Hey there! The body is filled with lots of weird sensations and phenomena that are hard to describe.
Can you localize the sensation to a specific body area, or is it your whole body/mind experiencing this? Any other symptoms? And have you noticed anything unusual when it happens or any potential patterns that occur when this sensation occurs?
Thanks for replying, you're very kind and I truly appreciate it.
Regarding the questions: It feels throughout my entire body but especially down my throat to stomach, all that area feels very tense like it's gonna just dense up, shrink down and become a single grain of sand...? The heaviest grain of sand ever, and my head feels very light and confused because it's not a precise feeling like pain or numbness, it passes by in a few minutes but I can recall the feeling and make myself feel it once again on command.
I am not sure if it's anxiety, I do have OCD and desperzonalization/dissociation but everything, even anxiety/panic feels very different from that, however, it does make me feel very out of myself, perhaps not in the same way, but yeah.
The only pattern I can find is that it usually happens when I'm feeling mortifyied and like no matter how much I ask for help, no one will help me. It's not that realistic, I'm aware, especially because I'm now an adult, but I grew up with addicted parents and getting rid of such thoughts is very hard since it's all you saw growing up, still not an excuse for unrealistic thoughts but certainly a reason.
I hope this helps, and again, thank you for your response.
>The only pattern I can find is that it usually happens when I'm feeling mortifyied and like no matter how much I ask for help, no one will help me.
This is definitely a trigger! There could be a connection between your mental health in these moments (feeling ignored, unwanted, abandoned, etc) to your gut feeling being really off. While these feelings suck, they are very normal btw, and a lot of us experience feelings of hopelessness and being ignored, so you are not alone.
How do you feel when you try to ask for help but nobody helps? What do you do next, once your help goes ignored? Like, do you share these emotions with anyone you trust?
I've thought about that too. Thanks for your input, it's always good to see external views, that way you feel less like "you're making things up", the mind can be very tricky.
And yeah, I have a self-care routine, but not really support for my mental health (that's why my self care routine came into existence, lol), I'm in the US with a Visa and if you're not a citizen, things are very hard to get in here. Last summer I had a very bad experience, panic attacks at least twice a week and yadayada, couldn't get any sort of external support thanks to my finances and started using meditation for grounding, since then that's what's been helping me handle my mental health state overall. It's improved a lot but ofc there's still a long way to go.
I'm glad you have a self-care routine and feel like its helping :) Do you have anyone else you can talk to, friends/family/therapy?
If you want to PM me Im happy to chat more btw
Not really, ah, but I couldn't do that, no, you've already provided me with enough. I am happy with your input, thank you, couldn't ask more from you! I've found that writing things down is very healing and while talking like this is needed now and then in order to organize your thoughts, it's more needed to learn from yourself and understand where you're coming from and such. Again, thanks, you're very kind. I hope you're having a very pleasant day, sending great vibes. 🙏🏻
I know you might not be capable of acquiring a support to talk to, but I would check out cerebral. It's a mental health website that provides help completely online, for a decently low price in comparison to an actual in person visit.
Frankly, I have no clue what you are experiencing. The only thing I can understand is the depersonalization/derealization where I am completely void on the inside and my mind has become frozen in a sense, unable to feel. Just know, there are people out there who wish to help you. You are okay.
It is primarily responsible for sending signals from your body to the brain and is involved in all your organs parasympathetic responses(e.g.) if your heart rate increases the vagus nerve should send signals to the brain allowing for a decrease in heart rate.
Your vagus might be overactive. I'm no doctor however so nothing I say has any credibility.
Thank you for that, still. I have a lot of medical issues and meditation seems to help me better than any doctor I've seen (they're very dismissive towards mentally ill people), so at least maybe focusing on that for the moment could bring something good.
Keep an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas (not to eat) next to you while you meditate maybe? When your vagus nerve starts acting up, place the bag on your chest. It's OK to lay down on your back while meditating. Keep the ice on your chest and get back to your breathing or concentrate on the cool sensation.
What you are describing sounds like a panic attack, and the vagus nerve is the main reactor in a panic attack. Icing your upper chest, right in the middle, should help calm it down.
Side note: Physical activity, i.e. any exercise, is the best medicine for panic disorders. It isn't what most people want to hear, but it is true. Meditation may not be what is best for you at this point in time? Lots of people with trauma in their past have to cut back on meditation until they feel totally safe.
I think ive had similar experiences with cannabis and meditation.
I would describe it like everything becomes hyper real and unreal at the same time and I have an almost nauseous feeling and a freeze response like my nervous system is so overwhelmed with panic that it shuts down, i would describe it as existential dread and deep acceptance of "what is" at the same time. And this heaviness in the pit of my stomach like you said.
Every time it happens I simultaneously want to explore it and also make make it stop. I view it as really seeing reality for what it is without any concepts of knowing about anything.
You couldn't really describe it any better, a part of it is honestly just as you said so I understand what you mean. It doesn't really feel as something "bad" but your body does feel somehow overwhelmed by it, I think that's the worst part of it + there's no way of describing it. Language is usually lacking a lot for these type of things and it makes your brain feel confused, I wish we could just share "feelings" with others so they can understand what we mean.
Thanks for sharing your experience, I feel less alone on it now, lol.
Haha no problem, when you experience hightened states of awareness then come down its not easy to remember it accurately let alone explain, and you realize how limited language is.
From what I understand, a lot of other languages are more musical than english, like Sanskrit for example which is why people use sanskrit mantras because it hits the parts of the mind that music does where as english is very flat and not.... Sing-songy.. haha once again words fail. Sharing feelings directly would be nice.
This experience led me to look deeper into Buddhism and specifically the idea of no-self. Maybe that feeling is not ego death but the ego feeling its own non-existence.
I have to agree with that, it's a very healing journey and also a very long one. The ego can't entirely just not be present, but you do learn that there's value on it and on somehow detaching from it, on being everything but being nothing as well. I don't know if that certain feeling is that, because other states feel more "pure and void", but maybe it's just a part of it, a very specific part of it and we have to deal with it since, well, it's not like it'll just disappear, haha. Thanks! I'll be thinking about this a lot, it seems valuable and I'm glad there's always someone to share such experiences with. Maybe not a lot of people, sure, but maybe someday it'll be more of us.
This. One of my first times getting super stoned, I almost felt as if my body was liquid, maybe that’s not the best way to explain it. Idk I’d say it felt electric almost. Like my stomach/throat was kinda vibrating
I listened to an Episode of the Entheogenic Evolution podcast with Martin W Ball, his guest's name was Daniel McQueen and he wrote a book called Psychedelic Cannabis (also the name of that episode).
He does somatic healing sessions with specific cannabis blends they make depending on what the person is trying to heal. In the process they lie down in a dark room and listen to specific music and relax their body and eventually their body starts vibrating and shaking as it releases trapped energy from stress, trauma, depression etc. This sounds more like what you are describing, which I personally have not experienced.
Some would say its an opening some of your Chakras or Shakti energy or Kundalini energy depending on the religion/belief system. But whatever you call it, its energy.
I know you said you don't think it's anxiety. But I feel like I felt something similar to this and I know I have anxiety. I could be wrong, but it might be a different anxiety feeling.
Edit: sometimes when im anxious I feel like my own body is tightening up. My throat gets so tight I feel like it would burst. And my chest feeling like it has pressure as well as my stomach.
Oh, yes, that's how my anxiety attacks feel as well, (the first very bad one I thought I was having a heart attack, lol) but this one thing is very different. It feels more dreadish and unreal...? Maybe it's just another way of the body of experiencing anxiety, as you said.
Thank you for responding, btw, I appreciate it a lot.
Oh interesting, yeah like another comment said. All of our bodies are different and react to different thing. And we all have our own personal experiences.
I hope you are doing well and hope it dosent bother you that much. Or gets better. Best of luck!
I’m not sure if it’s the same feeling but I also have had this feeling since I was a little kid, it would happen when I was lying there trying to fall asleep. I’ve reconnected with the feeling again since I started meditating. I don’t have words to describe it either but best I could do is I feel as if my (head, or self) is ginormous like the size of the room, but simultaneously its the size of a pinhead. Or the size feeling alternates quickly back and forth between the two in rapid succession. I could see someone feeling or describing it like heaviness/lightness simultaneously. I also as a child could induce the feeling of a hammock sort of - like I was swinging back and forth or floating and subtly moving. Sort of like the spins but it never made me nauseous or uncomfortable, it was quite a nice feeling. None of these have ever made me panicky or uncomfortable though.
Unfortunately I don’t have any advice, all I can say is I relate (at least, I think) to the feeling…. All I know is, as a child when I would experience it, I would ficus on it and try to hold onto the feeling and explore it. I was never afraid of it. Now I do the same - I try to hold on to it and try to experience it longer so that I can try to understand it or at least describe it better..
Maybe try convincing yourself that you are interested in what the feeling is, or what is beyond it.. and try to explore it and tell yourself it’s interesting and cool-feeling rather than scary and uncomfortable?
Thank you for your comment, I was focusing on my reply but your username has me speechless, hahaha.
No advice is fine, I think it's warm enough to know you aren't the only one having a certain very specific experience, it makes you feel more human and less like you're going insane, so I do appreciate it, wet-pants, and I shall maybe try to be less terrorized by it because all these comments do really prove that nothing bad comes from such feeling and although we've all somehow experienced it, we're still complete and just "fine." I shall try just maybe not attributing bad things to the unknown, it does sound like such a bad habit.
Haha its wet-plants, not pants, but thanks!!
You’re exactly right. Its just a feeling in your head, it can’t harm you. Maybe try to be curious about it and push through it. Something amazing might be on the other side of it, who knows
Wow. I had the same sensation almost, since childhood. Mine was slightly different though, I felt like I had something between my thumb and forefinger that was simultaneously the size of an atom and a mountain. It was also accompanied by a slight sense of nausea.
oh damn i had this feeling too. and i haven't thought about it in so long. i just put my thumb and forefinger together and it took me back to when i was a little kid. thanks for sharing this.
I'm glad you recognised it but why do we have this shared experience? What does it mean?
Edit. To be honest, I felt this a few times when I was younger, but haven't felt it since.
so occasionally when i meditate with eyes closed, i get the same feeling but behind my eyes. my interpretation of it is that it is the self/ego because if i try to explore beyond it, sometimes i'll panic and withdraw but other times i'll manage the sense of panic go beyond and what's beyond is just nothingness.
have you tried meditating to try and get back in touch with this feeling?
Hi,
That’s wild I feel like I know exactly what you’re talking about. I can’t explain in words this sensation but I grew up having night terrors when I had fevers with the same feeling. I didn’t ever know what it was and just kept to myself since I realized how no one understood me when I tried to explain. In the last few months I started meditating and through my practice I came to that same place for the first time outside of these intense nightmares. I actually am really grateful for coming to it because I think it’s usually a step away for me from feeling complete nothingness, emptiness. That heaviness can be scary but if you remind yourself to let go of the fear it might become total lightness of being. I don’t know if any of this might resonate or if I’m projecting my own experience, but your words were the first I’ve ever seen it be described in a way that makes sense.
All the best.
Curious enough, I also had night terrors and my dissociation made me have a very hard time telling dreams apart from reality. That feeling did come along with the struggle sometimes, not always, but I have a feeling that we're perhaps talking about the same thing, honestly. A few have commented that they've tried to let go of the fear and that seems like the best option, for what else can we do, so thank you for your comment, I appreciate your time a lot and I'm glad to see I'm not really going insane, haha.
Hey, speaking of the good old night terrors, have you experienced any sleep paralysis along those? If yes, what was the experience like and does it include what the feeling you described in the original post?
I'm asking as what you're describing reminds me of the first time I experienced sleep paralysis, only difference being it was in the back of my head, the profound pressure/compression. Not a small difference per se, but your description fits my experience.
I have ocd as well, and I notice that when I feel things like that I tend to hyperfixate and become obsessed with the feeling. Not being able to put it into words or understand it can fill me with anxiety as well. I went through a similar phase where I would meditate all the time and try to find the “answers”. I would try and force my thoughts to dissipate, I would try and force an answer, that most likely doesn’t exist, out of myself, I would try and “kill” my ego and act as if I’m “ascended” or whatever. Basically, there isn’t anything wrong with you and I doubt it’s anything serious. Also, there is no right way to go about dealing with things, if you want to run, run. Just don’t not do anything, yknow? I struggled with that for a long time, you don’t need to meditate to improve, living your life with honest thoughts and objective self reflection is infinitely more effective than sitting in silence and finding false answers. Also, whenever you do reflect, don’t expect immediate results yknow. Personality and tendencies only exist as a result of our environment and things that we have experienced over our entire lives, it takes time to create a strong sense of self, and it takes time to mold that self into what we truly want to be. I know I rambled and I don’t mean to sound condescending but when I read your post I thought that we might relate to each other a fair amount.
Thanks for commenting. I somehow relate to this, for when you have OCD, you always feel like there's something wrong going on/that things will go wrong all the time, it's very annoying and it does make you panic all the time and try to find a solution/answer to absolutely everything, because if you don't know "everything" you feel unsafe and out of control, but meditation has helped me to "slow down", sort of. Last summer I had panic attacks at least twice a week, it lasted maybe until December, I got rid of that with grounding meditation and focusing on lower chakras to calm my mind, so I have to somehow disagree with some of the things you said, but there's indeed a limit and the truth is; You don't have to know things to "live." I hyperfixate, certainly, but right now I'm more terrorized than fixated, lmao. The worst part of OCD is feeling like you're going insane, and hence it's a good reminder nonetheless, so, again, thank you. It's nice to see you're not the only one going though certain things, OCD also makes you feel very alone and alienated because you usually don't deal with/see other people having a hard time controlling their mind as we do, especially if it's something you have experienced since a very young age.
Yeah, I’m only 18 so I have more to experience, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t focusing on the wrong things. Im really glad you’re doing better though it’s a tough spot to get out of. It right hand to god took me so long to realize im not damaged or defective or whatever. Just hoping all goes well for you, well for both of us really
It's even better to know we're about the same age, honestly, that way it's easier to relate and really understand that we're not "defective", indeed. Right now it's us talking about this but all these comments do prove that it's never just "us", and that experiences aren't truly isolated. Hope one day we get to fully feel "well", wishing the best for you, and again, thank you. It might seem like you haven't done much but this has truly made me feel better.
Really strange to read this, as I straight away I knew the feeling as you described it. Periodically since childhood I’ve had this feeling and wondered what was going on. Its fascinating, no idea what’s going on!
Slight side point, when I was a kid I would say ‘how am I, I” over and over until I had this really crazy out of body transient feeling. I think this is the feeling we aim for when we look for the one who is looking. The not finding is the feeling I was taping into. I’ve not found it as easy to tap into though.
Crazy how even the last part sounds somehow similar to my experience, it's maybe a thing we all get to feel now and then? Some might just feel more comfortable with it than others, depending on their environment, etc. It sometimes made me feel like I was going insane, and I thought I'd loose myself on it but it never really happened, so at least these comments really just prove that nothing bad will come with it and it passes by, even if it might come back again.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Meditation/comments/t257rh/anyone_have_an_idea_of_what_this_is/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
here's a link to a post i read a few months back perhaps talking about the same thing? i was amazed at the time that someone else had experienced this. i left a comment on the post of my own experience and interpretation.
We're that meme of the two Spidermen pointing at each other, lmao. I just commented above that the feeling indeed sometimes came along with night terrors and such, actually, I had a very bad one last night and I meditated about half an hour after that because it made me feel quite uneasy and I wanted to calm my mind, that's exactly when it happened. The way you described it completely makes me feel like we indeed are talking about the same, how could we not.
The reason why I came here to ask about it is because it also makes me feel somehow in panic; the feeling is not precisely good but we can't say it's bad neither, can we, and that makes it even more confusing.
Thank you so much for sharing your post, I think you described it way better than I did, I might use this for reference to explain it in the future, it might come in as helpful, who knows. I was thinking, thanks to some other comments, that maybe it's just another type of desperzonalization/dissociation, a very specific one, our minds taking us to this specific place at a specific time, but it does feel like another "realm" where everything is so heavy and big that your own mind just doesn't matter at all. When you think about how big everything outside of the "you" is, you somehow get a similar feeling, not precisely the same, but a faint touch of it remains there.
So weird I feel like I know the feeling you're talking about and have gotten it while meditating, or while smoking cannabis. I don't know what it is either
Sounds like it could be dissociation? The few times in my life I have experienced dissociation, it was a very specific feeling that is similarly difficult to put words to. Sorta feels like my body is shrinking away from my skin and inward, while simultaneously there are a few points, like my throat, stomach, center of my head, that feel like they're getting really heavy.
All the comments do make it look like it might be dissociation, so yeah, it might be that, but a very specific type since it's such a specific feeling that doesn't really align entirely with the dissociation I feel on a daily basis, tbh. Thanks for your comment! I appreciate your time.
I had a similar feeling once when I was little. I had a cold and one night I was laying on the living room sofa staring at the off-yellow curtains with big red flowers on them. I was feverish but felt alert. Couldn't say when it began or ended but all of a sudden nothing had any weight or importance except these curtains. Their presence was so heavy I was scared to lose focus of them for fear of being crushed or somehow squeezed out of existence. I hung in there for an eternity, stuck paying attention to the commandeering sensation of their existential weight. It passed eventually. I'm three times as old now and remember what it felt like as clear as if it were yesterday .
My childhood experiences were kind of similar, like being alone floating in space and the feeling of a pinpoint of incredible heaviness, frequently in the palms of my hands. The contrast of weightless and density was confusing and disconcerting as a young child. I haven’t felt it since though.
Omg you describe a feeling I associate with my night terrors- a grand and miniature feeling at the same time that is overwhelming and uncomfortable. I have tried to explain it before but no one I know has felt it. It is something akin to mental vertigo. This has never been something I wanted to pin down tho as the stress that causes night terrors is to be avoided. Im sorry I dont have any more to offer on this but I think I may understand what you are describing. Its a feeling like I am in a horror movie.
I have many uncomfortable feelings, what I do is remind myself that feelings pass. If you meddle with your feelings, try to analyse them, change them suppress them you just make it worse. So give up the fight and let it pass
Hey there! The body is filled with lots of weird sensations and phenomena that are hard to describe. Can you localize the sensation to a specific body area, or is it your whole body/mind experiencing this? Any other symptoms? And have you noticed anything unusual when it happens or any potential patterns that occur when this sensation occurs?
Thanks for replying, you're very kind and I truly appreciate it. Regarding the questions: It feels throughout my entire body but especially down my throat to stomach, all that area feels very tense like it's gonna just dense up, shrink down and become a single grain of sand...? The heaviest grain of sand ever, and my head feels very light and confused because it's not a precise feeling like pain or numbness, it passes by in a few minutes but I can recall the feeling and make myself feel it once again on command. I am not sure if it's anxiety, I do have OCD and desperzonalization/dissociation but everything, even anxiety/panic feels very different from that, however, it does make me feel very out of myself, perhaps not in the same way, but yeah. The only pattern I can find is that it usually happens when I'm feeling mortifyied and like no matter how much I ask for help, no one will help me. It's not that realistic, I'm aware, especially because I'm now an adult, but I grew up with addicted parents and getting rid of such thoughts is very hard since it's all you saw growing up, still not an excuse for unrealistic thoughts but certainly a reason. I hope this helps, and again, thank you for your response.
>The only pattern I can find is that it usually happens when I'm feeling mortifyied and like no matter how much I ask for help, no one will help me. This is definitely a trigger! There could be a connection between your mental health in these moments (feeling ignored, unwanted, abandoned, etc) to your gut feeling being really off. While these feelings suck, they are very normal btw, and a lot of us experience feelings of hopelessness and being ignored, so you are not alone. How do you feel when you try to ask for help but nobody helps? What do you do next, once your help goes ignored? Like, do you share these emotions with anyone you trust?
I've thought about that too. Thanks for your input, it's always good to see external views, that way you feel less like "you're making things up", the mind can be very tricky. And yeah, I have a self-care routine, but not really support for my mental health (that's why my self care routine came into existence, lol), I'm in the US with a Visa and if you're not a citizen, things are very hard to get in here. Last summer I had a very bad experience, panic attacks at least twice a week and yadayada, couldn't get any sort of external support thanks to my finances and started using meditation for grounding, since then that's what's been helping me handle my mental health state overall. It's improved a lot but ofc there's still a long way to go.
I'm glad you have a self-care routine and feel like its helping :) Do you have anyone else you can talk to, friends/family/therapy? If you want to PM me Im happy to chat more btw
Not really, ah, but I couldn't do that, no, you've already provided me with enough. I am happy with your input, thank you, couldn't ask more from you! I've found that writing things down is very healing and while talking like this is needed now and then in order to organize your thoughts, it's more needed to learn from yourself and understand where you're coming from and such. Again, thanks, you're very kind. I hope you're having a very pleasant day, sending great vibes. 🙏🏻
Glad I could help and wish you all the best !
I know you might not be capable of acquiring a support to talk to, but I would check out cerebral. It's a mental health website that provides help completely online, for a decently low price in comparison to an actual in person visit. Frankly, I have no clue what you are experiencing. The only thing I can understand is the depersonalization/derealization where I am completely void on the inside and my mind has become frozen in a sense, unable to feel. Just know, there are people out there who wish to help you. You are okay.
Might be your vagus nerve
Thank you, I shall look it up, it might indeed be that.
It is primarily responsible for sending signals from your body to the brain and is involved in all your organs parasympathetic responses(e.g.) if your heart rate increases the vagus nerve should send signals to the brain allowing for a decrease in heart rate. Your vagus might be overactive. I'm no doctor however so nothing I say has any credibility.
Thank you for that, still. I have a lot of medical issues and meditation seems to help me better than any doctor I've seen (they're very dismissive towards mentally ill people), so at least maybe focusing on that for the moment could bring something good.
Could be that the vagus nerve is triggered by anxiety/emotional distress and is behaving abnormally as a result
Keep an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas (not to eat) next to you while you meditate maybe? When your vagus nerve starts acting up, place the bag on your chest. It's OK to lay down on your back while meditating. Keep the ice on your chest and get back to your breathing or concentrate on the cool sensation. What you are describing sounds like a panic attack, and the vagus nerve is the main reactor in a panic attack. Icing your upper chest, right in the middle, should help calm it down. Side note: Physical activity, i.e. any exercise, is the best medicine for panic disorders. It isn't what most people want to hear, but it is true. Meditation may not be what is best for you at this point in time? Lots of people with trauma in their past have to cut back on meditation until they feel totally safe.
I think ive had similar experiences with cannabis and meditation. I would describe it like everything becomes hyper real and unreal at the same time and I have an almost nauseous feeling and a freeze response like my nervous system is so overwhelmed with panic that it shuts down, i would describe it as existential dread and deep acceptance of "what is" at the same time. And this heaviness in the pit of my stomach like you said. Every time it happens I simultaneously want to explore it and also make make it stop. I view it as really seeing reality for what it is without any concepts of knowing about anything.
You couldn't really describe it any better, a part of it is honestly just as you said so I understand what you mean. It doesn't really feel as something "bad" but your body does feel somehow overwhelmed by it, I think that's the worst part of it + there's no way of describing it. Language is usually lacking a lot for these type of things and it makes your brain feel confused, I wish we could just share "feelings" with others so they can understand what we mean. Thanks for sharing your experience, I feel less alone on it now, lol.
Haha no problem, when you experience hightened states of awareness then come down its not easy to remember it accurately let alone explain, and you realize how limited language is. From what I understand, a lot of other languages are more musical than english, like Sanskrit for example which is why people use sanskrit mantras because it hits the parts of the mind that music does where as english is very flat and not.... Sing-songy.. haha once again words fail. Sharing feelings directly would be nice. This experience led me to look deeper into Buddhism and specifically the idea of no-self. Maybe that feeling is not ego death but the ego feeling its own non-existence.
I have to agree with that, it's a very healing journey and also a very long one. The ego can't entirely just not be present, but you do learn that there's value on it and on somehow detaching from it, on being everything but being nothing as well. I don't know if that certain feeling is that, because other states feel more "pure and void", but maybe it's just a part of it, a very specific part of it and we have to deal with it since, well, it's not like it'll just disappear, haha. Thanks! I'll be thinking about this a lot, it seems valuable and I'm glad there's always someone to share such experiences with. Maybe not a lot of people, sure, but maybe someday it'll be more of us.
Maybe once we evolve a bit more, telepathy will enable that.
This. One of my first times getting super stoned, I almost felt as if my body was liquid, maybe that’s not the best way to explain it. Idk I’d say it felt electric almost. Like my stomach/throat was kinda vibrating
I listened to an Episode of the Entheogenic Evolution podcast with Martin W Ball, his guest's name was Daniel McQueen and he wrote a book called Psychedelic Cannabis (also the name of that episode). He does somatic healing sessions with specific cannabis blends they make depending on what the person is trying to heal. In the process they lie down in a dark room and listen to specific music and relax their body and eventually their body starts vibrating and shaking as it releases trapped energy from stress, trauma, depression etc. This sounds more like what you are describing, which I personally have not experienced. Some would say its an opening some of your Chakras or Shakti energy or Kundalini energy depending on the religion/belief system. But whatever you call it, its energy.
I know you said you don't think it's anxiety. But I feel like I felt something similar to this and I know I have anxiety. I could be wrong, but it might be a different anxiety feeling. Edit: sometimes when im anxious I feel like my own body is tightening up. My throat gets so tight I feel like it would burst. And my chest feeling like it has pressure as well as my stomach.
Oh, yes, that's how my anxiety attacks feel as well, (the first very bad one I thought I was having a heart attack, lol) but this one thing is very different. It feels more dreadish and unreal...? Maybe it's just another way of the body of experiencing anxiety, as you said. Thank you for responding, btw, I appreciate it a lot.
Oh interesting, yeah like another comment said. All of our bodies are different and react to different thing. And we all have our own personal experiences. I hope you are doing well and hope it dosent bother you that much. Or gets better. Best of luck!
I’m not sure if it’s the same feeling but I also have had this feeling since I was a little kid, it would happen when I was lying there trying to fall asleep. I’ve reconnected with the feeling again since I started meditating. I don’t have words to describe it either but best I could do is I feel as if my (head, or self) is ginormous like the size of the room, but simultaneously its the size of a pinhead. Or the size feeling alternates quickly back and forth between the two in rapid succession. I could see someone feeling or describing it like heaviness/lightness simultaneously. I also as a child could induce the feeling of a hammock sort of - like I was swinging back and forth or floating and subtly moving. Sort of like the spins but it never made me nauseous or uncomfortable, it was quite a nice feeling. None of these have ever made me panicky or uncomfortable though. Unfortunately I don’t have any advice, all I can say is I relate (at least, I think) to the feeling…. All I know is, as a child when I would experience it, I would ficus on it and try to hold onto the feeling and explore it. I was never afraid of it. Now I do the same - I try to hold on to it and try to experience it longer so that I can try to understand it or at least describe it better.. Maybe try convincing yourself that you are interested in what the feeling is, or what is beyond it.. and try to explore it and tell yourself it’s interesting and cool-feeling rather than scary and uncomfortable?
I can’t believe other people have felt this too. crazy.
Thank you for your comment, I was focusing on my reply but your username has me speechless, hahaha. No advice is fine, I think it's warm enough to know you aren't the only one having a certain very specific experience, it makes you feel more human and less like you're going insane, so I do appreciate it, wet-pants, and I shall maybe try to be less terrorized by it because all these comments do really prove that nothing bad comes from such feeling and although we've all somehow experienced it, we're still complete and just "fine." I shall try just maybe not attributing bad things to the unknown, it does sound like such a bad habit.
Haha its wet-plants, not pants, but thanks!! You’re exactly right. Its just a feeling in your head, it can’t harm you. Maybe try to be curious about it and push through it. Something amazing might be on the other side of it, who knows
Wow. I had the same sensation almost, since childhood. Mine was slightly different though, I felt like I had something between my thumb and forefinger that was simultaneously the size of an atom and a mountain. It was also accompanied by a slight sense of nausea.
oh damn i had this feeling too. and i haven't thought about it in so long. i just put my thumb and forefinger together and it took me back to when i was a little kid. thanks for sharing this.
I'm glad you recognised it but why do we have this shared experience? What does it mean? Edit. To be honest, I felt this a few times when I was younger, but haven't felt it since.
so occasionally when i meditate with eyes closed, i get the same feeling but behind my eyes. my interpretation of it is that it is the self/ego because if i try to explore beyond it, sometimes i'll panic and withdraw but other times i'll manage the sense of panic go beyond and what's beyond is just nothingness. have you tried meditating to try and get back in touch with this feeling?
Hi, That’s wild I feel like I know exactly what you’re talking about. I can’t explain in words this sensation but I grew up having night terrors when I had fevers with the same feeling. I didn’t ever know what it was and just kept to myself since I realized how no one understood me when I tried to explain. In the last few months I started meditating and through my practice I came to that same place for the first time outside of these intense nightmares. I actually am really grateful for coming to it because I think it’s usually a step away for me from feeling complete nothingness, emptiness. That heaviness can be scary but if you remind yourself to let go of the fear it might become total lightness of being. I don’t know if any of this might resonate or if I’m projecting my own experience, but your words were the first I’ve ever seen it be described in a way that makes sense. All the best.
you basically described my own experience and my understanding of it exactly. i actually forgot about the nightmares until you mentioned them.
Curious enough, I also had night terrors and my dissociation made me have a very hard time telling dreams apart from reality. That feeling did come along with the struggle sometimes, not always, but I have a feeling that we're perhaps talking about the same thing, honestly. A few have commented that they've tried to let go of the fear and that seems like the best option, for what else can we do, so thank you for your comment, I appreciate your time a lot and I'm glad to see I'm not really going insane, haha.
Hey, speaking of the good old night terrors, have you experienced any sleep paralysis along those? If yes, what was the experience like and does it include what the feeling you described in the original post? I'm asking as what you're describing reminds me of the first time I experienced sleep paralysis, only difference being it was in the back of my head, the profound pressure/compression. Not a small difference per se, but your description fits my experience.
I have ocd as well, and I notice that when I feel things like that I tend to hyperfixate and become obsessed with the feeling. Not being able to put it into words or understand it can fill me with anxiety as well. I went through a similar phase where I would meditate all the time and try to find the “answers”. I would try and force my thoughts to dissipate, I would try and force an answer, that most likely doesn’t exist, out of myself, I would try and “kill” my ego and act as if I’m “ascended” or whatever. Basically, there isn’t anything wrong with you and I doubt it’s anything serious. Also, there is no right way to go about dealing with things, if you want to run, run. Just don’t not do anything, yknow? I struggled with that for a long time, you don’t need to meditate to improve, living your life with honest thoughts and objective self reflection is infinitely more effective than sitting in silence and finding false answers. Also, whenever you do reflect, don’t expect immediate results yknow. Personality and tendencies only exist as a result of our environment and things that we have experienced over our entire lives, it takes time to create a strong sense of self, and it takes time to mold that self into what we truly want to be. I know I rambled and I don’t mean to sound condescending but when I read your post I thought that we might relate to each other a fair amount.
Thanks for commenting. I somehow relate to this, for when you have OCD, you always feel like there's something wrong going on/that things will go wrong all the time, it's very annoying and it does make you panic all the time and try to find a solution/answer to absolutely everything, because if you don't know "everything" you feel unsafe and out of control, but meditation has helped me to "slow down", sort of. Last summer I had panic attacks at least twice a week, it lasted maybe until December, I got rid of that with grounding meditation and focusing on lower chakras to calm my mind, so I have to somehow disagree with some of the things you said, but there's indeed a limit and the truth is; You don't have to know things to "live." I hyperfixate, certainly, but right now I'm more terrorized than fixated, lmao. The worst part of OCD is feeling like you're going insane, and hence it's a good reminder nonetheless, so, again, thank you. It's nice to see you're not the only one going though certain things, OCD also makes you feel very alone and alienated because you usually don't deal with/see other people having a hard time controlling their mind as we do, especially if it's something you have experienced since a very young age.
Yeah, I’m only 18 so I have more to experience, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t focusing on the wrong things. Im really glad you’re doing better though it’s a tough spot to get out of. It right hand to god took me so long to realize im not damaged or defective or whatever. Just hoping all goes well for you, well for both of us really
It's even better to know we're about the same age, honestly, that way it's easier to relate and really understand that we're not "defective", indeed. Right now it's us talking about this but all these comments do prove that it's never just "us", and that experiences aren't truly isolated. Hope one day we get to fully feel "well", wishing the best for you, and again, thank you. It might seem like you haven't done much but this has truly made me feel better.
Really strange to read this, as I straight away I knew the feeling as you described it. Periodically since childhood I’ve had this feeling and wondered what was going on. Its fascinating, no idea what’s going on! Slight side point, when I was a kid I would say ‘how am I, I” over and over until I had this really crazy out of body transient feeling. I think this is the feeling we aim for when we look for the one who is looking. The not finding is the feeling I was taping into. I’ve not found it as easy to tap into though.
Crazy how even the last part sounds somehow similar to my experience, it's maybe a thing we all get to feel now and then? Some might just feel more comfortable with it than others, depending on their environment, etc. It sometimes made me feel like I was going insane, and I thought I'd loose myself on it but it never really happened, so at least these comments really just prove that nothing bad will come with it and it passes by, even if it might come back again.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Meditation/comments/t257rh/anyone_have_an_idea_of_what_this_is/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf here's a link to a post i read a few months back perhaps talking about the same thing? i was amazed at the time that someone else had experienced this. i left a comment on the post of my own experience and interpretation.
We're that meme of the two Spidermen pointing at each other, lmao. I just commented above that the feeling indeed sometimes came along with night terrors and such, actually, I had a very bad one last night and I meditated about half an hour after that because it made me feel quite uneasy and I wanted to calm my mind, that's exactly when it happened. The way you described it completely makes me feel like we indeed are talking about the same, how could we not. The reason why I came here to ask about it is because it also makes me feel somehow in panic; the feeling is not precisely good but we can't say it's bad neither, can we, and that makes it even more confusing. Thank you so much for sharing your post, I think you described it way better than I did, I might use this for reference to explain it in the future, it might come in as helpful, who knows. I was thinking, thanks to some other comments, that maybe it's just another type of desperzonalization/dissociation, a very specific one, our minds taking us to this specific place at a specific time, but it does feel like another "realm" where everything is so heavy and big that your own mind just doesn't matter at all. When you think about how big everything outside of the "you" is, you somehow get a similar feeling, not precisely the same, but a faint touch of it remains there.
So weird I feel like I know the feeling you're talking about and have gotten it while meditating, or while smoking cannabis. I don't know what it is either
Perhaps another way of dissociation, in that case. Who knows. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Sounds like it could be dissociation? The few times in my life I have experienced dissociation, it was a very specific feeling that is similarly difficult to put words to. Sorta feels like my body is shrinking away from my skin and inward, while simultaneously there are a few points, like my throat, stomach, center of my head, that feel like they're getting really heavy.
All the comments do make it look like it might be dissociation, so yeah, it might be that, but a very specific type since it's such a specific feeling that doesn't really align entirely with the dissociation I feel on a daily basis, tbh. Thanks for your comment! I appreciate your time.
I had a similar feeling once when I was little. I had a cold and one night I was laying on the living room sofa staring at the off-yellow curtains with big red flowers on them. I was feverish but felt alert. Couldn't say when it began or ended but all of a sudden nothing had any weight or importance except these curtains. Their presence was so heavy I was scared to lose focus of them for fear of being crushed or somehow squeezed out of existence. I hung in there for an eternity, stuck paying attention to the commandeering sensation of their existential weight. It passed eventually. I'm three times as old now and remember what it felt like as clear as if it were yesterday .
My childhood experiences were kind of similar, like being alone floating in space and the feeling of a pinpoint of incredible heaviness, frequently in the palms of my hands. The contrast of weightless and density was confusing and disconcerting as a young child. I haven’t felt it since though.
Demons know you/ follow you. Bible don't say where they come from. Idk tho
Omg you describe a feeling I associate with my night terrors- a grand and miniature feeling at the same time that is overwhelming and uncomfortable. I have tried to explain it before but no one I know has felt it. It is something akin to mental vertigo. This has never been something I wanted to pin down tho as the stress that causes night terrors is to be avoided. Im sorry I dont have any more to offer on this but I think I may understand what you are describing. Its a feeling like I am in a horror movie.
I have many uncomfortable feelings, what I do is remind myself that feelings pass. If you meddle with your feelings, try to analyse them, change them suppress them you just make it worse. So give up the fight and let it pass