The "Elevator Effect"

This is a thing that's happened to me quite often. Is It psychological? Metaphysical? I wish to find out. I call it the "Elevator Effect" for lack of a better term. It goes something like this: after waking up or being deep in thought(zoned out) you get up and it feels like you are either placed into your surroundings from above or the surroundings seem to fall from above you to be around you, just like as if an elevator is coming down around you, with this you also get that feeling like you've been on an elevator and it has stopped.

Does anybody know what this is or what causes it? Is it a perceptive error? Anybody know of the correct term, If there is one, for this? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Any stories about this experience would also be appreciated. Also, I haven't been on an elevator in a very long time, so I don't think it's some residual effect. As well, I never really have taken elevators very often ever.

I know exactly what you're talking about. I can't say that I know if there's actually a term for it. My best guess is just the fact that when you zone out, you're more focused on what you're thinking about, rather than what is going on around you. Once you 'snap back to it', your mind becomes aware of the fact that you're still conscious and scrambles to connect the dots of vision to perception. That's how I'd figure it.

reply to post by Logistics


Yeah, that's what I figure it might be, but the feeling of vertigo sometimes follows it. It's very creepy sometimes And I feel like I might pass out sometimes when it happens.

.reply to post by ldyserenity


I know exactly what it is, and it's quite common and nothing to fear. I am not sure about how you describe the feeling as if the room is falling in on top of you, but the vertigo and passing out is called orthostatic hypotension. When we get up quickly from a seated or prone position we have been in for a little while, it takes a the body a few moments to adjust to the new pressures needed to pump the blood all the way up to the brain. For a few moments the amount of blood avail. to the brain (called perfusion) isn't enough to sustain functions and you get the dizziness/fainting. This can happen to anyone, but certain medications can exacerbate the effect. You can prove this to yourself by buying a blood pressure cup and taking readings while laying down and right after standing up. Also, this is an excellent sign of dehydration, so try upping your water intake if you think that might be contributing.

If you are prone to this condition, simply being more mindful of slowly getting up is usually the trick. Of course, I'm incapable of that apparently, so my other suggestion is to sink to the floor or lean against a wall until it passes. This step is just about minimizing any potential injuries that might occur from fainting, b/c it's not the fainting that's the problem, it's the hitting the ground!

I do have considerably low blood pressure so that could be it. I thought it may have been something worse. Shew!

Sounds like a 'Morph' sensation. There are many of them very similar to this. The buzz, bun head, aeroplane, neck flip, hot and cold vibrations, heart flutter, ear ringing, white noise (my personal nemesis), the spin ... Stuart Wilde talks about hundreds of sensations that accompany an individuals experience with what he terms the Morph, similar to what the South American Shaman call the Aluna or mirror world.

Try googling Stuart Wilde and Morph Sensations and see what you come up with.

edit: after re-reading your post and the thread I'd agree with the blood pressure thing. If it happens other than when you get up suddenly, like spontaneously, then it may well have some more metaphysical explanation - which is obviously a bit cooler and more interesting

[edit on 8/2/10 by RogerT]

what you described is the same feeling i get when jumping dimensions - i would suggest paying close attention to your surroundings after you get that feeling.....

reply to post by RogerT


It does happen while just sitting there in deep thought even without getting up, It did that just the other day when I came out of deep thought and was still sitting I had that feeling and it looked like the surroundings came into place around me. Oddly I was in deep thought trying to send healing energies to my cat who died in the middle of her getting spayed, and the vet had brought her back to life, but afterwards she wasn't eating, eliminating, and couldn't walk; now she can do all these things but she is blind now, which I'm not sure would not have happened anyway, without the event of her death, she seemed nearsighted and easily starttled lately. She is still in hospital, but I beleive between three of us; two sending healing energy and one drumming for healing, and then she got to improve, maybe we collectively were on the same wave length the same time and altered our reality in a way and that was my mind catching up with the present reality. It would be much more interesting!

Please could you explain some more about what happens when you have this feeling when jumping dimensions? What exactly do you mean by that? You do that in a conscious awake state, whilst physically awake?

Thanks,

Aelf

Originally posted by I.C. Weiner
what you described is the same feeling i get when jumping dimensions - i would suggest paying close attention to your surroundings after you get that feeling.....

Originally posted by DeathTribble
.reply to post by ldyserenity

 

If you are prone to this condition, simply being more mindful of slowly getting up is usually the trick. Of course, I'm incapable of that apparently, so my other suggestion is to sink to the floor or lean against a wall until it passes. This step is just about minimizing any potential injuries that might occur from fainting, b/c it's not the fainting that's the problem, it's the hitting the ground!

Did she not say that this was happening when she was just sitting there, zoned out, and then suddenly snapped back into reality?