mentally ill or just tired or something?

Question

I kind of have nightmares during the day, I can't think of a better description. For example today I was in the bathroom & I suddenly got the idea into my head that there was someone outside in the hall with a knife. I knew I was being stupid but I still locked the door.
Could this be tiredness or something and how do I stop it?
Thanks x

Answer 1

This is probably going to sound really silly to you, but when such thoughts happen, address them by telling them (forcefully) to go away! "I reject you! You are an unwelcome thought! Go AWAY!!!"

Sounds ridiculous, I know... but it really works! Treat such thoughts and feelings as if THEY are unwanted, threatening intruders. Take control & make them leave. Try it. It may take several times, or even many. But with each rejection, they deminish.

Next, look at what you watch and fill your mind with. Do you watch a lot of horror? News? Or other things that would draw such thoughts to you?

Treat this as something you can take control of. If you have other questions, just emailme, Love. Good Luck & God Bless.

Answer 2

Well if you were actually hallucinating then yes it could maybe be a sign of tiredness. If you are deprived of sleep, then you effectively start to dream whilst you are awake, hallucinations. But this is usually only when people have a very limited amount of sleep.

But you just said you thought that maybe someone was behind the door, not that you saw someone behind the door in which case no I wouldn't think it would be due to tiredness. If you are actually hallucinating though, I'd go to a doctor or mental-health proffesional, because that can be a sign of a problem.

You likely are just having a bit of an over-active imagination. I'm not at all qualified to speak about it, but my suggestions would be maybe limit the stimulents on your mind, such as drinking lots of things like coffee, and limit what television you watch. Especially horror films!

It can also be a bit of paranoia starting, but i wouldn't worry too much about it, unless it gets really extreme that you start to think people are always there coming for you (then definitely go to a doctor).

Try to stop it now by not giving in to it. You said you locked the door anyway, but force yourself not to (only when it's just the bathroom door of course! Not your actual house door :P) so you aren't giving in to the thoughts. Force yourself to ignore them, otherwise they could start to get a bit controling of your behaviour and can become obsessive.

Answer 3

Many things could cause this. If possible, can you get a physcial check-up with blood work to see if everything is OK physically? Why are you tired? Are you sleep deprived? Are you on any new medications? Get the results of a physical exam and figure out why you are tired (can't sleep as opposed to not enough time to sleep) before you look for a scarier mental issue.

Most things can be handled easily and well if caught early enough. Check into it now before things get any worse. Don't worry about an extreme mental illness. As long as you are thinking you are being stupid (which you are not) you are still thinking logically. Try not to worry it will only make things worse.

Answer 4

omg! I do this from time to time also. For me this happens after a severe tragedy or death. When Pope John Paul II passed away two years ago, I felt that he was there out in the hallway at night watching me. It was so weird. Then a couple of days ago I heard about Cho Seung and saw that scary video and pics of him on my living room tv (on the six oclock news) i could not leave the living room to go to my room because I was too scared (maybe he was there out in the dark hallway ready to shoot me or threaten me). I have never had a close person die nor have I been in a very threatening situation which neared me to death yet I have these weird feelings sometimes. They dont last very long. Sometimes I get preoccupied with them but then something happy usually distracts me so I forget. I feel like such a paranoid freak and when I talk to people about these types of things they laugh at me and call me crazy. I don't think it has to with tiredness and I dont think we are mentally ill. We must just be severely paranoid about things that we see on a day to day basis. I know I am supposed to help you but if you can find out why you do this from a real expert please let me know. thanks.

Answer 5

It's called too many horror films too late at night... These images do stay with you you know...

I remember after watching The Exorcism of Emily Rose, that I consistently woke up at 3:00 am every morning afterward, for like a week and freaked out for like an hour before being able to fall back asleep.

ease up on the horror flicks for a while... especially the really graphic ones like Saw and silent Hill.

Answer 6

I think that you should really talk to someone like a doctor or something especially if it scares you. You should not have to feel scared like this. I don't know if lack of sleep would cause such day dream type problems. Good luck!

Answer 7

Talk to someone or just think about what can be making you have nightmares and think things like that. That would sometimes happen to me at night, but only if i remember a scary movie or a scary experience in my life.

Answer 8

It's possible that you could have a serious problem, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. I would recommend that you have yourself evaluated. The symptoms that you describe sound like more than just sleep deprevation.

Answer 9

You might want to start by going to your medical doctor or school counselor (if you're in school) to rule out anything medical or stress related. They can then refer you to a psychiatrist to determine if you are suffering from mental illness or not.