About Missing Time

[Stellar]

Why is it that people make such a big deal about missing time? There doesnt really have to be a supernatural explanation for it. Most cases are probably of people falling asleep then waking up. Theres the missing time. People seem to think that when theres a matter of missing time, the story becomes all the more likely to be related to an alien abduction... why?

[Yelekiah]

I read a case where a guy had missing time while driving. If he had fallen sleep he would have crashed his vehicle. I wonder what other explanations there are besides sleeping.

[Stellar]

I read a case where a guy had missing time while driving. If he had fallen sleep he would have crashed his vehicle.

There are those cases aswell, but there is something else I can say about that. It happened to some people I know. They were driving at night, focused on the road, and then all of a sudden they, and I dont know how to discribe this any other way, "wake up" and think "wtf? Did I dont remember passing ***** st. and I'm already here?"

Hell, the same sort of thing happened to me but not while driving.

[xstortionist]

missing time...could somebody perhaps explain on what this means?

[Bio-Mage]

Memory lapse as a cause of mild epilepsy I think. Not 100% sure though.

[Mr Ed]

Why is it that people make such a big deal about missing time?

People love mystery and the idea that something fantastical has happened to them.

[ghostbuster_3]

Memory lapse as a cause of mild epilepsy I think. Not 100% sure though.

yea that sounds right. like forgeting somthing.

[Michelle]

Road hypnosis is the correct term...it can also happen during a boring lecture when your mind wanders to a different place and you lose all track of time. Something then catches you attention and you snap back into focus.

[Welsh Shaun]

Ive lost time while driving down the motorway, for some reason I subcontiously carry on driving unaware of the bend in the road or cars around me. Then suddenly come too and realise I had travelled a good distance.

[xstortionist]

i feel this is just normal in everybody. Time can never be missing...it's always here and it never goes away. Perhaps it should be called Missing Memory instead.

[Yelekiah]

I agree.

[Eternal Light]

I think the term is 'being on automatic pilot!' I've done this myself whilst driving, and in other scenario's also...everyone does.

[earthchick]

Why is it that people make such a big deal about missing time? There doesnt really have to be a supernatural explanation for it. Most cases are probably of people falling asleep then waking up. Theres the missing time. People seem to think that when theres a matter of missing time, the story becomes all the more likely to be related to an alien abduction... why?

I guess the only thing I can say to that is that you'd have to experience it in order to understand that it is really nothing like falling asleep and waking up. When you fall asleep and wake up you definitely know you are waking up from sleep. The "missing time" thing is not the same. Also, when "missing time" is cited as a possible sign of abduction it is not the only thing taken into consideration. It is normally only one of many other signs and details.

If chunks of memory missing is the only symptom I would doubt that it was a sign of abduction at all (though it's still possible). Even if it is only one of many signs it would be worthy of being checked out medically, as it is always better to be safe than sorry.

One example of missing memory.....a man went out for a walk one evening, and then was surprised and perplexed to find himself standing in his own yard. He had no recollection of anything that took place from the time he was about a km from his house, until he found himself back in his yard. Upon checking his watch 8 hours had elapsed. He had no memory of what happened to him during those 8 hours. Hence he was "missing time".

[theSOURCE]

To me, there's no big deal to missing time. Having lived with a seizure disorder I've experienced episodes of missing time my entire life. Several friends I've had with epilepsy have also come to regard it as nothing special.

He had no memory of what happened to him during those 8 hours. Hence he was "missing time".

This reminds me of another aspect of my seizures that I've experienced. There's been many, many times when, after I've regained my senses, I could've sworn that several hours had passed, or that I was in a completely different location before I blanked out (the seizure itself only lasted less than a minute, and I was dazed for several minutes afterwards). There were times when I thought it was night, only to find myself standing in the afternoon without a clue. If it weren't for the people around me who explained what had happened I would've believed I was out for hours.

If you know anyone with a seizure disorder, just ask them (nicely) and I'm sure they'll relate to you experiences like this one.

[earthchick]

If it weren't for the people around me who explained what had happened I would've believed I was out for hours.

That is slightly different from the incident I mentioned because this man could confirm that 8 hours actually had passed by looking at his watch. You do, however, bring up a good point. That is why I said it is a good idea to get checked out medically, just in case, and to rule out the possibility of something like a seizure disorder.

[Master Alex]

Why is it that people make such a big deal about missing time? There doesnt really have to be a supernatural explanation for it. Most cases are probably of people falling asleep then waking up. Theres the missing time. People seem to think that when theres a matter of missing time, the story becomes all the more likely to be related to an alien abduction... why?

It’s just because people fear what they don’t know, and when they don’t know how/why/when they passed out and when they don’t know how/why/when they woke up, it really turns to be a problem for ‘em , and they do anything to know what happened during the missing time,and as usual! anything that wouldn't get explained is stated as supernatural!, it’s how it works ‘coz no one likes to let go

[whitelight]

Can't really answer your question but my experience suggests not that something happened in the missing three hours but that the three hours did not exist. We were driving down the road, intersected a light of unknown origin and three hours were gone. I could flesh out the story but those are the bare facts as they are remembered. I have no explanation.

Edited November 1, 2005 by whitelight

[Blazea58]

I personally do not think that missing time can all be accounted for people just having a disorder, or sleeping etc. I do believe in some cases where it just cant be explained, though there is probably more people just zoning out more so then actually missing time itself.

Heck i sit on my computer alot and sometimes ill just start staring into the screen and not realize that im pretty much sleeping with my eyes open etc, then i kinda nod awake again and i notice the time has changed a bit. I have never had anything happen in this matter where i thought it could be related to ufos, but i do like to think of the possibilities.

(WhiteLight) My experience suggests not that something happened in the missing three hours but that the three hours did not exist. We were driving down the road, intersected a light of unknown origin and three hours were gone. I could flesh out the story but those are the bare facts as they are remembered. I have no explanation.

Interesting none the less, however while you were driving what kind of area where you in? city, out of town ? What time was it when it took place, how long ago was it? When you say intersected a light "Unknown" origin do you mean that you dont know where it was, or it appeared suddenly?

I would like you to atleast discribe more about it, so we know more about it, because this sounds crazy if you ask me, 3 hours were missing. Did you awake with a traffic jam behind you? lol

Edited November 1, 2005 by Blazea58

[Hazzard]

I read a case where a guy had missing time while driving. If he had fallen sleep he would have crashed his vehicle. I wonder what other explanations there are besides sleeping.

Sleep paralysis is often thought to be associated with narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is a condition in which people are overcome with irresistible sleep attacks that occur unpredictably and at any time of day. These sleep attacks may occur while engaged in conversation, working at a desk, during meals, or even driving your car.

Sleep Paralysis and Narcolepsy.

http://watarts.uwaterloo.ca/~acheyne/S_P2.html

Edited November 1, 2005 by hazzard

[theSOURCE]

That is slightly different from the incident I mentioned because this man could confirm that 8 hours actually had passed by looking at his watch.

Earthchick, actually, it is the same. As I mentioned, there are times I could swear hours have passed, when in fact it's only a few minutes later.

The last time this happened to me was about 3 months ago. I was outside talking with my neighbor at around 7:30 pm when I had a seizure. As I slowly became coherent and started to recognize her, I began to wonder why she wasn't at work. The last thing I could remember was walking outside in the yard at about 10 o'clock that morning. Now, here was my neighbor telling me that it was already evening. As convinced as I was that it was still only morning, I gradually accepted the fact that it was actually 9 1/2 hours later. This has happened to me many times while alone, and as disconcerting as it is, I've come to live with it.

My neighbor and I have been good friends for years, and she knows how to react when I have a seizure. So, unless she's really an alien, and has been deceiving me about my missing time, I believe something similar must have happened to the man you mentioned.

[Hazzard]

A "full-blown" hallucination seems like a real experience and is believed to be a real experience. One might say the individual is both hallucinating and is deluded by the hallucination in to accepting it as a real experience.

People frequently report feeling a 'presence' that is often described as malevolent, threatening, or evil. An intense sense of dread and terror is very common.

More on sleep paralysis and Narcolepsy.

http://www.dreamsnightmares.com/sleepparalysis.html

Edited November 1, 2005 by hazzard

[whitelight]

I personally do not think that missing time can all be accounted for people just having a disorder, or sleeping etc. I do believe in some cases where it just cant be explained, though there is probably more people just zoning out more so then actually missing time itself.

Heck i sit on my computer alot and sometimes ill just start staring into the screen and not realize that im pretty much sleeping with my eyes open etc, then i kinda nod awake again and i notice the time has changed a bit. I have never had anything happen in this matter where i thought it could be related to ufos, but i do like to think of the possibilities.

Interesting none the less, however while you were driving what kind of area where you in? city, out of town ? What time was it when it took place, how long ago was it? When you say intersected a light "Unknown" origin do you mean that you dont know where it was, or it appeared suddenly?

I would like you to atleast discribe more about it, so we know more about it, because this sounds crazy if you ask me, 3 hours were missing. Did you awake with a traffic jam behind you? lol

It was in the country about 3 miles outside a small town. The times are 11:43 PM and 2:35 AM. It happened 25 years ago.

This is how I remember it. I'm traveling east on Grange Rd approaching the stop sign at Garr Rd. I glance at the clock and it's 11:43 PM. There is no traffic so I proceed through the intersection and about a third of the way to Red Bud Trail Kevin says, "What's that!" I glance over and see light in the woods. I look back to the road and then at the light again. To me, it's a 35 foot diameter ball of light. Kevin and Ed were discussing possiblities. Someone out spotting deer. (Driving around in the county with a spot light looking for deer.) Problem, no road in the woods and it's too thick to make your own. A house. Problem, no house. A helicopter. Problem, none of us heard or saw anything above the trees that could have been the source and the tops of the trees were dark. The light was in the woods, below the tree tops. I glanced back at the road and everything went white. This was odd. You've been in a room without light, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face right? This was the same thing but light instead of dark. No eye strain that you would associate with bright light. This seemed to last a second or two. I glanced over to where the light had been (noting the looks on the faces of Kevin and Ed) then began to turn in the other direction and glanced at the clock which now read 2:35. I get that tingle that runs up the back of the neck and glance out the window on my side of the car then into the side view mirror noting we have travelled about as far as one would expect in a few seconds going 40 miles an hour.

It is possible we fell asleep at the intersection for three hours and imagined the rest. It's more likely that happened and the time was lost there then it was lost as a result of stopping later.

We never talked about what happened. We drove home in silence (I had turned the radio down), none of us said anything. Not bye, not see ya, not later. Nothing.

It wasn't until tweleve years later that I remembered it happened. Kevin denies it ever happened. Ed remembered it exactly as I did except for the time loss, which cleared up the next day for him. After a couple weeks I forgot about it again and remembered it last year, 24 years after it happened. My search for an explanation landed me here, mostly.

[Stellar]

When you fall asleep and wake up you definitely know you are waking up from sleep.

No, you dont necessairly know. You can assume that you were from various ways... one being that suddenly the time has "jumped"

One example of missing memory.....a man went out for a walk one evening, and then was surprised and perplexed to find himself standing in his own yard. He had no recollection of anything that took place from the time he was about a km from his house, until he found himself back in his yard. Upon checking his watch 8 hours had elapsed. He had no memory of what happened to him during those 8 hours. Hence he was "missing time".

And what do you attribute this to?

[earthchick]

As convinced as I was that it was still only morning, I gradually accepted the fact that it was actually 9 1/2 hours later. This has happened to me many times while alone, and as disconcerting as it is, I've come to live with it.

Ok, I understand what you mean now. Thanks for explaining it to me.

We never talked about what happened. We drove home in silence (I had turned the radio down), none of us said anything. Not bye, not see ya, not later. Nothing.

It wasn't until tweleve years later that I remembered it happened. Kevin denies it ever happened. Ed remembered it exactly as I did except for the time loss, which cleared up the next day for him. After a couple weeks I forgot about it again and remembered it last year, 24 years after it happened. My search for an explanation landed me here, mostly.

Your case brings up another important point......that sometimes the "missing time" happens to more than one person......in which case it would be rather unlikely that it was due to anything like falling asleep or having a seizure.

And what do you attribute this to?

I have no idea, and as far as I know niether does he at this point.

[whitelight]

Your case brings up another important point......that sometimes the "missing time" happens to more than one person......in which case it would be rather unlikely that it was due to anything like falling asleep or having a seizure.

I don't reject the idea that we all fell asleep at the same time, awoke at the same time and two of us remember what happened the same way. (Or admit remembering it anyway.) If you think about it, it makes more sense then three hours of time don't exist in my past. The time was lost between approaching a full stop at the stop sign and one third of a mile later. It's always seemed to me that the time was lost the instant we intersected the light's path but I don't know if that's accurate.

The only thing that resembles a clue happend 5 1/2 or 6 1/2 years after in the incident. I was at a baseball game at Wrigley Field. Gordon and I were listening to street performers near the corner of Sheffield and Addison (Kurt had gone across Sheffield to Hightops, or what's now Hightops). I suddenly get this feeling I'm being watched, very strong. I turn, scanning the crowd and this beautiful woman, my age plus a couple probably, is staring right at me. With all the street and other noise I remember the communication as telepathic. She said, "I wondered how long it would take you to notice me." I didn't believe I heard what she said because she was thirty feet away, there was street noise and her lips didn't move. She then said something to the effect that she knew I was confused and maybe a little scared but she could read my thoughts and she could allow me to read hers. Now we get the neck tingle thing going. I'm thinking something like, "how .. but .. no .. I can't .. but it's not .." Truely articulate thoughts to be sure. The only thing I remember she said for sure (if she ever said anything) is "because you have seen the light." When I heard that part I completely shut down. It didn't remind me of the event on Grange Road, my ability to process anything ended. She talked about "come with us", "you can help us" and other such stuff but it was too much and I couldn't process any of it.

About this time Gordon had turned and noticed the woman looking at me. He said, "that woman is checking you out". That snapped me out of my confusion and the woman seemed to vanish. It went something like this. Gordon said ... I replied, "what do you want me to do, ditch you and Kurt in Chicago?" He said, "Kurt would ditch us." We went back and forth a couple times then I tried to find the woman again but she wasn't anywhere to be seen. It was as if I had a telepathic conversation with a woman who wasn't there but was seen about an event that I didn't remember but understood.

Clear as mud to me.