Lenora, Thank you for sharing. I think a big part of my confusion is I've "always" felt alone. I've never heard of this happening to anyone else and so when I casually mention it, it gets shrugged off, as no one can really know what it is like unless they experience it. You may be sort of laughing on the outside as it begins, but you try "desperately" to scream, cry, etc. Saying stop does not good. (Actually now that I think about it, I have recurring dreams of trying to scream about other things but nothing comes out....Now I believe this is linked.)