Seeing spiders or clusters when I wake up

[curlytop]

I use to have this experience...I'd be dreaming, suddenly wake up and open my eyes to see one of the subjects of my dream in my room standing in front of me, only to fade away a few seconds later . Sometimes it was a person like a little black boy or a boy floating over me who had drowned in my dream....which makes it seem like a supernatural event. Also have seen a large wooden soldier and a figure made of sticks...which make it seem just like a persistance of dream-vision. To end this experience I slept in a purely dark room for awhile. That way if I opened my eyes there wasn't anything visible in the room to be interpreted by my mind. Anyway...it made it stop.

Has anyone who experiences these hallicinations of dream wakening also experiences nocturnal panic attacks which is a physical symptom not related to dreaming? Just wondered if they were in anyway related in terms of unusual brain activity.

[tiggerfuloffun]

Thank goodness I found this forum, I too was getting concerned as they can quite frightening! I have been having these "visions" for as long as I can remember. For me they are usually a BIG spider that is falling down from the ceiling right in front of my face (like its coming down on it's web and going to drop on my face). I usually put my hand out in front of me (and hope to god that it doesn't come into contact with anything) to try and dispel the image (then quickly turn on my lamp ).

Lately though they have been getting very strange. Last week it was a cats face that was coming towards me (from the ceiling) and last night (the worst one I can remember for some time) was a person (they are always dark inky shadows but with perfect outlines) coming towards me on my side of the bed and standing next to me. The next thing I remember is screaming and my poor husband holding me tight as I tried to crawl over him.

The "realness" of these visions is both extraordinary and very frightening! I have been reading that a lot of people experience dreams (both good and bad) before having these visions but I can't ever remember dreaming before these incidents (nor do I suffer from any sleep disorders etc). They always occur when I wake up in the middle of the night (as if something has woken me).

Thanks for reading this and for the person that started this thread as I feel so much better that I am not the only person to suffer from this.

[idclair]

I've read over most of the posts on this subject and must say that I am very relieved I am not going crazy. I have seen many of the same things others have seen, mostly spiders, ants, saw a little girl standing by my bed one time - all causing me to scream, throw my covers off and turn on the light only to find nothing there. This has been happening about 1X a week now. I once saw just a woman's head floating in the air with a cloudy substance surrounding her - that was not frightening - just found it odd. I have also felt like something heavy is on my bed, and have even felt like someone was lying next to me - I wasn't scared, it was just odd. I also have had dreams that seem so real where I try to turn on the light and am unable to and feel pursued by someone in my apartment. All very freaky.

I have come to the conclusion that I may be experiencing hypnogogic hallucianations caused by over medication. I have problems falling asleep and staying asleep so I often taken Ambien CR. In addition, I take 2 Amitriptyline at night for a IC. Recently I have also being taking melatonin. Needless to say, I think I need to get off the meds.

I don't know if praying is the answer to the problem (I consider myself spiritual and not religious), but have tried that as well before I go to bed just in case it is something else going on. I don't like to think that I have "opened a doorway" as someone else described, but it is always possible. If anyone else are taking similar medications or have found an answer - I'm sure we'd all love to hear it cause I really could use a good night's sleep.

[ewebb76110]

Not being snide but what you may be seeing could be either rods or cones or both floating in your eye or eyes. It isn't unusual for cones or rods to detach themselves from the back of your eye. An eye doctor can diagnose it if it is.

[idclair]

Thanks for the advice. I have been to an eye doctor and while I have been diagnosed with having floaters - which show up when looking into the light - beside that my eyes are fine. If you had read the rest of these posts, you would know that it is more than seeing rods as you indicated. I believe my explanation is more on the mark, but again thanks for the suggestion.

[Spartan]

Hi All
I cant beleave it,,i only wanted to goggle my expearience...and im freaking out how many people are going throu the same thing..
...the first time i seen the spiders...i woke up,and saw 2 spiders wich seemed like they were fighting,i was looking at them for a good 1 min,,i jumped out of bed,ran to the corner of my room ,grabed a huge stick,and when i turned to face the window,they were gone,i even hit the place were they where,at first i thought the spiders jumped down from the window,so i searched all around for about a hour,did not find a thing,so i dismissed it,even thinking maybe they were on the other side of window...until about 2 weeks ago...i swaped rooms awhile back,so this happened in the next room.....i awoke to find a huge spider on the wall..i did not react,i was looking at it for about 1 min....then while still looking at it...it just vanished.
the first two were black,about 25cm in size....the one 2 weeks ago on the wall was about 25cm also,but it was black with white stripes.
Oh my sweet Jesus..im still freaking out..how im not the only one.
I wonder if you people are like me..day and night i pray to Jesus,since i was a child,are you people religious...i bet you are,,even more do you pray to Christ.
I have come to the conclusion,after experiencing other strange things since i was a child...that these things are demonic curses,or some type of witchery,from people who dont like me bieng so close to the lord Jesus Christ.
Im sorry,i cant belive,that its happening,i guess we have reached the days wich are worst than Noah's days,quiker than what i thought.
God bless you all.
Thank you,take care.

[Spartan]

Hi All.
I have to tell you,the spiders are as clear and in very detail,the spiders are the only thing iv seen in the morning...only once have i seen something else..let me explain.
About 8 years ago around 1999 i woke up one morning,and saw my brother from the corner of my eye,walk in,sit on the bed ,turn the computer on and played a game for about 3 min,i only just got the copmuter at the time,and had it on side of the bed,the bed itself was the chair,.dureing this time i can hear the keyboard and feel the bed moveing while my brother was playing a game,then he turned the computer off and left,i found this strange because he would not just play for 3 min,so i got up and walked to his room....oh my god he was asleep.deep sleep,i woke him up and asked if he came to the room and played computer,he said no....a few days later i came across a photo of my father,the photo was almost the same as the person who walk in my room and played,also it was about the same age as my brother at the time,by the way my brother and father are a splitting image,they look the same,i look like my mom,
also my father enjoyed computer games,then to my amazment, i forgot the person i saw in my room was wearing thick black reading glasses...i thought at the time my brother wore his glasses to play computer,but he never does,and he does not have thick black glasses,...afew years after,i was at my uncles,my fathers brother,and saw a photo of my father at that age,wearing those thick black reading glasses....you see the person i saw was about 15 years old,splitting image of my father at 15years old,thats why in my daze i thought it was my brother.
But my father died at 43years old,back in 1993.
It was my father who played,but he came as a 15year old..oh my God.
All i can say is it was in the morning,it was sunny,plenty of light,and i was fully awake as one is when wakes up,so spiders are not the only thing.
everything else ive seen or experienced was at night...belive me,i dont whant to get into that.
May Jesus Christ protect you all,bless you people.
Thank you,take care.

[Spartan]

[Hocus]

Firstly, the longer I look at the clusters, the more chance there is of them turning into spiders going down the walls.

However, I purposely looked at the cluster on my pillow, and it looked like a pencil drawing black lines in a random pattern when I saw it up close. I notice that I see that a very light dot doing that when I look at really bright light. These could be connected in my case.

[Spartan]

[nicemag]

Hi, very happy to find this forum. I have been experiencing the whole seeing spiders thing for several years. It has been very distressing and upsetting for me and my partner. I wanted to offer a different way of thinking about how to approach a solution.
I work in a First Nations office in Canada (although I am not a First Nations person) and I recently spoke about my problem with a person here who has a great deal of knowledge in the area of native spirituality.
He told me that often, animals will visit us in our dreams and they are there to tell us something. Basically he told me to try and not be scared when I am visited by the spiders and ask them what they want from me.
I was not able to apply this advice for a while because I was always so frightened. However, the other night I saw a spider (a big hairy one) climbing on my door frame and I willed myself not to freak out. I watched it crawl until it became a wispy bit of smoke or something. I was really stoked that I conquered this fear, for the first time I felt like I was in control of the situation.
I am prepared for the next time, and I will ask the spider what it wants. I believe that I can instruct them to stop visiting me if I can get over the fear.
I thought I would share how I am dealing with this, and maybe this will help some people who are not religious and don't want to use medication.

[Buster1]

Hi there,

I am amazed, very pleased and somewhat relieved to have found this discussion. I recently awoke to find a very large spider, all legs, running speedily across my living room carpet, in my opposite direction. I couldn't believe that I had such a large creature living in the same room as myself - this is the UK. I jumped up and tried to focus on it as it ran into the shade of a chair, however, suddenly it seemed to disappear, not under any furniture but into fresh air. I searched for it, but to no avail. Then, today, as I awoke (I tend to nod off in front of the fire) I saw a minuscule spider, all legs, running frantically across my fire place before again disappearing into thin air. It was then that I realised I was hallucinating; I carried out an Internet search and found this site. I also found information that post sleep hallucination is know as 'hypnopompic hallucination'.' I have had waking nightmares since the age of seventeen (I'm now sixty three) but ever since I defied the demons that used to threaten me I've not experienced any further nightmares. Now it seems I am being visited by spiders; I am very curious to know why spiders and not dogs, cats, cows or cockroaches? I am not afraid of spiders, they are quite welcome to share my home, but I am quite averse to cockroaches, to put it mildly.

[nicemag]

Buster1- I have also been pondering the significance of spiders. It does seem very unusual that it is specifically spiders that visit us. There are many types of bugs that could be "hallucinated". Why spiders? I myself was never frightened by spiders before (although now I kind of am). I think this is very interesting. You don't see groups of people discussing their common hypnagognic hallucinations about snakes, worms, or other types of creepy bugs. Could there be a deeper significance to this? Any thoughts?

[Buster1]

Sorry, Nicemag, I have no idea why spiders and not other creatures. However, I would like to know if any of those experiencing hallucinations are vegans or vegetarians.

[nicemag]

I am a qualified meat eater. There must be some other common denominator. I'm willing to bet most of us are vivid regular dreamers, possibly with creative and imaginative minds. I don't buy the "dream analysis" of spiders being a warning against someone close to you (I don't believe in any of that). I think is a more primal reaction to something. Curious - has anyone been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD (or can identify with the characteristics)?