Paranoia..

[num1habsfan]

I notice a lot of you suffer from terrible nightmares too, does anyone else have horrible paranoia especially during the night, and based from the nightmares you've had??

I know I seem to have to be even more paranoid about basements I have no idea why. Nothing has ever HAPPENED to me in one, but just from the dreams I've had I keep thinking something is going to come out from around the corner..The same goes with closets. I keep thinking that something is going to come out of the closet by itself. Or that I turn around in bed and some ghostly thing will be standing there..

And I'm also VERY very jumpy..at anything.

And since I've been gluten-free this has seemed to gotten worse..

If anyone else is like this, or has a solution BESIDES medication, please say so..

~ lisa ~

[Guest BellyTimber]

1) We wouldn't admit it if we had, or would we ...

2) What you describe doesn't sound like paranoia, it sounds like sensitivity to dimensions. What some might define as the rational is (partly) a matter of convention.

3) A word I rather like (I'm not admitting why) is hypervigilant. I'm not sure what you describe is quite that, or not. Anyway I think nearly all "paranoia" is merely hypervigilance. One can get like that through any tough experience and I think one can and should feel relaxed about being that way. Not only the complications our bodies were having to go through gave us wariness mixed with sadness, but the interrelating with people we had to deal with about our illness too. One isn't "being stupid", the human mind is naturally a fountain of symbols that form out of whatever is going on.

4) On the odd occasion one finds oneself thinking something one simultaneously views as not quite making sense, one remedy that might be of use is exhaustively and extensively and repeatedly outlining to oneself the reasons for the opposite view, e.g the police cars are there about the traffic, an emergency call, routine patrols, etc etc. I am not saying how I arrived at this opinion!

5) As to basements, you could perhaps debate with yourself, does the world really work like in the "suspense" films - even the spiritual world? I hope a lively sense of critique and an ever-enquiring mind and thirst for information will help you through this. That's a viewpoint I've "somehow" arrived at. You've already shown how brave you are!

Michael

self-imagined proprietor of 10c psychology kiosk, Snoopy style?

[Guest Viola]

I like your way of thinking Michael I also have periods of being very aware of any sound or movement. I'm not sure what brings them on, but I will have to look at them differently from now on

[ianm]

You sound a lot like me prior to going gluten-free. After going gluten-free the nighmares, etc. went away but it took several months for that to happen.

Ianm

[Carriefaith]

I notice a lot of you suffer from terrible nightmares too, does anyone else have horrible paranoia especially during the night, and based from the nightmares you've had??

Yes

If anyone else is like this, or has a solution BESIDES medication, please say so..

I try not to watch scary tv shows or movies about ghosts or the spiritual world. They freak me right out. The funny thing is I can watch zombie movies like Dawn/Shawn of the Dead or other horror movies like Army of Darkness and find them funny but if I saw a movie like The Ring or any one of those type of horror movies then I'd be freaked right out! I could hardley sleep the night after I saw the Blair Witch Project!

[lovegrov]

You might be able to deal with this without medication, but I can't imagine you won't need counseling -- and I don't mean this as a criticism. This is some pretty serious stuff and I would think needs serious help. And this is from someone who's having anxiety attacks.

richard

[joe2008]

I'm paranoid too, but I do live in south central la, so perhaps thats not a bad thing

[Merika]

From reading I've done (mostly online), the psychological symptoms of celiac are very real yet not known much about (do they stay or go post-gluten-free, etc). I suffer from agoraphobia (oddly, diagnosed by a career counselor who was initially trained as a psychologist), which showed up as anxiety soon after physical symptoms of celiac began (like within weeks). It got worse over the years before diagnosis, progressing to agoraphobia. It comes and goes in intensity. I don't have any idea if I'll have it a long time more or not.

I did, however, find a wonderful book at the library that was helpful, and have done additional reading in books and online. I'd suggest you start there.

Judging from the responses here, you are not alone

Merika

(big wave from Hollywood to Joe)

[Guest BellyTimber]

Lisa

Another thought struck me, I've alluded to it on 2nd March under Nightmares in the sleep pages.

If I rephrase perhaps shan't get telling off for "spamming"

I notice your post is more about nightmares than anything.

In the old days we always used to laugh about the way we tended to get weird dreams after eating cheese or pork. I think a gut-brain connection is something to be relaxed about.

Was recently going through a phase of rather vivid, impression-making dreams.

Have actually addressed my dream-making faculty & asked it not to scare me as that defeats the object of playing out the issues in a way I can learn from.

My dreams are often cheesy, corny or witty in their symbolism.

Once in a while I write the episodes down after waking, and a meaning if one occurs to me, and date it. (I'm told dream meanings are fairly individual though there may be a few universal symbols.)

Anyway the point I was getting to was they can be rather vivid staying with me for hours or days and overlaying all experience with an eerie or melancholy or otherwise unusual kind of feel.

Plenty of dreams don't seem to mean anything especially if feeling a little off colour.

Hoping that helps,

Michael

[Guest BellyTimber]

Lisa

See my posting under Sleep about using search and reading old threads.

The one started 16 March 2004 about A.S.P. just to take the only one I've been through from that period, will help you a lot I am sure.

Happy dreams

M.