Thread: Getting smaller and smaller....

Every now and then, all of a sudden when I am laying down,,I get the sensation that I am rapidly getting smaller,, everything around me is normal, but it all feels so huge. If I open my eyes, it will stop. I have let it go on for a while just to see what happens, but the feeling get so intense it becomes scarry. It begins to feel like I am zooming down to nothing. Anyone have a clue what this may be?

I have the same experience, usually after a hard day and then lying down on the bed.
Mine is accompanied by the sensation of sinking into my bed.

I attribute it to a similar thing as hypnagogic imagery - or rather the odd sensations you get while experiencing it. (spinning, falling or shocking)

I get the same thing around every 3 months or so and sometimes it is acompanied mby a falling sensation and when i relise i am falling i get shocked and "regain counsiousness"? fast and its like someone had scared me. It happens mostly when im just laying on the couch daydreaming and not paying attention to the world just drifting off! it feels good tho... scary but good!

I often get that too. I've also had the reverse, where I feel like I'm growing infinitely large. I say just go with it and enjoy - it's kind of a neat experience.

I had that when I was younger. I would lay on my bed and all of a sudden feel smaller, then normal, then bigger, and so on and so forth. Don't know what it is. But it's so real, somehow :S It's not so much that it's small or big it's more like it's thinner and thicker. And it's like as double as thick and thin as I really am.

Odd, I can do it every night if I set my mind to it. The sensation of the bed actually rotating has been a common element in my dreams as well... Sometimes it becomes involuntary and very intense. Perhaps it's a function of OBE? Some people apparently spin very violently before they project. I know I did...

Originally posted by Placebo
I have the same experience, usually after a hard day and then lying down on the bed.
Mine is accompanied by the sensation of sinking into my bed.

I attribute it to a similar thing as hypnagogic imagery - or rather the odd sensations you get while experiencing it. (spinning, falling or shocking)

That happens to me too, but I don't like the spinning though But it's fun how it feels you suddenly weigh so much that you think you probably wont be able to lift your arm or leg..

Originally posted by Karma


That happens to me too, but I don't like the spinning though But it's fun how it feels you suddenly weigh so much that you think you probably wont be able to lift your arm or leg..

lol, yes, that's EXACTLY how it feels!
I think that might be the start of sleep paralysis...

AIWS- Alice In Wonderland Syndrome. Look it up, it's common phenom. It used to happen to me allllll the time when I was little, and still happens on occasion. It's not medically recognized, but there is a wide range of reports on the symptoms by people all over the globe.

Thanks for the name
Although I'm not sure AIWS or micropsia is the same thing... I don't VISUALLY perceive a difference in size. I just 'feel' it.
And I've never had a migraine around the same time as experiencing it :/
They also don't mention spinning, falling, shocking or sinking/gravity sensations.

Anyway, here's a wikipedia link to AIWS : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micropsia

PS: Macropsia is the opposite - when things feel bigger. Some drugs induce it.

I totally experience this, but with my eyes closed or open. Everything around me looks the same, but it doesn't feel the same. I need to stay still for this to happen, and usually I can't will it to happen, it's spontaneous. Still dunno what it means.

Originally posted by Placebo
Thanks for the name
Although I'm not sure AIWS or micropsia is the same thing... I don't VISUALLY perceive a difference in size. I just 'feel' it.
And I've never had a migraine around the same time as experiencing it :/
They also don't mention spinning, falling, shocking or sinking/gravity sensations.

Anyway, here's a wikipedia link to AIWS : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micropsia

PS: Macropsia is the opposite - when things feel bigger. Some drugs induce it.

Yes, most of the time i also just 'feel' the sensation of my body or head getting larger or smaller, but when I was younger I would sometimes see the size and shapes of the room be manipulated according to which sensation I was feeling. Let me know if you find any other links on it though, I haven't found too many.