Mirror reflection- unrecognizable self

[u/pam27ce]

Not sure if this applies to this group and if not, suggestions of where to post are appreciated.
A few years ago, I was looking in the mirror- at my face, and suddenly did not recognize myself. It was as if my face didn’t belong to me, I was looking into my eyes but they weren’t mine, everything else was exactly the same except it wasn’t me but nothing changed in my face but just not me. It was very odd and then I snapped back into myself. Any idea what that was or if that has happened to anyone else? Hasn’t happened again but every time I look in the mirror I’m half expecting it to reoccur.

[u/eclipsed2112]

ive had that happen to me since i was little, i would not recognize the person in the mirror as myself.

for many years after getting married, i would not recognize my husband the first second or two that i saw him each day.

im in my fifties now and it rarely happens.i think it stopped for me around age 45.

[u/eclipsed2112 → u/eclipsed2112]

when i say i wouldnt recognize myself, i meant just for about thirty seconds then it would go away.

[u/Sufficient_Ad7769 → u/eclipsed2112]

Me too!! Almost exactly like this!!

[u/pam27ce → u/eclipsed2112]

So interesting. Did you ever explore it or just went with the flow? I’m curious as it’s something that has stuck with me since

[u/nat4mula]

I’ve stared at myself in the mirror too long and felt the same way. To me it feels the same as saying a word over and over until it has no meaning.

Looking at yourself and feeling it’s someone else is scary, but all you have to do is look away and you’re okay. Also, first ALWAYS do the fingernail test to the mirror to confirm. Then look away and only do that when you wanna freak yourself out lol

*Fingernail test - just in case you don’t know - is if you put your finger or fingernail to a mirror and there is a space between them, it’s real. If they touch it’s a fake mirror.

[u/pam27ce → u/nat4mula]

I get that, but it was odd cos it was just a quick look into my own eyes. Maybe I’ll never know and maybe it’ll never happen again. I was just curious

[u/janeofalltrades35]

You should actually get yourself medically checked out. This could be a medical neurological condition or could be related to PTSD. Please see a doctor.

[u/pam27ce → u/janeofalltrades35]

Thank you for the suggestion, I doubt it was this but won’t rule it out.

[u/Hello_Hangnail]

The Strange Face Illusion is a thing, especially if you saw it in low lighting conditions. Our brains have trouble making sense of faces in low light so it fills in the blank sometimes. Then you could see yourself looking like a stranger, Betty White, Jesus, a demon etc

[u/pam27ce → u/Hello_Hangnail]

It was daytime and had nothing troubling me, was in a good mood. Thats what was strange. Had I been doing inner child work or meditation or whatever it would have made more logical sense but it was a nonsensical event. Not worried just curious 🧐

[u/hockeypup]

That reminds me of a scary story I read around age 9 - I still refuse to be in a dark room with a mirror.

[u/Sufficient_Ad7769]

This used to happen to me fairly often. Now that I’m older I believe it’s something like a mini existential crisis?! I would be looking at myself, but not always, and feel like who the heck am I? I don’t feel like myself…stuff like that. It was mostly when I was younger, but it feels freaky

[u/BeatsAreMyPassion]

That is a moment of depersonalization. Not the end of the world, but it can be weird.

[u/pam27ce → u/BeatsAreMyPassion]

I wasn’t scared or worried just curious but thanks

[u/loosetea123]

Possibly scrying? Look into it and see. Be careful with that stuff.

[u/pam27ce → u/loosetea123]

I don’t normally “see” things, but instead feel things. Like I will know something is true without the standard evidence so am not totally out off by this concept. Thanks!

[u/Never_too_late85 → u/pam27ce]

Also check out literature like Psychic Abilities of Empathy. Empathy goes beyond just feeling what others in the room are feeling.

[u/radwanal → u/pam27ce]

From the Wikipedia page about scrying:

A 2010 paper in the journal Perception identified one specific method of reliably reproducing a scrying illusion in a mirror and hypothesized that it "might be caused by low level fluctuations in the stability of edges, shading and outlines affecting the perceived definition of the face, which gets over-interpreted as 'someone else' by the face recognition system."

[u/Petraretrograde]

I rarely can "see" my face in mirrors in my dreams, but i can see my body. I always get my normal height (5'11), but a super strong, athletic body. Thick muscular thighs, big boobs, flat stomach. All the things i wish i had IRL.

However, if I'm considering any kind of sexual encounter, I become extremely self conscious and aware of having super-hairy legs like a man and a bush for daaays.

[u/pam27ce → u/[deleted]]

Interesting. Just recently was having energy work done (mix of reiki massage etc) and could not feel my body, I knew it was there and I knew I had one but became detached from it, what I would assume would be the pretext to an out of body experience but then I came to. My mirror incidence was when I was getting ready to walk out for some errands, both times sober. I do have some very deep introspective rides when I smoke and do request assistance from universe for inner healing and whatnot so wouldn’t be surprised if that was a contributing factor. I also had a dream a few months ago where I “died” and was about to go into the light but forced myself awake, guess I wasn’t ready. A little freaky but not too much. I’m guessing this isn’t for the matrix group anymore 😅