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I'm a hybrid (sang/psi) so i experience both the needs and their differences.. I'm strange in ways though. Say, for a week I will go through the hunger cycles of a sang, but the next week I will go through the weakening stages of a psi..
I've decided to write the various stages someone will go through while craving and need blood and energy, because of my own experiences.
*note* I have yet to taste someone else's blood, but my own. From what I've read, all the original thirsts simply heighten.
Sanguine Stages:
Blood craving usually goes in cycles. I am not sure why this happens, though. When one isn't craving, one normally feels slightly tired and anxious These symptoms are not as serious as the symptoms one experiences while craving.
Stage 1: A dry thirst starts in your mouth that can not be satisfied by any drink. You feel slightly light headed and some (not me) find it more uncomfortable in sunlight, especially with there eyes (if not they aren't already having this problem).
Stage 2: The thirst tends to dull back a little. (I feel a slight almost fear like feeling around my knees) Everything usually feels like a dream, by this time, and your mind seems to drift off into thinking about blood.. You may or may not want to drink the blood at this stage. (Usually it just makes me feel calm and relaxed.)
Stage 3: The thirst is very strong, only you tend to ignore it because your mind isn't very coherent. You feel like an animal and may even act that way. (Sometimes I feel as if I am pretending to act that way, but I am totally unable to stop it.) You feel slightly paranoid in a way that every little noise makes you flinch and look. You constantly think about blood. When you aren't thinking about blood, you find it hard to think in general. (Sometimes I get shaky, almost nervous. and nearly every time this happens, I feel like crawling into a closet and just sitting there for hours.) This stage is sometimes the end of the cycle and if you use a craving substitute or are able to control yourself: after a while it should go away.
Stage 4: This is rare to happen, but it will on occasions. Sometimes people can skip right from stage 2 to stage 4, if they see blood. this usually only happens because the person is unable to control their actions, due to the affects of drugs or alcohol. Stage 4 is often thought of as "The Beast" - the strong urge inside of us that's been trying to get out. Often referred too as a separate being, the need will take over your body and control it to do anything to get what it needs. Symptoms before "The Beast" surfaces are usually: extreme anger, or fear, for no particular reason, violent images flash through your mind that don't even have to have anything to do with blood. "The Beast" usually surfaces to complete a violent action, such as to attack something or someone. "The Beast" DOES NOT have to be provoked by someone to come out! (This has happened to me before and I smashed up my stereo for no apparent reason) "The Beast" can last, as short as 2 seconds, or last as long as 2 days or more, depending on how long you've been without what you are craving.
Psi-vamp stages:
Stage 1: Constantly being tired. (I often find myself getting up late and going to bed early) Basically, you just cant be bothered living. (I have even had to forcably slap myself to get me to get moving some days.)
Stage 2: Feeling a constant wave emotions from the people around you, flooding into your system. Even when you are in public it is often difficult to feed, because of the constant noise and energy. (At this point, I find it hard to draw from any one person in a public area.) The constant tiredness stays the same but usually now it is topped off with a case of insomnia.
Stage 3: Your mind gets clouded.. Its hard to think or even string a sentence together. The constant flood of energy "noise" stops and is replaced by what I can only describe as a mild static energy whine.. At this point you usually can't be bothered to feed.. You think to yourself 'whats the point!?' .. Severe depression sets in.. You usually lose all touch with emotions, or thought.. You will usually get physically sick, and some small illness, like a cold, will put you into bed shivering with a fever.. You feel neutral in both body and mind. At this stage if you haven't already you will start subconscious feeding but if you somehow shut yourself away from any living thing and maybe even a few elements (which by the way is stupid) you will get to stage 4.
Stage 4: I personally have never been to stage 4; I have only read about it. Apparently your body collapses and falls asleep while your mind is wide awake inside your head. You hear yourself breathing and your heart beat, and gradually it gets slower and weaker.. Everything get weaker and your life slowly slips away.. I don't know what else happens after that because the guy that it happened to was able to pull in energy from around the room.
I also know that that is hardly a complete list of things that happen they are just from my own personal experiences and those that I have read.. If anyone wants to add any symptoms to the stages please post! Then maybe we could put them all together into a better copy of this.
By MFuture
For me it goes like this...
Fatigue usually hits first, all of my old injuries flair up, including my knees and back. I feel sluggish, and my eyes are heavy. Sunlight, and any bright light irritates me, and I actually yell out in anger on occasion. Then, my vision becomes blurry, and my eyes get irritated, and i sometimes have stomach cramps. I start having spasms, and become irritable, and hard to deal with.
Then...my mouth gets dry, and feels raw. A metallic taste starts developing, and I sometime start drooling. At this point, I'm vamping real bad...and I need blood. This can all happen in a span of a week, but it sometimes happens all within a couple of days. When I feel it coming on, I start eating my substitutes on a regular basis. I can distinguish between the thirst, and other things such as the common cold, or heartburn, etc. There is also an emotional side to it, as you all can attest to. As far as the "beast" goes, it can be triggered for me by an emotional confrontation during the thirst, But its rarely happened.
-M!ke
Striving for acceptance and understanding of real vampires everywhere...and boy is it a tough job!
By Mys
Very interesting post;) My stages are a bit simpler and occupy a period, let's say two weeks or even more (lack of sources...). At first it's fatigue and irritation, which lasts for the longest part of the need and gradually increases. Only a few days before I "scream" for blood/energy, I get the other symptoms of the need which would be headaches, some insomnia, weakness especially at joints. If I crave blood it is also mouth watering and that metallic taste too, actual stomach pain and such and if I crave energy there's also a need for presence in emotional situations.
Don't give up
by wolf child of the moon
Very good post! for me though I have fatigue fallowed by heightened senses and then I ease into stage 2 (for sang) but you basically spelled it out for the psy side...and as for stage 4 (psy) not fun at all, if you ever want to chat or discuses this issue you can reach me at (longhairgirl@go.com or wolf_the_poet@yahoo.com)
Wolf
By Day
..Those stages aren't anything like mine...
Stage 1: "A dry thirst starts in your mouth that can not be satisfied by any drink, you feel slightly light headed and some (not me) find it more uncomfortable in sunlight especially with there eyes, if not already having this problem." My mouth actually gets more wet and drooly. I'm always sensitive to sunlight 'cause of my migraines and meds so...
Stage 2: "The thirst tends to dull back a little and i feel i slight almost fear like feeling around my knees, everything usually feels like a dream by this time and your mind seems to drift off into thinking about blood.. you may or may not want to drink the blood at this stage usually it just makes me feel calm and relaxed" The thirst does dull back for me. But I'm not afraid. And I'm not in a dream. i forcibly push blood out of my mind. i start studying more and more. i get more anxious (but then again I'm naturally anxious).
Stage 3: "The thirst is very strong only you tend to ignore it because your mind isn't very coherent you feel like an animal and may even act that way, sometimes i feel as if i am pretending to act that way but i am totally unable to stop it, you feel slightly paranoid in a way that every little noise makes you flinch and look. You constantly think about blood and when your not thinking about blood you find it hard to think in general. sometimes i get shaky and almost nervous and nearly every time this happens i feel like crawling into a closet and just sitting there for hours. This stage is sometimes the end of the cycle and if you use a craving substitute or are able to control yourself .. after a while it should go away." The thirst is very strong for me, too. i feel like an animal, but don't act that way. I'm always paranoid like you describe. i do constantly think of blood, and i do find it hard to think about anything else... but math. i dunno why, but i suddenly turn into a math wiz and one impersonal problem and the next gets wizzed out correctly. i turn very analytical. I'm constantly people watching, but i don't like talking to everyone. i start analyzing everyone's tinyist (sp?) actions. Basically, all I'll do is sit there, do homework, and watch people.
Some of those were exact opposites...
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