Rush of unknown feelings?

Question

This may sound stupid but to me it's real.

Sometimes during the last 3-4 years when I'm doing nothing (ex. when I'm watching TV, playing a video game, listening to music, looking outside the window) It's like I've lost a moment of my life and I've been somewhere else. So far so good. But during that moment I get some pretty intense feelings (usually I can't identify them) and sometimes pictures. It's like I've actually been somewhere else.

I live a normal fast life: I'm a student, I work 8-10 hours a day in a chemistry lab, I keep up with friends and I have OK relations with family. What is this? Is it psychological? Am I doing it to myself?

(no, I've never had drugs or head injuries)

Yesterday while I paused from studying I got a feeling of horror, I actually felt suffocating and I felt hot. I felt like I survived something terrible. I got in my mind a picture of a burnt field. The real me had goosebumps.

Answer 1

OK - maybe you are remembering something from the past. But there is a form of epilepsy ( used to be called Temporal lobe epilepsy) that includes that feeling of horror, and of experiencing something bad in the past.

You could have this without knowing - it does not have grand mal or absence seizures.

Answer 2

It seems that being a Chem student may be triggering some anxiety or panic attacks. You may be having them to the extreme (i.e.- physical and mental associations). You should talk to someone about them; maybe a school psychiatrist, or psychologist, and see if they can help. Keep a journal and write down how you feel every time one of the episodes occurs, and also note the time of day and what you are doing. We are often our own puzzles and sometimes we can put the pieces together on our own to figure out what's really going on.

Take Care.