What’s causing my internal vibrating?
I have been experiencing this feeling since I was young. It started with just a slight tingling sensation in my fingers and toes. Then it progressed into a full blown vibration which would last for hours. I would wake up from sleep completely drained, but still awake enough to continue trying to get back to sleep because the pain was so intense!
It got worse when I had surgery on my neck and shoulder. I could barely move them anymore.
After that happened, the pain became unbearable. It felt like a knife was being driven through my chest every time I moved my arm or leg. Eventually after years of suffering, I couldn’t even stand up straight without excruciating pain.
After many months of going to doctors, specialists, physical therapists and other medical professionals, nothing helped. I tried all sorts of different medicines and therapies.
Nothing worked. I was told that I had cancer and that there wasn’t anything else they could do for me.
After the diagnosis I shut myself away from the world. I couldn’t bear to see anyone.
I eventually lost my job and had no social life to speak of. I became a shut in, only leaving my house for groceries and doctor visits.
A year passed and it all came to a head at my next doctor appointment. I could barely walk into the office, let alone make it back out.
That’s when the shaking started. I could feel my whole body vibrating. I thought I was going to lose consciousness.
I remember seeing the nurse’s face turn from concern to absolute terror. She started screaming for someone to page the doctor.
Then everything went black…
I woke up in a hospital bed and saw my doctor standing over me. He wasn’t smiling like he usually did.
He looked nervous. I had been in this position many times before. This was it. I was going to die. I had completely shut myself off from the world. I didn’t have any family to speak of. Nobody would care.
“So doc…” I started to say, but was interrupted by him putting his finger over his lips.
He started walking towards the door and motioned for me to be quiet. He turned the corner and disappeared out of sight.
I could hear footsteps approaching my room, they were running. It was then that I realized my window was open!
I could have sworn I had closed it before going to sleep. I slowly turned my head to look towards the window. That’s when I saw him. A shadowy figure stood just outside the window peering in. His face was covered by the hood of his sweatshirt. He was just staring at me, motionless.
I didn’t know what to do.
Was this real? Was all of this happening for a reason? Was God punishing me for shutting myself off from the world?
I closed my eyes and then reopened them. The man was still there, closer this time. I could hear his ragged breathing. I could see his dark eyes. They looked soulless.
Then before I knew what was happening, he was gone. The doc rushed back into the room with 2 police officers not far behind.
They looked in the direction of the window, but nothing was there.
I asked the doc what was going on. He said they were transferring me to a new hospital.
A nicer one. One that was much closer to my house. I still didn’t understand any of this though.
Why would they transfer me if I was getting released?
Later that night, I overheard some of the staff talking about me in the lounge. They said that I had probably been asleep for over 500 years. The new hospital had been built directly on top of the old one. That’s why all of the equipment said that I was doing fine. They had been using it before and after me.
I couldn’t sleep at night without hearing the creaking of the floor boards. It still doesn’t feel right.
The walls here feel like they are closing in on me. I can’t wait to get out of here. They say I’ll be able to go home tomorrow…
Credit: David McAfee
Sources & references used in this article:
Lateral hopping of molecules induced by excitation of internal vibration mode by T Komeda, Y Kim, M Kawai, BNJ Persson… – Science, 2002 – science.sciencemag.org
Vibration spectrum analysis: a practical approach by S Goldman – 1999 – books.google.com
Piezoelectric actuators for distributed vibration excitation of thin plates by EK Dimitriadis, CR Fuller, CA Rogers – 1991 – asmedigitalcollection.asme.org
Vibration testing: theory and practice by KG McConnell, PS Varoto – 1995 – books.google.com
Handbook of viscoelastic vibration damping by DIG Jones – 2001 – books.google.com
Physiologically active cochlear micromechanics-one source of tinnitus by DT Kemp – Tinnitus, 1981 – books.google.com
Rotating machinery vibration: from analysis to troubleshooting by ML Adams – 2009 – books.google.com
What in the world do we hear?: An ecological approach to auditory event perception by WW Gaver – Ecological psychology, 1993 – Taylor & Francis
Free vibrations of sandwich beams with a transversely flexible core: a high order approach by Y Frostig, M Baruch – Journal of sound and vibration, 1994 – Elsevier
