How does AWS present?


AWS episodes are different for each person. What you experience may vary from one episode to the next as well. A typical episode lasts a few minutes. Some can last up to half an hour.
During that time, you may experience one or more of these common symptoms:
Size distortion
micropsiamicropsia
Micropsia is the sensation that your body or objects around you are growing smaller.
macropsia
Macropsia is the sensation that your body or objects around you are growing larger.
Migraine Perceptual distortion
migraine
People who experience AWS are more likely to experience migraines. Some researchers and doctors believe AWS is actually an aura. This is an early sensory indication of a migraine. Others believe AWS may be a rare subtype of migraine.
If you feel that objects near you are growing larger or that they're closer to you than they really are, you're experiencing pelopsia. The opposite of that is teleopsia. It's the sensation that objects are getting smaller or farther away from you than they really are.
Time distortion Sound distortion
Some people with AWS lose their sense of time. They may feel time is moving faster or slower than it really is. Every sound, even typically quiet sounds, seems loud and intrusive.
Loss of limb control or loss of coordination
This symptom occurs when muscles feel as if they're acting involuntarily. In other words, you may feel as though you're not controlling your limbs. Likewise, the altered sense of reality can affect how you move or walk. You may feel uncoordinated or have difficulty moving about as you normally would.