Have You Ever Heard Voices Before?
Interesting thread.
I think it's good people talk about this stuff. So many think they are abnormal, when in actual fact it's pretty common.
BBB, I used to get a very similar thing to you. For years I would often wake up, sit up in bed and it would take maybe 5 or 10 minutes before I recognised where I was. Often the room would look totally different that reality.
I put it down to half-waking. ie part of the brain hasn't properly woken up yet.
It never bothered me to be honest, and I kind of got used to it. Not had it for years now though.
I occaisionally sleep walk too. And as a child I used to get series dreams...ie I would go back to bed the next night and the dream would continue from where it left off. It was pretty cool, especially as mostly they were lucid dreams.
I also got nightmares where I would wake up and see bats everywhere, even when my parents had woken me up. Pretty scary and I like bats!
Like many people I also get problems sleeping when there is no sound...The brain converts cars passing and dogs barking into people trying to break in. These days I sleep with my little mp3 player under the pillow with white noise (waves etc). Seems to work really well.
As for the voices...Everyone, I mean everyone has an internal voice. :)
During my time as an undergraduate I met a student that is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. Because of my family's circumstances I discussed the condition with him on several occasions. He'd reached a point where he was able to distinguish hallucinations and delusions from actual events.
This really helped him come to terms with negative thought patterns and anxiety, since he recognised that "what's happening isn't real." He was therefore able to rationalise many of the distressing thoughts he experienced. From what you say, it sounds like you're often able to do the same, even if this can be difficult at times, which is reason to feel positive.
Reminds me of the film "A Beautiful Mind". 
I find the film a tad sentimental (no surprises there), but I also think it's one of the more accurate cinematic representations of schizophrenia. For the record, I didn't go to university with John Nash, Jr.!
Thanks for starting this thread and sharing your experiences Gel. I'm glad to hear you're feeling better now.
It's been quite an eye opener and an interesting to read. I've never known anybody who's had schizophrenia or hallucinations but a friend of mine who used to take too many drugs back in our student days started suffering from paranoia 24/7. He's better now but when he remembers back to some of the irrational thoughts that he used to have he can hardly believe it was him.
Thanks for starting this thread and sharing your experiences Gel. I'm glad to hear you're feeling better now.
It's been quite an eye opener and an interesting to read. I've never known anybody who's had schizophrenia or hallucinations but a friend of mine who used to take too many drugs back in our student days started suffering from paranoia 24/7. He's better now but when he remembers back to some of the irrational thoughts that he used to have he can hardly believe it was him.
Cheers Steve. 
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During my time as an undergraduate I met a student that is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. Because of my family's circumstances I discussed the condition with him on several occasions. He'd reached a point where he was able to distinguish hallucinations and delusions from actual events.
This really helped him come to terms with negative thought patterns and anxiety, since he recognised that "what's happening isn't real." He was therefore able to rationalise many of the distressing thoughts he experienced. From what you say, it sounds like you're often able to do the same, even if this can be difficult at times, which is reason to feel positive.
Reminds me of the film "A Beautiful Mind".
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