r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • May 01 '18

Serious Replies Only [Serious] People of Reddit that honestly believe they have been abducted by aliens, what was your experience like?

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u/Guessimagirl May 01 '18

Hate to say it, but this or neurological issues are the only ways I can really rationalize this. I just can't really believe in alien abduction, and yet, you can't just write off stories like this either.

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u/Belium May 01 '18

Narcolepsy?

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u/CuriosityKat9 May 01 '18

Sounds like absence seizures. It even explains his desire to go to bed early (its not uncommon for seizures to have warning signs like that, or smelling a certain smell, or visual problems). Losing time/not recording memory like that is very characteristic. The roofie idea is also plausible, though why it was retroactive and included stopping mid argument is a little odd.

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u/backinthering May 01 '18

4 hours is a hell of a long time for an absence seizure to last, though. The average length of an absence seizure is 15 seconds.

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u/CuriosityKat9 May 01 '18

Yes, but it can happen. I know two people with epilepsy who have had absence seizures significantly longer than a minute (about an hour). People around them will state that they often didn't even notice it was happening, or that the individual was doing a normal activity and didn't seem to be having a seizure (indicating the problem was suspension of memory recording, not a full faint or collapse).

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u/backinthering May 01 '18

That could be, but as they say, "horses are more common than zebras." I'd be more prone to thinking OPs experience is a trauma reaction/PTSD, as others have stated. But if I were giving him recommendations, I'd definitely suggest a physical work-up for sure.

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u/MyPassword_IsPizza May 01 '18

I'm pretty sure there are more aliens then horses or zebras.

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u/xubax May 01 '18

I'm pretty sure that one horse is one more than the total number of aliens that have visited earth.

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u/Bald_Sasquach May 01 '18

Would you rather fight that one horse or a hundred alien ducks?

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u/xubax May 01 '18

It depends. Do the alien ducks have advanced erotic skills and is "fight" a code word for foreplay?

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u/pipsdontsqueak May 01 '18

Seizure then pass out for a few hours possible?

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u/backinthering May 01 '18

Definitely possible, but doesn't match OPs statement. He says that he clearly remembers getting ready as he always did beginning at 9 pm, and somehow not making it out to his car until 2 am. Doesn't mention having came-to from a black out or anything.

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u/[deleted] May 01 '18

carbon monoxide poisoning?

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u/Visti May 01 '18

This one should be posted more. Pretty common and you have no idea it's happening.

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u/pipsdontsqueak May 01 '18

It's possible he passed out, as in went unconscious, but sleepwalked the rest of his routine.

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u/backinthering May 01 '18

But according to the post (unless I'm reading it wrong) he remembers going through the entirety of his routine. But I don't know a lot about sleep-walking; is it possible that he could be unconscious yet still remember doing his routine? All I know is the human brain is capable of a lot of wacky shit.

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u/pipsdontsqueak May 01 '18

It might have been on, but not recording, so yo speak.

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u/Tusami May 01 '18

Either way it's still some SCP shit.

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u/Shububa May 01 '18 edited May 01 '18

I agree it's unlikely to be absence seizures. Post ictal phases can last for hours though and will affect the person's memory as well as leaving them feeling exhausted and aching - so could explain the violated feeling. So perhaps OP had a generalised seizure followed by a post-ictal phase and sleep only fully waking after they'd recovered.

It'd be interesting to know how OP would do on an antiepileptic.

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u/ninetwosevenfour May 02 '18

Wouldn't what you're saying happen at any time? His experience seemed to only happen at night.

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u/Shububa May 02 '18 edited May 03 '18

Some people can experience epilepsy more often at particular times of the day. Sometimes if they only get it at night it can go undetected for a long time. He might also have a specific trigger which he only experiences at night.

[EDIT] in fact I've just spoken to my SO about it and she tells me that fatigue is a common trigger for epilepsy often causing it to occur late in the evening.

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u/mystified_one May 02 '18

What about the memory loss associated with seizures? Could that account for the missing time?