I denied/ignored this until now, but I know it happened several times. What happens sometimes is that I hear unintelligible voices briefly while I am asleep or half asleep. I know there is no voices because I will be awake after I hear the voices for a minute or two waiting for the voices to happen again, but nothing happens, and all there is, is a complete silence, because it happens after midnight while people are asleep and there is no noise. I am afraid I'm losing my mind. Am I?

Hi Mr. Stranger, This happens to me too sometimes. It's inside my head. But it's like a radio on. It happens before I'm about to fall asleep. Could be a hypnagogic hallucination. I'm not worried about mine. I don't even pay attention to what it's saying.

[shadow2000]

Hi,

It seems likely that the voices that you've described hearing while half asleep or while transitioning between periods of sleep and wakefulness might basically be hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations. As I understand it, hypnagogic hallucinations occur as a person is falling asleep, and hypnopommpic hallucinations occur when a person is transitioning from being asleep to being awake. I can't say with 100-percent certainty that the voices that you've been hearing are indeed hypnagogic and/or hypnopompic hallucinations, so you might want to look for more information about the hallucinations that I've described and discuss what you've been experiencing with a professional to get an authoritative answer pertaining to whether or not the voices you've been hearing actually are hypnagogic and/or hypnopompic hallucinations. But as I understand it, hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations are relatively common. These hallucinations occur frequently in those with narcolepsy, and as I understand it, basically are not a sign that you would be "losing your mind."

I hope that what I've written here has been of some help to you. If, however, you have any questions about what I've written, please feel free to ask.

It makes sense since it happens only when I'm asleep or in some stage of sleeping. I wasn't sure what it could be, and if I'm developing some serious hallucination because of my depression or anxiety or even isolation. Now I feel relieved that others experience the same thing and it is probably not serious. Thanks.

I'm not sure the name for it but I have heard it said that when faced with uncomfortable silence our minds will make up for that. It happened a great deal to me in my childhood. My mother would later comment on my asking about non-existent noise I would 'hear' at bedtime. To this day, as I go to bed or lie awake in the middle of the night my mind wanders and settles upon noise - real or imagined. I am not concerned about it.