Alice In Wonderland

**no judging me beyond this p0int..
As a kid, it happened at least several nights a week. I would lie in bed and right as I was falling asleep I became terrified. I would become "small;" everything else surrounding me engulfed me.

I would see myself as if I was at the “bottom” of a room. The walls would get tall and everything around me would get bigger. I remember waking up in tears crying to mom or dad that “I am small; everything is big; everything is so much bigger.” In my mind I would stand at the door in the kitchen and when I tried to look out into garage it just went on and on and there was no escaping the noises, like a heard of animals, coming after me but I couldn't get out. I was so small and when I looked up, everything was closing in on me.

There was no “waking me up” from these visions. When my eyes were open they went away, but the second I closed them, I was back in this “hole.” It had to go away itself.

Several years ago, mom was watching Oprah and she was interviewing a girl who had been diagnosed with Alice In Wonderland syndrome. Mom called and told me to turn it on and I did. As I sat and watched this girl recap a night in her life, she was explaining EXACTLY what I used to see.

Now, when I was younger, after being sick for a week or so with a cold and strep, I overhead my mom tell my dad that I just had a weak immune system. Therefore I brought it upon myself to diagnose my problem and figure out why I could not get better. I got onto our massive tan desktop computer and looked up “weak immune system.” The very first thing that came up was a link to HIV/AIDS. A week immune system was a symptom of AIDS. I immediately became convinced...this was my problem – I had AIDS. I proceeded to tell everyone that the reason I was sick was because I had AIDS. I know I was a very smart child. :)
So this time, I am not going to branch out on a limb and at age 25, with an Oprah episode and a couple hits on WebMD, diagnose myself with Alice In Wonderland syndrome like I did with AIDS, but . . . after doing a little research I found it to be a pretty mysterious disease.

Alice In Wonderland syndrome (AWS) is a severely disorienting neurological condition that affects human perception. Sufferers report visual distortions relating to shape, size, color and relationships of objects. It can be like looking through a “fisheye lens.” AWS is often caused by or associated with migraines, brain tumors and the use of psychoactive drugs. AWS is common in childhood, with many people growing out of it in their teens. It is a common experience at sleep onset.

Google it and find out more for yourself…

And speaking of Alice in Wonderland…that was a creepy kids movie, don't ya think?