Schizophrenia - General Discussion
in Psychology & Therapy ·
Douglas King8 said:Hey everyone. I figured I’d jump in here since this seems to be the most active thread regarding schizophrenia. I'm looking for some perspective or maybe just some advice.
So, for about a year now, insomnia has been my shadow. It takes me anywhere from two to three hours just to drift off. I’ve tried the whole "exhaust yourself" routine at the local Gold's Gym, sat through sessions with a psychologist, and even tried taking some Xanax for a bit, but nothing sticks. Back in the summer, when I was running on total fumes, I’d pass out pretty quick. Now? I’m getting maybe five to seven hours, and I’m waking up constantly in the middle of the night. I spend the next day looking like a zombie with dark circles under my eyes, though weirdly enough, I don't feel physically drained.
The insomnia comes with a side of mental noise. When I finally hit the pillow and close my eyes, desperate to pass out, my brain just starts racing. And I don't mean "thinking about my to-do list" racing—it's different. These aren't thoughts I'm consciously projecting. It’s more like words and sentences just... dropping into my head. They don't connect to anything. I can actually hear them in my mind. I’d break them down into three buckets:
1. Random words that just pop in, totally out of nowhere and without any rhyme or reason.
2. Strings of words or disjointed sentences that float by right before I manage to fall asleep. These get particularly intense if I wake up in the middle of the night, but they always seem to subside enough for me to drift off again.
3. Sentences or thoughts that feel like they’re being spoken by people I actually know—like a coworker using their specific inflection to say, "That's how you do it!" Or, it's like hearing a snippet of dialogue from a TV show or pulling a single sentence out of a book without the context. Just a fragment hanging there.
Honestly, the thoughts aren't terrifying in themselves. If it's just a few sentences, I usually ride the wave and fall asleep. But if it's just those random words, I stay wide awake.
The sensation when this happens is similar to being in a trance or a semi-dream state, except it feels like one part of my consciousness is generating these thoughts while another part is just standing there, watching them happen in parallel.
I am fully aware that these aren't real. They only happen late at night right before bed or first thing in the morning when I wake up; during the day, everything is quiet. Still, it’s messing with my head.
A few months ago, my psychiatrist told me these are hypnagogic hallucinations—stuff that happens right on the edge of sleep. Apparently, not everyone experiences them, but I'm worried because they seem to be getting more intense lately.
The hardest part is trying to explain what they actually sound like.
While it's happening, I feel like I'm dreaming while still being awake. Part of my mind tracks the thoughts, and then once they pass, I snap back to full awareness and start analyzing them—which makes me wonder how I even thought of them in the first place. Then I forget them and try to go back to sleep, and the whole cycle repeats until I finally crash.
For instance, while trying to drift off, the word "pride" just flashed in my mind. Or, I’ll clearly hear a friend's voice saying, "Look at these stairs."
I've already booked another appointment with my doctor because I'm genuinely spooked.
Can anyone tell me if this is a symptom of schizophrenia? It's starting to really scare me.
Thanks for listening. 🙂
I get that too, occasionally, when I've overtaxed my brain too much before bed. Some people told me they were hallucinations, but I was silly enough to tell my doctor, and she gave me a heavy sedative the next morning. Thank God your psychiatrist isn't paranoid.
I think it's "just" stress and an overactive imagination. With schizophrenia, I believe the voices say things that feel personal, whereas with this, you're aware it's just your own thought.