Seeing things that aren't there, anxiety and paranoia?

First off, I just want to say that I am an atheist, and I do not believe in the supernatural or anything of that nature. Think "spirit orbs" or whatever people call them. If some of the religious people in my family found out what I've been seeing, I could absolutely see them saying that it is "spirits" or something like that. It's nothing personal to anyone, I just don't believe in those things.

So, back in 2012, I starting seeing weird object-like things out of the corner of my eyes. They are always dark in color. I will turn and look, and nothing will be there. I am always kind of scared because of it and looking over my shoulder. I notice this happens at night when I am alone. It is almost like someone is walking by out of the corner of my eye. Is this happening because I am anxious? I am not on any medications, by the way. I have thought that I heard voices before, but that is rare. I've also had some pretty bad thoughts that I can't seem to get of my head. Nothing that I would actually do, and nothing to do with the people I love/my family though.

One time in particular, in June of 2012, I saw a white, small, ball-like "thing" dart off and down my bed as soon as I opened up my bedroom door when I got out of the shower. This was the absolutely most frightening because I was in a really good mood, my step brother and step sister came to visit, and my anxiety was basically at a 0. I was really happy that day. I frantically shut the door and ran to get my step sister. I had tears in my eyes because it frightened me so bad, and I was shaking terribly. I'm not sure if she believed me, but she did have sympathy for me. I have known her since she was pretty young, and she has never seen me act like that, ever. I'm like 2-3 years older than her, so it felt odd having her come look in my room for a "white object" while I freaked out. It was absolutely the most realistic time I had seen something. I looked directly at it. When I see the black things move out of the corner of my eye, I know that it's my mind playing tricks on me because I am paranoid and alone. When I saw that small white ball-like thing move off of my bed, I didn't even know what to think, because I wasn't alone, I was calm, and I wasn't expecting to see anything. This is the only time I've seen that white object, the rest are just black and out of the corner of my eye. (We also do not have mice in my house)

I know that these are just things that my head is messing with me. But why? I have questioned myself before as to if I even saw anything. It is just so unrealistic to me, but I know what I saw and see. I've never seen a person shape or animal (thankfully.) I always feel like someone is watching me wherever I am at, and at night I fear that my house is going to get broken into and I'm going to be killed or abducted. I'm afraid when I leave the house, that someone is going to break in and do something to my dog. I just worry about things that I care about a lot. Obviously, this happens to everyone. I don't make a big deal out of it to the people though, and nobody notices it. It really does worry me more than it should on the inside. I live in a nice neighborhood and town where that rarely ever happens. My house has never been broken into. I'm scared to death of driving and car accidents. It worries me so bad when my boyfriend or certain family members has to drive somewhere. Nobody close to me has ever even gotten into a fatal car accident. However, my dad has been in multiple car accidents since I was little, so I think that may have something to do with it. I think I am just a worrier about some things. I cannot help it.

Anyways, back to the objects I see... Seeing things has happened to me at multiple houses I've been to. I briefly mentioned something about it to my step dad who is a nurse and he started explaining eye floaters to me. These are absolutely not eye floaters, they are objects that my mind is making up. I know what eye floaters look like and these are not it. I have amazing vision also. Never had to use contacts or glasses. I have depression and probably some other things that haven't been diagnosed.

The thing is, despite seeing things that make me nervous when I AM alone, I actually really enjoy being alone. I like doing things by myself. I'm pretty independent.

Has anyone had any similar experiences or know anything about what I just described? I'm a female at 18 years old. I'm sorry if this is all over the place. This is my first post. It's just hard for me to explain sort of, and I could go on and on about different things. Haha. I just want to know if anyone has had similar experiences. Thank you for taking the time to read this if you've gotten this far. My name is Jasmine.

Well i was going to mention floaters but you say it's not that. Another possibility.. How late at night is this? Aside from being an overactive imagination iirc there is a phenomenon where you will see peripheral phantasms late at night, typically in the wee hours. I used to work night in a store and all of us swore at various times that we'd seen a man out of the corner of our vision. I'm in you i don't like being alone at night i think it's perfectly reasonable to imagine things.

snaga2.0 wrote:Well i was going to mention floaters but you say it's not that. Another possibility.. How late at night is this? Aside from being an overactive imagination iirc there is a phenomenon where you will see peripheral phantasms late at night, typically in the wee hours. I used to work night in a store and all of us swore at various times that we'd seen a man out of the corner of our vision. I'm in you i don't like being alone at night i think it's perfectly reasonable to imagine things.

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I've noticed it happens when it is dark. I know, it sounds odd. Lets say anywhere from 6pm to 7 am. It's weird, because I'm not even afraid of the dark. I will admit that I used to be when I was little though. I have noticed that I am more calm in my house when it is daytime. It also seems that I have more bad thoughts at night, or after everyone in the house has gone to bed. (I always stay up late or just can't go to sleep) I like being alone, but it seems like all of the things I see/hear in my mind are when I am alone at night. I'm not afraid of the dark or being alone (for the most part, I'm not a shut-in and I don't push people away lol) As I type this, I literally just saw another black little speck thing move to my right. I can describe it like it is a little black bug moving fast across my white tile floor. I don't have any actual bug problems or rodent problems though, I definitely know the difference, so it's not that. Maybe it has to do with me sleeping too much or not getting enough sleep sometimes, because I do both. It's been happening for 2 and a half years now though. Thank you so much for responding!

Lack of sleep could do that. And, despite your protestations so can floaters. I have a condition that greatly increased my floaters and now I think I see bugs often.

Or..

House could be haunted. You wouldn't be the first to think your house is haunted. I've lived in house I've got spooky night vibes from, more so than other houses.

There's always them Shadow People I used to hear George Noory talk about on Coast to Coast AM....

While I'm open to the supernatural, I'm of the opinion nine times out of ten there's a rational explanation for it but I try to consider all possibilities...

I experience the exact same thing at night. It generally comes in waves, and hadn't been an issue recently until these last few months. I always get jumpy and paranoid at night. I see things out of the corner of my eye, or a pile of clothes will look like a monster for a split second. Right away I can confirm my eyes were playing tricks on me, but it terrifies me and definitely keeps me more jumpy all night.
I also experience really big issues with sleep, and always sleep better when the sun is out.
I have no idea if this is anxiety, or something more. I went for a psych evaluation and the therapist instantly started calling them hallucinations which I think was just a very bias and over reactive interpretation of what I described. Now my Dx includes psychotic disorder NOS

I think it's just my anxiety making me so scared that something might happen, that I analyze everything around me without realizing, and that at night those split second interpretations can seem scary.

I have a family history of paranoid schizophrenia, and because of my anxiety *surprise surprise* I get really paranoid that I am developing schizophrenia. If you are worried that it is something more, your chances of actually making happen get way higher. You can psych yourself out by worrying if something is wrong with you.
It happened to me once when I was younger. I was so terrified I would become schizophrenic that I actually started over analyzing everything I felt and ended up spiraling and convincing myself through placebo that I was hearing voices. My doctors confirmed that it was self imposed psychosis.

It can be hard to not worry or be paranoid, especially if you are already the type with that kind of anxiety. I'd say to just try your best not to worry about what it means.

I'm also 18 and actually connect with a lot of what you say including the car stuff. Feel free to pm me anytime.
Sorry this post is so disorganized.

Ive a extended family history for schizo. Funny that's the one thing I've never been paranoid about getting. I think... Ultimately we are diurnal creatures and we have always feared and shut out the dark, despite the theory that before artificial lighting was developed we may have broken our sleep into two night periods, with a wee hour interlude of wakefulness. Perfectly normal to imagine things I think.

Rxln wrote:I experience the exact same thing at night. It generally comes in waves, and hadn't been an issue recently until these last few months. I always get jumpy and paranoid at night. I see things out of the corner of my eye, or a pile of clothes will look like a monster for a split second. Right away I can confirm my eyes were playing tricks on me, but it terrifies me and definitely keeps me more jumpy all night.
I also experience really big issues with sleep, and always sleep better when the sun is out.
I have no idea if this is anxiety, or something more. I went for a psych evaluation and the therapist instantly started calling them hallucinations which I think was just a very bias and over reactive interpretation of what I described. Now my Dx includes psychotic disorder NOS

I think it's just my anxiety making me so scared that something might happen, that I analyze everything around me without realizing, and that at night those split second interpretations can seem scary.

I have a family history of paranoid schizophrenia, and because of my anxiety *surprise surprise* I get really paranoid that I am developing schizophrenia. If you are worried that it is something more, your chances of actually making happen get way higher. You can psych yourself out by worrying if something is wrong with you.
It happened to me once when I was younger. I was so terrified I would become schizophrenic that I actually started over analyzing everything I felt and ended up spiraling and convincing myself through placebo that I was hearing voices. My doctors confirmed that it was self imposed psychosis.

It can be hard to not worry or be paranoid, especially if you are already the type with that kind of anxiety. I'd say to just try your best not to worry about what it means.

I'm also 18 and actually connect with a lot of what you say including the car stuff. Feel free to pm me anytime.
Sorry this post is so disorganized.

Exactly! It's like I am WAITING to see something. I'm glad we are similar, even though it is under these circumstances. I forgot to mention this in my post above, but I've been self medicating with pills, only at night when I am by myself. Never in the daytime around people. I feel so euphoric, and I don't have to worry about the little "things" I see as much. I will still sometimes see one or two things and get scared for a split second, but it is rare. I'll listen to some music, watch TV, etc. It's obviously not the best thing to do, but...yeah. Thank you so much for your input!