Anyone Know Anything About Exploding Head Syndrome

[barefooter]

For the past year I've been having strange neurological sleep disturbances, that I'm still trying to figure out. They seemed to be related to chronic stress, lack of sleep, and potentially from a few bad drug trips I experienced prior. The main symptoms are that the process of falling asleep can sometimes feel very uncomfortable, both in my body and my mind--kinda hard to describe. Sometimes like a nausea, or sometimes the feeling of falling or spatial disorientation, or just fear for no reason. Also, when I'm laying in bed trying to fall asleep, if there is a startling noise (and it doesn't take much), it's like an electrical current runs through my body. I also at times have minor muscular twitches. None of these symptoms are present during the day.

Now, this isn't an every night thing, but seems to come and go. I was sleeping great for a while, and thought I might be beyond all this, but then a week ago my symptoms started coming back and my sleep has been terrible, which is why I'm investigating more. The more uncommon symptom I have that happens less regularly, is that after falling asleep I wake up very startled, with a sort of buzzing or ringing in my head, and am panicked and breathing heavy, often times can't think straight and may be a bit confused. After doing a lot of research, I thought this could be related to low CO2 causing night time panic attacks, and the brain symptoms were from lack of oxygen.

Last night I had a lot of difficulty falling asleep, and after being asleep for a while, I woke up, and it sounded and felt like fireworks were going off in my head. I was paralyzed for a few seconds, and laid there observing and feeling fearful of loosing my mind. Once I was able to move, and my thinking cleared up, I realized it was similar to other episodes I'd had, and wasn't overly concerned.

Today, I've been doing some research, and I just came across what is known as exploding head syndrome, which sounds a lot like what I've experienced. Does anyone know anything about this, or have any other thoughts on what might be going on?

 

[tara]

The more uncommon symptom I have that happens less regularly, is that after falling asleep I wake up very startled, with a sort of buzzing or ringing in my head, and am panicked and breathing heavy, often times can't think straight and may be a bit confused. After doing a lot of research, I thought this could be related to low CO2 causing night time panic attacks, and the brain symptoms were from lack of oxygen.

I don't know anything about exploding brain syndrome, but low CO2 seems like a possible cause of the symptoms you describe. Both from possibly mild hypoxia, and also because CO2 tends to stabilise nerves. Have you got some tactics to counter night-time hyperventilation? Sleeping on your side, mouth shut, diaphragm activated?

 

[barefooter]

Have you got some tactics to counter night-time hyperventilation? Sleeping on your side, mouth shut, diaphragm activated?

I tried taping my mouth for a couple months, and overall I thought it was beneficial, but I had more of the nighttime panic in that time period, and a few times woke up with those symptoms with tape on, and hyperventilating through my nose, so now I'm a bit scared to tape. It made me wonder if the tape was actually making me feel panicky, and causing the hyperventilation, but now I wonder if it's just coincidence since I'm still having issues not taping.

I've found going to bed earlier and doing reduced breathing exercises and light yoga before bed helpful, but I'm struggling to maintain consistency. Sometimes even when I seemingly do it all correct, I still have the issue. I do sleep on my left side mostly and try to activate diaphragm breathing before bed. Actually, I've gotten pretty good at not breathing through my chest at any point of the day.

Yesterday evening, a friend gave me a massage, and it was incredibly helpful. She did this move that no one has ever done for me, that she said would help with insomnia, and it was astounding how relaxed it made me. She went up and down my spine with her fingers shaking my vertebrae a little and rocking me side to side. I immediately felt very relaxed and sleepy, like it quieted down my whole nervous system to a more normal level. I slept like a baby last night, and I'm hoping for more of the same tonight.

 

[Sheik]

Are you familiar with the concept of kundalini?

 

[barefooter]

Are you familiar with the concept of kundalini?

I don't honestly know a whole lot about it, but I've heard it tossed around before. Honestly, I'm suspicious of the idea, but I will admit I'm pretty biased based on my experience. It seems a lot of the symptoms of kundalini could be caused by very stressed states that cause various physical and psychological symptoms.

I've actually had people tell me I might be going through Kundalini at a couple points. One time was when I was at a meditation center where we stood and shaked our bodies for 4+ hours a day. While I was there I had extremely intense dreams, my whole body was buzzing all day, paranoia, insomnia, and some other neuroses like depersonalization. Now that I'm mostly recovered from that, I'm pretty sure it was a combination of extreme psychological stress, sleep deprivation, and starvation. I think I was probably running at a 1000-1500 daily calorie deficit because of the intense amounts of physical exertion, so it seems pretty logical I was starting to go crazy.

As for my recent sleep symptoms, I think I just figured out it was from under eating, so that seems consistent with my previous experience. I've had digestive problems for years, and I think I've slowly started eating less, because eating has become a bit frustrating for me. I finally put my food into cronometer, and it was only 1800 calories for a day, and I'm a 6'3" 185lb male who exercises. I've been getting closer to 3000 calories a day now, and my symptoms are mostly gone, and I'm feeling way better.

Do you think there is reason to believe kundalini is more than just stress induced neuroses?

 

[Sheik]

I don't honestly know a whole lot about it, but I've heard it tossed around before. Honestly, I'm suspicious of the idea, but I will admit I'm pretty biased based on my experience. It seems a lot of the symptoms of kundalini could be caused by very stressed states that cause various physical and psychological symptoms.

I've actually had people tell me I might be going through Kundalini at a couple points. One time was when I was at a meditation center where we stood and shaked our bodies for 4+ hours a day. While I was there I had extremely intense dreams, my whole body was buzzing all day, paranoia, insomnia, and some other neuroses like depersonalization. Now that I'm mostly recovered from that, I'm pretty sure it was a combination of extreme psychological stress, sleep deprivation, and starvation. I think I was probably running at a 1000-1500 daily calorie deficit because of the intense amounts of physical exertion, so it seems pretty logical I was starting to go crazy.

As for my recent sleep symptoms, I think I just figured out it was from under eating, so that seems consistent with my previous experience. I've had digestive problems for years, and I think I've slowly started eating less, because eating has become a bit frustrating for me. I finally put my food into cronometer, and it was only 1800 calories for a day, and I'm a 6'3" 185lb male who exercises. I've been getting closer to 3000 calories a day now, and my symptoms are mostly gone, and I'm feeling way better.

Do you think there is reason to believe kundalini is more than just stress induced neuroses?

I've tried to answer this at least three times. I guess I just want to say that I don't think kundalini is a stress reaction. It is not neurosis, as the model dictates, as neurosis would be resistance to these energies. The energies themselves are neutral.

That said, my experience has been almost identical to yours, and maybe it's not "kundalini" we're experiencing (if you want to be absolutely certain).

I think the solution is the same either way, and that is finding a way to be open to the messages of your body/getting rid of resistance. It's not something to fight or to hate (though it might be difficult or scary).

I met with a kundalini expert and he told me that I basically have repressed emotions because of some trauma I experienced. So when certain natural things want to unfold in my body I fear them, which creates problems. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you too had some repressed emotion to process.

Kundalini presses your "chakras" to open, so for me it's my heart chakra that I have the most trouble with. I tend to be very tense around my heart and very scared when things/emotions press me to confront the reality of this sensitive thing in my chest. Do you see how this statement about chakras is not some wacky head trip? The language may be funny, but it's only talking about these things we experience, and it is real, even if it's not what it maybe sounds like. At least as far as I can tell based on my experience.

The kundalini expert told me to basically watch the things occurring in myself with nonjudgemental awareness. He said don't believe your thoughts, they're just thoughts. And he told me to remind myself that there's no danger, because I was/am really afraid. It's helped.

Do you have a meditation practice or something? I think it will help you.

 

[barefooter]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply @Sheik. I am recognizing that I am extremely jaded/biased due to going through such traumatic experiences around psychedelic drugs and spiritual practices, so I'm sure there is more to it than I'm giving credit. When you've been through what feels like hell, it's hard to look at it again and try to find the diamonds. I do think there is tremendous wisdom in ancient practices, and that language that can seem hokey/wooey on the surface may actually be explainable in more scientific terms nowadays. However, I still think that you have to be careful with this kind of stuff, because what may seem like a path towards "enlightenment" may really just be trauma and stress.

I think the big problem in my case, is I just was not ready for the intensity of what I went through, and it was very oppositional to how I make my way in the world. I've always been in my head a lot, and I managed to make life work pretty well by finding a career that suited me and engaging in regular physical activities that get me out of my head and into my body. My mind wanted to comprehend what was happening to me, and that freaked me the **** out, and no one around me was able to understand or help it seemed, other than telling me to just forge on, which just didn't feel right. One of my deepest fears is of going crazy, so experimenting with any kind of consciousness altering practice is very dicey for me.

I don't have a meditation practice, but I have done some in the past, although not very regularly. I've been doing some very light yoga lately with an emphasis on breathing, and that is helpful. I think I need to start going to ecstatic dance again, as I got into that a couple years ago, and found it to be a very good way for me to get out all my repressed emotion in a way that seemed to jive with my body and mind.

 

[tara]

I've been getting closer to 3000 calories a day now, and my symptoms are mostly gone, and I'm feeling way better.

:)

 

[Sheik]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply @Sheik. I am recognizing that I am extremely jaded/biased due to going through such traumatic experiences around psychedelic drugs and spiritual practices, so I'm sure there is more to it than I'm giving credit. When you've been through what feels like hell, it's hard to look at it again and try to find the diamonds. I do think there is tremendous wisdom in ancient practices, and that language that can seem hokey/wooey on the surface may actually be explainable in more scientific terms nowadays. However, I still think that you have to be careful with this kind of stuff, because what may seem like a path towards "enlightenment" may really just be trauma and stress.

I think the big problem in my case, is I just was not ready for the intensity of what I went through, and it was very oppositional to how I make my way in the world. I've always been in my head a lot, and I managed to make life work pretty well by finding a career that suited me and engaging in regular physical activities that get me out of my head and into my body. My mind wanted to comprehend what was happening to me, and that freaked me the **** out, and no one around me was able to understand or help it seemed, other than telling me to just forge on, which just didn't feel right. One of my deepest fears is of going crazy, so experimenting with any kind of consciousness altering practice is very dicey for me.

I don't have a meditation practice, but I have done some in the past, although not very regularly. I've been doing some very light yoga lately with an emphasis on breathing, and that is helpful. I think I need to start going to ecstatic dance again, as I got into that a couple years ago, and found it to be a very good way for me to get out all my repressed emotion in a way that seemed to jive with my body and mind.

The fear of going crazy is really the heart of the problem for me, and is probably why our experiences have been so similar. I imagine other kinds of people might have these energies and things, and not be afraid, and so they wouldn't even think about them in this way.

I think the fear turns out to be its own problem. At no point along the way have I lost sanity. I guess it's just become hard to remain detached and objective at times.

Have you heard of the enneagram? I'm thinking you're a 5 like me. It's pretty helpful stuff to understand your own motivations.
[Enneagram Type 5] Type Five: The Investigator (Timeless' Description)

 

[Giraffe]

Also, when I'm laying in bed trying to fall asleep, if there is a startling noise (and it doesn't take much), it's like an electrical current runs through my body. I also at times have minor muscular twitches.

Potassium deficiency?

if you get startled by loud noise you may want to check your potassium levels. Peat has said that intolerance of loud noises is a sign of severe potassium deficiency.

Other related thread: Noise Anxiety - Potassium deficiency | Ray Peat Forum

 

[barefooter]

The fear of going crazy is really the heart of the problem for me, and is probably why our experiences have been so similar. I imagine other kinds of people might have these energies and things, and not be afraid, and so they wouldn't even think about them in this way.

I think the fear turns out to be its own problem. At no point along the way have I lost sanity. I guess it's just become hard to remain detached and objective at times.

Have you heard of the enneagram? I'm thinking you're a 5 like me. It's pretty helpful stuff to understand your own motivations.
[Enneagram Type 5] Type Five: The Investigator (Timeless' Description)

Yes, it seems a fear of going crazy is really not compatible with certain spiritual practices or psychedelic experimentation. Now that I've been through all this, I like to think of the comparison between a fear of heights. If you are scared of heights, you probably shouldn't go out rock climbing, as you're very likely to have a freak out and injure or even kill yourself. Likewise, if you're afraid of going crazy, and you try psychedelics or intense spiritual practices, you might freak out and injure your psyche.

Now, where a big difference lies between the two, is in the resolution of the anxiety from the freak out. If you go out and have a freak out on a mountain, you just have get off the mountain, and stay away from such heights, and the anxiety should be resolved. However, if you freak out on a drug/spiritual trip, just sobering up may not resolve the anxiety, as I found in my case and reports of many others I've read online. It's hard to resolve an anxiety that is wholly in the mind, as you can't get away from your mind, so as you pointed out, the fear becomes self perpetuating. In my darkest days, my mind was not fun to spend time with as it terrified me, but it was all I had--a truly horrific situation.

Also, very astute in guessing that I'm a type 5, because that is exactly what I am. I learned about enneagrams a couple years ago, and I find it more useful than meyers briggs, as it deals with the developmental situation that causes a certain type, allowing you to understand yourself better. I always felt wishy washy between meyers brigss types, but when I read all the enneagram types, I was shocked how perfectly I matched the type 5 investigator.

 

[barefooter]

Potassium deficiency?



Other related thread: Noise Anxiety - Potassium deficiency | Ray Peat Forum

Thanks for the idea, and I'll read the link. However, I'm mostly thinking no at this point, because my noise anxiety has mostly gone away without increasing potassium, and I think I get a pretty decent amount in my diet. I've never come up with an electrolyte imbalance on a blood test, but does that even indicate if you have good levels? I'm guessing no, as the body will do what it needs to keep a tight balance on electrolytes, so you could have normal numbers and be deficient on a cellular level.

What seems to have helped the most is simply eating more calories and also more salt. I also started taking lithium orotate a few days ago, after my lithium blood test came back showing no detectable amount of lithium (< .1). So far it's having a pretty profound impact on my mood stability, motivation, and sleep quality. I'm actually beginning to have some pleasant dreams instead of the usual stressful or terrifying ones, which is very exciting to me. I also feel like it may be helping to resolve some of the lingering depersonalization symptoms that come and go. I know there has been some research on depersonalization being caused by imbalanced glutamate in the brain, and lithium has been shown to help balance glutamate. Hopefully this is a big part of the answer I've been looking for.

 

[Peatful]

@barefooter

Did your EHS resolve?
If so, was your remedy simply 3kcal a day?
Any new insights?