Hi, Sharla
Regarding seeing things:
This is common believe it or not.
It is common all over the world.
One name for it is "sleep paralysis."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis
Look at the pictures. Artists have tried to duplicate their sleep experience.
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Symptoms of sleep paralysis can be either one of the following or a combination:
Paralysis:
This occurs after waking up or shortly before falling asleep. The person cannot move any body part, and only has minimal control over blinking and breathing. This paralysis is the same paralysis that occurs when dreaming. The brain paralyzes the muscles to prevent possible injury during dreams, as some body parts may move during dreaming. If the person wakes up suddenly, the brain may still think that it is dreaming, and sustains the paralysis.
Hallucinations:
Images or speaking that appear during the paralysis. The person may think that someone is standing beside them or they may hear strange sounds. These may be dreamlike, possibly causing the person to think that they are still dreaming. Often it is reported as feeling a weight on one's chest, as if being underneath a person or heavy object.
These symptoms can last from mere seconds to several minutes (although they can feel like much longer) and can be frightening to the person. There may be some body movement, but it is very unlikely and hard for a person to accomplish.
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also
http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/S_P.html
Sleep Paralysis and Associated Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Experiences
http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/prevent.html
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Preventing and Coping with Sleep Paralysis
Stress:
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Sleeping position:
(studies show that sleeping on your back is the most common way to end up with these experiences. -- That is one reason I sleep on my side.)
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Making Small Movements:
When you find yourself in the midst of a sleep paralysis episode you might try a traditional method for overcoming the paralysis that involves attempting to move one's fingers or toes, or even one's tongue. Although the major muscles are completely paralyzed the smaller muscles, especially of the eyes, fingers and toes are less so.
A number of people have been suggesting rapidly moving one's eyes back and forth as a way of bringing a bout of SP to an end.
If you are having multiple or repeated experiences at one time it may help to get up briefly and move around before trying to sleep again as it is possible to have multiple episodes in a single night.
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Regarding voices before you fall asleep:
I used to hear voices before I slept. My old pdoc did not think that it was a big deal. He explained what was going on in my brain at the time. He had a perfectly good reasonable scientific explanation for it. I half-believed him.
Taking good medications helped both of these go away.
So did prayer. So did a few other things that I do.
Are you still going to this same church that is acting like you brought this stuff on yourself?
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Originally Posted by Yellowfever
The Church told me that because I used to be a witch this is what happens to me. They also told me that the devil is trying to get me for leaving him.
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People who say things like that to someone who is suffering make me angry.
I'm glad that you are better now.
This has nothing to do with being schizophrenic or psychotic or bipolar. It is a sleep issue mostly.
Mari