Sunday, February 17, 2008

I have Alice In Wonderland syndrome

It wasn't long, however, before I started experiencing more extreme spatial distortions. Floors either curved or dipped, and when I tried walking on them, it felt as though I was staggering on sponges. When I lay in bed and looked at my hands, my fingers stretched off half a mile into the distance.

(Via The Anomalist.)


This is fairly embarrassing to admit, but I've experienced a somewhat less pronounced version of "Alice In Wonderland Syndrome." The article above marks the first time I've seen it described; I certainly had no idea there was a name for it. Fortunately I haven't experienced an episode in recent memory.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Vertiginous multi-sensory roiling kinesthesiac "White Rabbit" syndrome?

In Berkeley during the late '70's and '80's, I used to actually recreationally aspire to that status of mind...heh! Snarfle! See my prior post-toastied commentary mssr. rolly-polly...;^)

richelle said...

I've never seen it described either. I'll have to read more about it--Obviously what the guy is describing is not normal, but I think there is a normal sense of what couldbe called visual distortion when you start going in to a self induced trance state. I used to do this when I was a kid--I remember many times becoming hyperaware of whatever environment I was in, and freaking out noticing things. there's a lot our everyday mind state filters out.

Anonymous said...

Wow, this is intriguing. Reminds me somewhat of Charles Bonnet syndrome.

Mac, what was the nature of and characteristics of the visual distortions you experienced, and were there any sources or other non-visual effects involved? I may have had a one-time experience of something possibly related when outdoors at 3 am during last July, which I still find inexplicable.

Anonymous said...

I've experienced this through artificial means, but not in years.

With just my old beat-up brain alone, no.

Anonymous said...

As anon and dad have pointed out, many people seek out this kind of experience, nothing to be embarrassed about, really. A little trippy maybe, but embarrassing, no! Oh those 60's, what a simply marvelous time, if we could only remember more about it!

Michael

Mac said...

My experiences were disorienting and bothersome, but nothing as severe as what's described in the article. But I can definitely relate to the sense of spatial dislocation, in which the concepts of "size" and "distance" are suddenly reduced to pleasant memories.