I would like to share this story with you and maybe someone could offer a explanation or a experience similar to mine. This experience has made me really wonder over the years what exactly happened that night.
It was winter of 1996 and I was in my mid 20s at the time. I had been under a great deal of stress and had been seeing a psychologist at the time for stress management or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
This particular night, I couldn't wait to go to bed that night, just to escape the misery of this disorder for a few hours. I shut down the lights in the house and went into my bedroom and closed the door. My husband was already in bed and sound asleep, as were my children in their own bedrooms. The blinds were drawn and I climbed into bed.
I lay there in bed for awhile. I flipped from my right side to my left side several times. While I lay on my right side facing the wall and my husband, I suddenly felt a presence. It felt so strong that as I rolled onto my back I assumed I would see one of my children standing at the side of the bed needing something. As I lay on my back, I turned my head to the left and, no, there was no one standing there. I then thought to myself, Of course no one is there. I would have heard the door open up.
I then pulled my upper torso up with my elbows and sat there for a minute, when in a instant I felt like someone or something was right in front of my face. Keep in mind the room is absolutely black.
That's when this bright, brilliant, flash went of right in front of my face. It appeared to only have been two feet in front of me. The flash actually blinded me and I heard this whooshing noise... and it was gone. I didn't see this, but I had the impression that this flash sucked into a marble size ball of light and shot off to the left, over the night stand and out the window behind the night stand.
If I were to reproduce this experience for you, it would be exactly like taking a camera two feet from your face in the pitch dark and snapping it off. Even the noise I heard sounded like a Polaroid camera does as you snap the picture.
I was stunned for several seconds, then yelled out my husband's name. He bolted awake and said, "What!?" He was completely oblivious to what just happened. I then jumped out of bed and flicked on the light. My heart was pounding and I was scared. My husband looked around for any possible explanation. There was nothing out of order and our blinds were pulled, so it didn't come from outside. I was wide awake when it happened and I do not use drugs or alcohol either.
I relayed this story to my psychologist at our next session a few days later. I was afraid I had totally gone crazy. He first said it's absolutely not a paranormal event and I am not crazy. He then went on to explain that he believes when a human mind is put under stress for long periods, the mind will use defense mechanisms to distract you some way some how from these unpleasant thoughts or feelings. He went on to say that this happens with certain people who have endured severe chronic pain over a long period. The human mind will attempt to distract yourself from the pain.
I just can't seem to believe that a brain can produce something like that while you are wide awake. This event was external, not internal. I would also like to add that I have never encountered this phenomenon again since that night. If anyone has had a similar experience or knowledge on this, please comment and or share your story.
