear of that something scary or weird will aparear and attack me or force me to get out of the bed to do something about it, and even thought I know thats an ridiculous fear I dont manage to get rid of it. Last time that happened I had the impression of hearing a duck quacking out in the street, and that lead to a serie of ridiculous, absurd and extremelly amusing thoughts involving ducks, penguins it miniguns riding ducks, the possibility of 90% of our mind being used for penguin storage and the use of the words "duck" and "penguin" as agressive verbs, and with that humorous outburst the fear was gone and I able to sleep. Anyone feels something similar?

@manored,

I think I can honestly say I've never had an experience like that before.

When I was in junior high and high school, I'd occasionally get adrenaline rushes when I was home alone late at night, and my compulsion during the rush was to run to my bedroom and hide under the covers. It would usually only last a few seconds before passing, and they were irrational. There didn't seem to be any particular stimuli prompting the urge.

But that's the closest thing I've ever felt to what you're describing.

@manored,

That is... strange Smile

@MuseEvolution,

Sort of, except with spiders. If I'm ever lying down and chilling out, and get one of those shivers on my leg or something similar, I cannot sleep until I turn on the light, remove the duvet and check everywhere for spiders. I hate those freaking things. Eugh.

@Kolbe,

You wouldn't have mentioned this if you hadn't the suspicion it was something universal, or even fundamental. When I read your experience I thought about several books where the same event occurs, like "Der Golem" by Alfred Meyrinck or "Gaspard de la Nuit" by Aloysius Bertrand. The belgian writer De Ghelderode even tells us explicitely that his "talent" to express the Horrible was due to his mother's bedtime stories. Perhaps Poe's "Raven" is also the symbolic expression of the same experience: in the night comes the Night, and you're alone, and the Shadows grow... That may be an intense experience, but it is not only your's. It is part of a culture where the nightmare is common and even a source of inspiration, and where Sigmund Freud is a necessity. Perhaps it's the closest we can come to our own Individual Hell, yet it is also related with the works of Bosch, and with surrealism. Perhaps you could make your own Book of Fears? If things get really worse, consult a shrink.

@manored,

I would prefer to write a comedy book, then the penguins can guard the castle of my mind against the siege of perturbing thoughts.

By the way, has anyone else here ever imagined a shape for your own mind? I once imagined my mind as a castle surrounded by an endless sea of lava, acessible only by a tiny bridge leading to a teleporter, and tall enough to reach space.

@manored,

It has been done before, but without teleporter. Perhaps you'll recognize a bit of yourself in this? :

The Haunted Palace Analysis Edgar Allan Poe : Summary Explanation Meaning Overview Essay Writing Critique Peer Review Literary Criticism Synopsis Online Education

So much in the mind...

@manored,

Not really, the lava is there to keep intruders away, not to represent inner sadness Smile

@manored,

manored wrote:

Due to having a strong imagination and some infancy traumas related to people telling me scary stories they SHOULDNT have told to an extremelly impressionable kid, then I am alone and trying to sleep I am suddently struck by an anoying fear of that something scary or weird will aparear and attack me or force me to get out of the bed to do something about it, and even thought I know thats an ridiculous fear I dont manage to get rid of it.

Oh I get that feeling on occaison. I used to get it all the time as a child, but as I got older this was less and less the case, though it still comes on occaison, though it doesn't bother me very much anymore. I think everyone has this when they are a child, and that it usually hits us on occaison when we are older.

@manored,

Ya, but its quite bothersome then you want to sleep and it decides to pay you a visit Smile

@manored,

manored wrote:

Ya, but its quite bothersome then you want to sleep and it decides to pay you a visit

read a book:a-ok:

@manored,

I have learned how to counter this.

Quite simply, face your fear. If you are afraid of something in your closet then go into your closet in the dark. If you are afraid of something outside, go for a walk with no flashlite.

Facing your fear will eventually get rid of it.

@Icon,

Icon wrote:

I have learned how to counter this.

Quite simply, face your fear. If you are afraid of something in your closet then go into your closet in the dark. If you are afraid of something outside, go for a walk with no flashlite.

Facing your fear will eventually get rid of it.

Unless you go in the closet and actually find what you are afraid of.

@Icon,

Icon wrote:

I have learned how to counter this.

Quite simply, face your fear. If you are afraid of something in your closet then go into your closet in the dark. If you are afraid of something outside, go for a walk with no flashlite.

Facing your fear will eventually get rid of it.

Cant spend the whole night waiting for something to show up so I can kick its ass thought Smile

Nowadays I read books in computers, so cant read then on bed.

@manored,

Blimey I still get like that.......most of the time even now I have to imagine myself to be inside a bivvi bag sheltered from the driving rain, warm & dry, all my family within view in their equally hidden spots, once visualised enough I'm usually asleep.
As for the mind shape, mine is like a mountain range......not sure why:shocked:
TTFN folks

@schloopfeng,

avatar6v7 wrote:

Unless you go in the closet and actually find what you are afraid of.

Even better. What better way to test your metal than to actually face that which you fear.

I used to be terrified of heights... So I went cliff diving.

Used to be terrified of planes... So I went sky diving.

When I was REALLY young, (9 or so) I was afraid of the dark.... So I went into the woods alone at night and camped out under the stars.

My father was tough on me. Not excessively but certainly more than most. He taught me that fear is nothing more than a warning from your body. Warning should be considered but never a driving factor in decision.

manored wrote:

Cant spend the whole night waiting for something to show up so I can kick its ass thought

Nowadays I read books in computers, so cant read then on bed.

No but you would be surprised how taking simple steps to accept your possible fate and face it can turn your whole world around.

Also...
Buy some real books.

@manored,

But my possible fate is something comming out of oblivion and preventing me from sleeping, and facing it would culminate with me really not sleeping, and I want to sleep Smile

I think I need to learn the ancient magical art of ignoring.

And... buying things? Never!

@manored,

manored wrote:

Ya, but its quite bothersome then you want to sleep and it decides to pay you a visit

Strange that the previous postings stayed so much in the realm of the personal. Yet this is a thread full of "philosophical" potential. Imho this is about way more than personal fears and facing them. It is "It" that we're talking about. Yes "It": It's alive, It's significant. But what is "It"? Is it the Id? Now I would like to say it is nameless, but that may bother certain members here ;-) . No, this kind of experiences must be taken seriously. The night is awfully revealing. They rise from the Dark and speak, these creatures of the night. "To sleep, perchance to dream? Aye, there's the rub...""

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/museum/2042/fotos/fuseli.jpg

(The Nightmare, by Fuseli)

@Catchabula,

I prefer to speak to darkness in the realms of dreams and mind, where I can make it answer, not in the real world where I can make myself fell stupid Smile

Funny things about these old pictures (at least the style makes me assume it is old) is that they normally use symbolisms of that time that nearly nobody understands nowadays... I bet the horse is there representing something that is not a horse.

@manored,

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