Missing time experience - Northumberland, 2019. Still don't have answers.

I've been hesitant to post this because it sounds absolutely mental, but I've never really discussed it properly with anyone except my mum and my partner, and I need to get it out there. Maybe someone here has experienced something similar or knows what I'm dealing with.

It was November 2019, late evening, somewhere around 10:45 PM. I was driving from Newcastle back to my flat in Gateshead on the A1(M), heading south. Clear night, not much traffic, bit cold but dry. I remember the radio, I remember thinking about what I'd have for dinner when I got home, I remember passing a Morrisons lorry. And then...

I was parked up on a layby about 15 miles further south. My watch said 1:20 AM. Three hours and thirty-five minutes completely gone. The car was in perfect condition, engine was off, temperature inside was normal. But I had no idea how I got there or what happened in those hours.

I wasn't sleepy, I hadn't been drinking, the car wasn't broken down. I drove the rest of the way home in a state of absolute panic. Over the past few years I've tried to rationalise it - dissociation, some kind of seizure, highway hypnosis - but none of those explanations feel right because I can account for every mile up to that point and nothing about me felt 'normal' when I woke up in that layby.

I've got no marks on my body, no physical symptoms, no recovered memories. But I've had this persistent feeling that something happened. Any thoughts?

This is textbook missing time scenario - and I want to be respectful because I don't think you're making this up - but I also want to gently suggest that there are medical explanations that are worth ruling out. Transient dissociation, partial seizure activity, even something like sleep apnoea affecting consciousness on motorways. Have you ever been evaluated by a neurologist? Not as a 'you're crazy' thing, but genuinely - ruling out medical causes should be your first step.

Similar thing happened to my uncle in 1994, somewhere near the Scottish border. He lost about two hours, came to near Gretna Green. He swears something took him. Thirty years later he still won't talk about it properly. He did go to a doctor though, and they found he had undiagnosed epilepsy. Could explain the gaps in memory. Might be worth investigating that angle first.

Did you check if there's a gap in your memory or if you just lost track of time? Big difference. If you can remember passing the Morrisons lorry and then suddenly waking in the layby with no memory of the drive, that's one thing. But if you remember everything right up to Morrisons and then just... nothing... that's actually more suggestive of fugue state or similar than abduction.

I've got no marks on my body, no physical symptoms, no recovered memories.

I don't want to be dismissive, but missing time on a motorway is far more likely to be a neurological event than extraterrestrial contact. Get yourself properly checked out medically first, then if everything comes back normal and you still believe something paranormal happened, at least you've ruled out the mundane explanations. Fair?

The A1(M) has a ton of reports from that area actually. Not necessarily UFO sightings, but strange experiences. Worth checking UFO databases for reports from Newcastle/Gateshead area around that date - might give you some context about what else was being reported at the time.

This honestly sounds more like dissociation or highway hypnosis combined with memory loss than abduction, but the missing time element is definitely worth taking seriously. Whether it's psychological, neurological, or... something else... the important thing is you're safe and you've got no injuries. Definitely get medically cleared, but also consider talking to someone who specialises in unexplained experiences - there are counsellors who don't immediately dismiss this kind of thing.