History Main / PsychicNosebleed

* Taken one {{squick}}y step higher in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3''. The Sorrow's ''[[TearsOfBlood eye]]'' bleeds and the lens of his glasses cracks when he uses his psychic powers to "test" Naked Snake (because [[spoiler:he's really DeadAllAlong]], and both are an allusion to [[spoiler:[[EyeScream how he died]]]]).

An early example of the trope was the film adaptation of Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{Firestarter}}'', where it was used in place of the original book's far-less-visible "tiny cerebral hemorrhages". However the [[http://politedissent.com/archives/1581 first]] actual depiction can be found in the film ''Film/{{Scanners}}'' (pictured above), which came out a few years prior.

* It's physical rather than psychic, but in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', this appears to happen to [[spoiler:Titan shifters who transform too much or for too long. It's unclear, however, whether this affects ''all'' shifters, or just those that possess the Attack Titan, as we've only seen it happen to Eren and Kruger]].

* In ''Manga/{{X 1999}}'' Subaru Sumeragi has blood coming from his ears after [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind going within Kamui]] to bring him back from his borderline AngstComa after [[spoiler: Fuuma's FaceHeelTurn and Kotori's murder]].

** Jean Grey and Rachel Summers. Hardly surprising, since the second is the first's time-travelling daughter from [[ComicBook/DaysOfFuturePast an alternate future]].
** Comicbook/{{Cable}} (Jean's clone's time-traveling son from ''this'' reality) {{subvert|edTrope}}s this on one occasion by bringing him''self'' back from the dead without any problems. Usually, though, he suffers psychic nosebleeds when doing things like inadvertently mind-controlling a continent's worth of people, saving airborne continents from crashing after gravity comes back into effect, or beating up the cosmically powered ComicBook/SilverSurfer in an attempt to [[ExplosiveOverclocking burn out his own powers]].
** [[ComicBook/XMan Nate Grey]], Jean's artificial son from [[ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse an alternate reality]], was particularly prone to this as a younger man whenever he used his powers on a notable scale thanks to the instability his creator, his reality's Sinister, built into his genetics (he didn't want his LivingWeapon hanging around after it had done its job). It remained, to an extent, after the instability was fixed, though only when he was maintaining vast scale power-usage.

* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' features multiple characters with psychic powers, so this ends up happening a few times.
** Fred and George discuss the trope in the sequel, ''Ghosts of the Past'', noting how Harry and [[spoiler:Voldemort]]'s psychic fight didn't really look like much from the outside, aside from this.

* ''Anime/BatmanNinja'': Batman discovers that the Joker has lost his memory, restoring him to sanity. As the Joker believes himself to be a harmless farmer, Batman decides to leave him alone [[spoiler:not knowing that the Joker has hypnotised himself as a MemoryGambit. On seeing the hypnotic trigger that reactivates his memories the Joker starts to bleed from his nose, so he smears the blood across his mouth to create the familiar Joker smile]].

* While not due to psychic efforts, near the end of ''Anime/SummerWars'', Kenji's nose starts to bleed at the immense effort of mentally decrypting a two-thousand-digit key, entirely in his head, with only a few seconds left until the satellite drops.

* This is shown to happen to the three guys from ''Film/{{Chronicle}}'' whenever they overuse their powers. [[spoiler:It also seems to work like a psychic connection between the three when something happens to one of the others.]]
* The BigBad of ''Film/TheDarkTower2017'' has a CompellingVoice that few have the power to resist. When a seer tries to do so, she starts bleeding from the nose to show the effort she's putting into it. ResistanceIsFutile and she dies from the strain, [[HeroicSuicide though dying from the strain did, in fact, thwart his plans]].

* In ''Literature/{{Firestarter}}'', Andy has this happen to him whenever he uses his [[JediMindTrick mental domination]] powers.

* Happens in ''Literature/TheShadowSpeaker'' when Ejii tries to search Dikeogu's mind.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': In ''Literature/DeathStar'', a marginally Force-sensitive stormtrooper called Nova Stihl is hit hard by the [[EarthShatteringKaboom destruction of the prison planet Despayre]], the Death Star's first test. Nova woke up screaming and felt like he had heard a million people cry out, all at once, as they were killed. Shortly afterwards the Death Star destroys Alderaan. For that, Nova was awake, but he was knocked unconscious and woke up with a nosebleed and intense muscle tremors. Poor conflicted bastard.
* Visenna gives herself one after overexerting herself healing Geralt in the ''Literature/SwordOfDestiny'' book of ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' series.
** In ''Literature/TowerOfTheSwallow'', Joanna Selborne, nickname "Kenna", finishes giving testimony to the tribunal at the Citadel in Nilfgaard regarding her defection from Stefan Skellen's gang due to disaffection with his obsessive goal of capturing Ciri. Just as the judge is about to order the guards to take her back to her cell, she successfully uses her telepathic powers to have him order her released instead so she can be a free woman. She then surreptitiously wipes away her nosebleed, smiles and thanks the judge with a bow.
* Penric gets a nosebleed from shamanic magic in ''Literature/WorldOfTheFiveGods'', but justified in that that's his way of powering the BloodMagic.
* ''Literature/HoshiAndTheRedCityCircuit'': When Hoshi's [[BrainComputerInterface navis]] malfunctions at night, dumping information from all over the city into her head, she wakes up with a nosebleed.
* ''Literature/InCryptid'': When Sarah uses her telepathy too strongly, she gets a nosebleed. However, [[HumanOutsideAlienInside Johrlac]] blood is clear, so it just looks like she has a runny nose.

* Similarly, various psychic characters in ''Series/TheFortyFourHundred'' have had nosebleeds when using their powers.

** The obvious source of TouchedByVorlons has Lyta Alexander, who winds up with bleeding eyes. Bleeding, black-socketed, empty eyes.
** A variant: when Lyta forces Bester out of her mind in the fourth season, he reacts as if punched in the jaw. In another confrontation Bester hypothesises that Lyta can't take his entire team at once since she is sweating after pushing back two. She replies that if she pushes too hard she might pop someone's blood vessel and cause them brain damage. Posturing ensues.

* ''Series/{{Carnivale}}'': Ben Hawkins got one after he used some form of astral projection.
* In the ''Series/Class2016'' episode "Detained", Charlie bleeds from the nose and eyes while mentally battling a homicidal alien consciousness possessing a meteorite.

* It was [[ScrewedByTheNetwork never made clear]] whether the nosebleed was due to PsychicPowers or something else, but the "Two by two, hands of blue" assassins in ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' had a device which caused a progression of symptoms like this: your nose bleeds a little, your nose bleeds a lot, your mouth bleeds, [[TearsOfBlood your]] [[EyeScream eyes bleed]], you die.
* On ''Series/{{Fringe}}'', if [[spoiler:an Observer]] "reads" you, you can fight it. Symptoms include nosebleeds, bloody eyes, permanent brain damage, and death. (But you might keep him from reading you.)

** Hiro Nakamura, plus a psychic ear bleed, a burst vein in his eye, fainting, and [[spoiler:a brain tumor]]!
** Some other characters as well, such as The Haitian and Eric Doyle. For a list of all the examples, [[http://heroeswiki.com/Nosebleed see here.]]

* {{Parodied|Trope}} in an episode of ''Series/LateNightWithConanOBrien'' where a psychic guest loses copious amounts of blood while using telepathy. The psychic's spoon is indeed ''nudged'', although he is now wearing a wet red shirt for it.

** This occurs whenever a consciousness becomes "unstuck in time" and is forcibly moved between the past and the future without a constant. Those suffering the effects of temporal displacement experience headaches, confusion, memory loss, nosebleeds, and eventually death by cerebral hemorrhage. A major character has died because of this.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS3E9Warlord Warlord]]", the titular villain [[GrandTheftMe takes over Kes]] and starts using her psychic powers for his own evil purposes, like [[BadBoss putting his minions in their place]]. This trope ensues, and given that the aliens on the receiving end have [[BizarreAlienBiology more than the usual number of nasal orifices]], it gets rather bloody.

* In ''Series/StrangerThings'', when Eleven uses her powers, her nose bleeds (when she really exerts herself, so do her ears). She gets them when exerting even a tiny fraction of the force she's capable of and generally ignores them except to wipe the blood away. [[spoiler: Kali also does this when she creates illusions and so does Terry Ives whe communicating with Jane.]] By season 3, people start getting worried about Eleven's health after she's been using her powers a lot. In one scene, a large pile of blood-stained tissues establishes that she's been using her powers continuously for some time.

* Just about everyone who had been TouchedByVorlons in ''Series/{{Taken}}'' does this. In fact, the series ends with the super-psychic girl giving all her fellow abductees nosebleeds to push out the small transistors that the aliens have placed in their brains, to prevent future re-abductions.

** ''Cadian Blood'' has the Sanctioned Psyker Seth who is hit especially hard by this sort of thing; one devastating attack he was said to have launched and melted an enemy tank to slag, but shattered his teeth and left him in a coma for a week. When in a trance, he is only peripherally aware that his body is convulsing, bleeding, vomiting... This sort of thing is common for nearly all human psykers, save those of the Astartes and most of the Inquisition.

* Very popular trope with spellcasting characters in the Fantasy meets CyberPunk [[TabletopGame roleplaying game]] ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', especially common with hermetic mages. Or, more precisely, not ''popular'' at all with {{player character}}s as such, but rather with their ''players''. Considering that the use of one's magical abilities, psychic battles with spirits or astral combat between astral bodies can result in fatigue and even physical injuries, a magically active character can easily overexert himself into unconsciousness or death.
* ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil'' has the Vanguard Serial Crimes Unit, a task force of the FBI devoted to hunting down [[SlasherMovie supernaturally-empowered serial killers]] and trained in the psychic arts. Each use of their powers requires them to take a small amount of damage, likely manifesting as a Psychic Nosebleed.
* Psionics in most versions of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has the possibility of nosebleeds (and much, much worse) when psionic attacks are attempted with low wis or against psionically strong opponents.

* ''VideoGame/BeyondTwoSouls'' main heroine will experience nosebleeds as well as ''[[ProphetEyes other]]'' symptoms of transcendence.
* In the demo for ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'', your partner character Elizabeth can actually get a nosebleed from using too much of her psychokinetic powers as seen [[http://bioshock.wikia.com/wiki/File:20100918_ch311.jpg here.]] In the final game, Booker experiences nosebleeds when his mind tries to comprehend differences between what he believes about his experiences within the multiverse and what memories he's repressed.
* Not quite a nosebleed, but in ''Franchise/MassEffect'', [[MindOverMatter biotics]] with lower-grade implants can suffer things like mental disorders and frequent headaches. Doctor Chakwas says that Kaidan's early-model implant port means he regularly has to deal with blinding migraines. Kaidan himself alludes to the potential for literal nosebleeds when biotics overexert themselves.
** Played straight in the ''Leviathan'' {{DLC}} for ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''. [[spoiler: During Shepard's [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind conversation]] with Leviathan, we see their nose begin to bleed, due to the strain of resisting Leviathan's attempts to control them.]]
* Taken one [[{{Squick}} squicky]] step higher in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3''. The Sorrow's ''[[TearsOfBlood eye]]'' bleeds and the lens of his glasses cracks when he uses his psychic powers to "test" Naked Snake (because [[spoiler:he's really DeadAllAlong]], and both are an allusion to [[spoiler:[[EyeScream how he died]]]]).

** Max begins experiencing nosebleeds after extended use of her ability to rewind short segments of time.
** [[spoiler:Max's ability to jump into photographs leads to several nosebleeds during Episode 5, where at one point she time travels - while simultaneously in the middle of time travelling]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Galerians}}'' draws heavily on ''Scanners'' for inspiration and makes frequent use of this trope. It's sometimes coupled with TearsOfBlood when herculean mental efforts are underway.
* ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse'': While it never actually happens, if you have Max try and read the minds of the Sam clones outside the warehouse in "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls", he complains "My nasal passages are about to receive a visit from Uncle Flo."

* [[DeadpanSnarker Colin]] from ''Webcomic/TwoKeys'' gets a major one of these with blood coming out of his nose, mouth and ears after having a TroubledBackstoryFlashback brought on by Landon's psychic MindScrew. It left him in trouble [[http://www.mangamagazine.net/read-manga/Two-Keys-Chapter-9-Sandbagging/9/8/8?lang=en in the middle of a fight.]]
* ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'' is prone to Psychic Nosebleed when he's been fighting titanic battles on the mental plane. See example [[http://dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2007-10-08 here.]]
** This could also be explained that Dominic Deegan merely slammed his face onto the desk while battling in the mental plane.
* In ''Webcomic/ErrantStory'', garden-variety telepathic communication may or may not cause a nosebleed -- hard to tell from what we've seen of it -- but [[spoiler:possession by a [[http://www.errantstory.com/2010-05-19/4810 ghod,]]]] and the communication that ensues, definitely will do the trick.
* Immense concentrations of evil can cause paladins to suffer from these in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', along with near-crippling headaches.
* ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' has this happen to Tycho when Gabe tries to [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/04/09/ hate him to death.]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', noses aren't normally drawn, but Sollux starts bleeding profusely from his eyes and mouth [[spoiler: from the immense exertion necessary to push a meteor quite a long distance away to the Green Sun that had recently been created.]] The stress is so bad that some of the veins beneath his skin burst as well.
* In ''Webcomic/AwkwardZombie'', [[VideoGame/EarthBound Ness]] experiences a literal one when [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]] triggers [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros an X-Bomb in Magicant]], as seen [[http://awkwardzombie.com/index.php?page=0&comic=072715 here.]]
* In ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'', this [[http://www.sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=398 happens to Lalli]] when he summons his ''luonto''.

* ''WebVideo/ThereWillBeBrawl'': [[spoiler:Luigi and Ganondorf both suffer these--and more--at the hands of Lucas and Ness, the Butchers.]]
** [[spoiler: Luigi]] gets away with ''only'' the nosebleed. [[spoiler: Ganondorf]] ends up bleeding ''from his eyes, ears, and mouth'' too.

--> '''Krillin''': My turn my turn MY TURN!!!\\
'''Nappa''': ''[stops]''\\
'''Vegeta''': Wh--... Nappa, what are you doing?\\
'''Nappa''': It's his turn, Vegeta. I have to wait for him.\\
'''Vegeta''': Uhh... uh... uhh!" (nose starts to bleed).\\
'''Nappa''': You OK, Vegeta?\\
'''Vegeta''': Yes, just... just an aneurysm out of sheer stupidity.\\
'''Nappa''': Wow! Didn't think you were that stupid, Vegeta.\\
'''Vegeta''': WAAAARGHHHHHH!!!
* ''Dangerous Lunatics'' has this happen when Tyler [[spoiler: gets electrocuted to the point of coma by Dr. Beatrix and Thurston, at the same time as he tries to use his power to leap out of his body]]. [[spoiler: He partially succeeds, though.]]
* ''WebSite/SFDebris'' points out in his review of the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode, "Warlord," that massive mental powers often result in a nosebleed from either those using them or their victim. Most of the people on the receiving end of a possessed Kes' telepathic attack are RubberForeheadAliens with six nostrils going up their forehead, so they have ''even more'' noses to bleed from. Yuck.
** [[{{Squick}} To add to the yuck, the position of some of the nostrils means that the afflicted aliens are at risk of bleeding]] [[EyeScream INTO THEIR EYES]].
* The ''Fanfic/AntiClicheAndMarySueEliminationSociety'''s Stephen gets one of these when his psychic powers get activated in ''Manga/{{Psyren}}''.
* In ''Literature/PayMeBug'', this is one of the dangers of having your mind read by a [[{{Telepathy}} S]][[KnightTemplar w]][[ChurchMilitant o]][[AsskickingEqualsAuthority r]][[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity d]]
* ''WebVideo/TransolarGalactica'' plays with this trope in episode VIII: Ominous, when the ship's psychic Samson attempts telepathy with the StringyHairedGhostGirl that they've taken aboard. It ends up with his head exploding.
* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', overusing [[AwesomenessByAnalysis her ability]] gives Tattletale migraines.

* Dr. Killinger from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' manages to induce this upon Dr. Orpheus by [[PsychicBlockDefense merely casually resisting his psychic assault]] until Orpheus overexerts himself.
-->'''Dr. Killinger:''' Your powers vill not vurk on me, you silly-billy.
* While not bloody, Niko from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' has, on several occasions, exerted herself to the point of collapse. The first example was "New Frontier." While attempting to detect Eliza's location, the Queen intrudes into the vision and rather violently pushes back.
* This happens to Gary in the ''WesternAnimation/FinalSpace'' episode "The Happy Place" while he's plugged into a LotusEaterMachine.

For nasal hemorrhages that are more of [[{{Fanservice}} sexual]] than [[PsychicPowers psychic]] nature, see {{Nosebleed}}. And for a psychic trope that may result in such, see DirtyMindReading.

* Three years prior to the {{Trope Maker|s}}, ''Film/TheFury'' presents another UrExample. Gillian's unfamiliarity with her powers causes bleeding on people who touch her, especially if they're already injured in some way (i.e., a wound opens back up). At the end, [[spoiler:he weaponizes her by-then enhanced powers to kill the BigBad by making him explode]].

[[caption-width-right:279:Cameron Vale [[PstandardPsychicPstance ponders]] and [[TropeMaker bleeds]].]]

->''"I, I must remind you that the, uh, scanning experience is usually a painful one, sometimes resulting in nosebleeds, earaches, stomach cramps, nausea."''

* In ''Manga/{{Gantz}}'', the psychics Sakata and Sakurai get a slight nosebleed when they use their psychic abilities. [[spoiler: This is explained as using these abilities pushes their bodies past limits that just shouldn't be pushed, resulted in wearing out their insides in a process that's exactly like ageing: although they always appear to be the same age, their bodies are becoming that of old men by using these abilities. Of course, considering the Old Man character that's the Hero's Right Hand Man, this might not be a BAD thing, per se.]]
** Oh, but it gets better. Later on, when [[spoiler: Sakata holds back an enormous alien at the risk of his life to give Sakurai and Reita a chance to escape]], he bleeds from the nose, mouth, eyes ''and'' ears. Ouch.

** When Inoichi telepathically communicates to [[spoiler:an entire army of 20,000 at once]] he ends up getting a nosebleed.

* A common occurrence in ''Manga/{{Psyren}}''. Psychicers commonly have nosebleeds after they either develop or exhaust their abilities.
* In ''Anime/WeissKreuz Gluhen'', Shimojima develops a nasty nosebleed while Berger is using his PsychicPowers to force Shimojima to drive his car out of control. The nosebleed abates when Berger stops.
* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' when Haruna's artifact is used to defend from a massive attack on all sides, she is knocked unconscious and receives a slight head injury from the feedback received from her artifact.
* In ''[[Anime/AfterWarGundamX Gundam X]]'', ex-Newtype Jamil Neet starts bleeding from the ears while attempting to communicate with another Newtype, Tiffa Adil.
* Anemone from ''Anime/EurekaSeven'' has these, but it's used as an indicator of the abuse her job puts on her mind and body rather than actual psychic powers.
* While not due to psychic efforts, near the end of ''Anime/SummerWars'', Kenji's nose starts to bleed at the immense effort of mentally decrypting a two-thousand digit key, entirely in his head, with only a few seconds left until the satellite drops.
* In ''Anime/NightRaid1931'', Yukina suffers one after [[spoiler: working with Shizune and her seer powers to show a strong illusion of an atomic bomb in effect to a crowd of people as a warning.]]
* In ''Manga/YamadaKunAndTheSevenWitches'', this has happened a couple of times when Meiko Otsuka and others with her telepathy power overexert themselves.
* ''Anime/BatmanNinja''. Batman discovers the Joker has lost his memory, restoring him to sanity. As the Joker believes himself to be a harmless farmer, Batman decides to leave him alone [[spoiler:not knowing that the Joker has hypnotised himself as a MemoryGambit. On seeing the hypnotic trigger that reactivates his memories the Joker starts to bleed from his nose, so he smears the blood across his mouth to create the familiar Joker smile.]]
* ''Anime/NightheadGenesis'': Naoto gets a nose-bleed in class after being overwhelmed with his powers.

* Max Lord, of the ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', had a small nosebleed whenever he used his metahuman "push" ability. In ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueGenerationLost'', Max [[spoiler:pushed his powers far enough to erase memories of his existence from ''everyone'' on the planet except for ComicBook/BoosterGold, Fire, Ice and ComicBook/CaptainAtom]]. To do so, he had to constantly replenish his blood supply from the massive haemmorhage it gave him.
* The ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' series has quite a few examples cropping up from time to time. Any character that suffers psychic stress seems prone to the Psychic Nosebleed. In recent times it happened in both the movie and the ComicBook/CivilWar. For example we have Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman. Also, Marvel Boy/Justice also got nosebleeds when overusing his psychic powers.
* ''ComicBook/MarvelsVoices: Indigenous Voices'': Silver Fox's husband Trigo can look into a being's future by touching them, but doing so clearly takes a toll on his health, including starting large nosebleeds.
* ''Comicbook/XMen''.
** ComicBook/JeanGrey and Rachel Summers. Hardly surprising, since the second is the first's time-travelling daughter from [[ComicBook/DaysOfFuturePast an alternate future.]]
** Comicbook/{{Cable}} (Jean's Clone's time-traveling son from ''this'' reality) subverted this on one occasion by bringing him''self'' back from the dead without any problems. Usually, though, he suffers psychic nosebleeds when doing things like inadvertently mind-controlling a continent's worth of people, saving airborne continents from crashing after gravity comes back into effect, or beating up the cosmically-powered Silver Surfer in an attempt to [[ExplosiveOverclocking burn out his own powers]].

** In the Marvel Age we have ComicBook/EmmaFrost. She constantly gets severe nosebleeds as her abilities are awakening.
** In the 80s graphic novel ''ComicBook/GodLovesManKills'', a brainwashed Professor X psychically attacked Storm and Cyclops, almost killing them--they were left unconscious, with [[DeadlyNosebleed blood trickling out their noses]].
** During the ''X-Nation'' arc, ComicBook/{{Magneto}} sufferred a severe nosebleed, along with severe sweating and convulsions as a result of the strain involved when he locked onto the Breakworld missile (which was several light years away at the time), and bring it back to Earth to rescue ComicBook/KittyPryde.
* The villain Saturn Queen from the ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' comics.
* Sophie, one of the Stepford Cuckoos from ''New X-Men'', suffered a psychic nosebleed before her death while using Cerebra (the upgraded version of Cerebro). This was a combination of several factors; she wasn't a strong enough psychic to control Cerebra, and was on the [[DeadlyUpgrade mutant-power-boosting drug]] "Kick" in order to do so. Combined with her inexperience with the machine, it's somewhat unsurprising that it led to her death.
* In an issue of Creator/ChuckDixon's ''ComicBook/Team7'', a Russian telepath tries to use her PsychicRadar to track them through the Cambodian jungle. It doesn't work, due to a ''"greater power."'' She gets a Psychic Nosebleed for her trouble.
* ''ComicBook/ExMachina'': Mitchell Hundred is a {{technopath}} who gets nosebleeds when he overexerts the use of his powers, such as when he forcibly landed one of hijacked planes during the 9/11 attacks.

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': In this ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' Franchise/MonsterVerse fanfiction, exposure to intense enough dosages of Ghidorah's PsychicPowers can have a BrownNote effect which can cause bleeding from orifices including the nose in humans. [[spoiler:In Chapter 14, when Ghidorah violently makes psychic contact with Monster X, both of Monster X's heads suffer this trope with BloodFromTheMouth and extreme seizures]].
* In ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, an unscrupulous asari experiences this. [[Franchise/StarWars Disruptor]] blast 1, biotic barriers 0. The encounter is ultimately fatal even though she doesn't end up vaporized.

** Fred and George discuss the trope in the sequel, ''Ghosts of the Past'', noting how Harry and [[spoiler: Voldemort's]] psychic fight didn't really look like much from the outside, aside from this.
* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' fanfic [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/29650704/chapters/72899745 The Lost World]], Spock ends up with one of these after he managed to telepathically repair/heal a psychic master computer. Given that the other telepaths to try the same had either been killed outright or driven insane, Kirk is naturally horrified to find him bleeding and unconscious.
* In ''Fanfic/WaitingIsWorthIt'', after Izuku was able to obliterate the giant robot in the entrance exam, he tries using his quirk to float himself to safety when he starts falling, only to be met with a sharp pain in his head. This strongly implies that even his abilities has a limit and can take a toll on him physically.

* ''FanFic/GreenTeaRescue'': Izuku's Psychokinesis Quirk is quite useful when he's built it up, but overuse or attempting to lift something heavier than his current limits can result in heavy nose bleed or even concussions that can put him down for extended periods of time.
* In ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' fanfic [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/27539824 Mind Sifter]], Commander Spock is subjected to the titular MindRape device. His Vulcan PsychicPowers allow him to resist, but the strain it takes is pretty much evident when, after the interrogation is over, he wakes up with his face wet from blood and tears.

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/Boy7'' (2015) this is what happens to the young people in the social rehabilitation center [[spoiler: when their memories, which were deleted by the company before, come back as some significant stimuli reaches the character.]]
* This happens to Zorg in ''Film/TheFifthElement'' when having a telephone conversation with the BigBad, though weirdly it seems to be oozing out of the top of his head. [[BlackBlood And seems to have been corrupted to boot.]]
* The movie ''Film/TheButterflyEffect'' has the main character start to get nosebleeds after he has several blackouts. Each blackout (i.e. each use of his power) cause worse and worse damage to the main character's brain. This is caused by the main character's RippleEffectProofMemory kicking in and the memories being physically written into his brain and co-existing with the older sets. After the first couple of times the main character fiddles with the past, he gets an MRI and the doctor notes that his brain has all the age-induced scarring of someone twice as old as him.
* ''Film/Dune1984'' involved a scene in which several Bene Gesserit (psychic witches) cried blood when Paul drank [[PsychoSerum the Water of Life]].
* ''Film/{{Scanners}}'' not only [[TropeMakers invented this trope]], it pushed it farther than anyone has since, where it shows that enough psychic energy not only causes noses to bleed, but veins to pop leaks, eyes to bulge and even pop out, and, in one famous scene, ''[[YourHeadASplode an entire head to explode]]''. There's also a scene where the psychic protagonist is explicitly trained to [[BodyHorror mess with the opponent's biological functions]]. After all, it's hard to stay focused if you're having a heart attack or worse.
* In ''Film/TheRing'', characters experience a nosebleed whenever the Curse's influence grows particularly strong.
* Shown to happen to the three guys from ''Film/{{Chronicle}}'' whenever they overuse their powers. [[spoiler:Also seems to work like a psychic connection between the three when something happens to one of the others.]]
* In ''Film/FantasticFour2005'', Susan Storm aka Invisible Woman, suffered a nosebleed when she formed a force field around the ensuing "supernova" her brother Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch created to defeat Dr. Doom. It also happened on the Brooklyn Bridge, when she first discovered her force field abilities by containing another (unrelated) fire. In the DVD cast commentary, Jessica Alba mentioned that she liked the idea, since it shows how much she's pushing herself.
* ''Film/ResidentEvilApocalypse'' had this at the end. Security guard nosebleeds and dies.
* In ''Film/LetTheRightOneIn'', something similar to this happens when [[spoiler: vampires enter without being invited. Well, more like they start bleeding from... everywhere.]]
* In ''Film/{{Firestarter}}'', Andy has this happen to him whenever he uses his [[JediMindTrick mental domination]] powers.
* An UrExample appears in ''Film/TheWizardOfGore'' to show that Montag had the morgue attendant hypnotized. It's later revealed that the attendant died from the experience.
* Used in ''Film/{{Valentine}}''; whatever was killing the victims left all of them with nosebleeds after they died.
* ''Film/PacificRim'': Using the mental link without a partner or [[spoiler: on a {{Kaiju}} brain]] causes aneurysms, shown as this.
* In the Chevy Chase comedy ''Film/ModernProblems'', he uses his new psychic powers to make someone else's nose bleed. Note that ''Scanners'' was released in January 1981 and this was released that December, making it likely this was a deliberate ShoutOut or spoof.

* ''Film/TheDarkTower2017''. The BigBad has a CompellingVoice that few have the power to resist. When a seer tries to do so, she starts bleeding from the nose to show the effort she's putting into it. ResistanceIsFutile and she dies from the strain. [[HeroicSuicide Though dying from the strain did, in fact, thwart his plans.]]

* Akan, the BigBad of ''Film/HardcoreHenry'', has telekinetic powers, and is prone to bleed, particularly from the mouth, when he overexerts himself with them. By the end of the movie, the front of his shirt is soaked from how heavily he uses him.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarshipTroopersTraitorOfMars''. After imprisoning Minister of Paranormal Warfare Carl Jenkins because he found out about her EvilPlan, Sky Marshall Snapp is giving a RousingSpeech on a live Fed Net broadcast when she suddenly starts bleeding from the nose. As she's obsessed with her public image, she's ''not'' happy and has her goons give Carl a good beating.

* In ''Film/Freaks2018'', Abnormals bleed from one corner of their eye when they use their power in an intense manner. In extreme cases, they start coughing blood as well.
* Three years prior to the TropeMaker, ''Film/TheFury'' presented another UrExample. Gillian's unfamiliarity with her powers causes bleeding on people who touch her, especially if they're already injured in some way (i.e. a wound opens back up). At the end, [[spoiler: she weaponizes her by-then enhanced powers to kill the BigBad by making him explode]].
* ''Film/ArmyOfFrankensteins'': Every time Alan sees through his Frankenstein's eyes, he gets a splitting headache.

* In ''Literature/{{Abarat}}'': Days of Magic, Nights of War Malingo suffers from this when Carion is interfering with his control over the glyph.
* ''Literature/AuroraCycle'': Auri O'Malley gets these [[spoiler:when she uses her powers as the [[{{Precursors}} Eshvaren's]] [[LivingWeapon Trigger]], or when the power takes her over]].

* In Creator/SimonRGreen's ''Literature/{{Deathstalker}}'' series, Espers and the Maze People have this happen rather often, when pulling off big time abilities.

* In a subversion of the trope, in ''Literature/TheMerchantPrincesSeries'' by Creator/CharlesStross the ''Psychic Nosebleed'' is a common side effect of the dimension hopping powers of said princes. The subversion comes from the fact that it is a side effect of malignant hypertension and can be treated with beta blockers and other medication.
* ''{{Literature/Nightside}}'': Happens to John Taylor when he pushes his gift too hard, either by using it too many times in quick succession or by forcing his perceptions past some kind of mystical/psychic barrier.

* Subverted in ''Series/{{Cleopatra 2525}}'' when a telepath spends six months deliberately inducing a nosebleed as part of her escape plan.

** Angela Petrelli in the second season, when she (unsuccessfully) resisted Matt's mental assault.

** Hiro Nakamura, plus a psychic ear bleed, a burst vein in his eye, and fainting. And now [[spoiler:a brain tumor]]!

* ''Series/KyleXY'' did this when he overused his powers. Happened more often to Jessie than it did to Kyle.
* Parodied in an episode of ''[[Series/LateNight Late Night With Conan O'Brien]]'', where a psychic guest loses copious amounts of blood while using telepathy. The psychic's spoon is indeed ''nudged'', although he is now wearing a wet red shirt for it.

* The first time Eliot from ''[[Series/TheMagicians2016 The Magicians]]'' accidentally used magic, he got a nosebleed.
* In the season premiere of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' season 8, Dr. Cox gets one of these while trying to resist an infectious smile. It's more a battle of wills than psychic, but still qualifies.
** Although it takes place in one of JD's {{Imagine Spot}}s.

* In ''Series/StargateSG1'' Jonas Quinn gets a few of these while using precognitive abilities gained by the Goa'uld Nirrti experimenting with his DNA.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "Warlord", the VillainOfTheWeek [[GrandTheftMe takes over Kes]] and starts using her psychic powers for his own evil purposes, like [[BadBoss putting his minions in their place]]. This trope ensues, and given that the aliens on the receiving end have [[BizarreAlienBiology more than the usual number of nasal orifices]], it gets rather bloody.

** When Kira allows one of the Prophets to take her body to fight a Pah Wraith (in the body of Jake Sisko), the exertion gives her a Psychic Nosebleed.
** In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS04E21TheMuse The Muse]]", Jake experiences a Psychic Nosebleed ([[spoiler:twice]]) because an alien creature is [[spoiler: stimulating his creativity in order to feed off his mental energy]].

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Happens to [[Characters/SupernaturalSamWinchester Sam]] on ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' when he uses his PsychicPowers to exorcise demons, first when he was learning how and later when he gets rid of an especially tough demon.
* Sci-fi show ''Series/{{Threshold}}'' has Creator/CarlaGugino's character getting nosebleeds every time she even remotely hears the alien signal - EVEN when she's talking on a phone to a friend on a quiet private plane, and neither the friend nor the audience can hear the signal being played on the plane.
* Just about everyone who had been TouchedByVorlons in the miniseries ''Series/{{Taken}}'' did this. In fact the series ended with the super psychic girl giving all her fellow abductees nosebleeds to push out the small transistors that the aliens had placed in their brains, to prevent future re-abductions.
* Anna of the rebooted ''[[Series/{{V 2009}} V]]'' gets psychic eyebleeds when she uses her bliss on a human.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' nosebleeds are a 'secondary indicative symptom of proximal psychic activity'. Specific examples include:

* Happens to Jenkins in the ''WesternAnimation/StarshipTroopersInvasion'' cartoon, hours after he's overexerted himself by making a brain bug [[YourHeadASplode ''explode'']]. It's used while he's alone to illustrate that he did more to himself than he let on to his squadmates.
* Happens to Homer from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. While undergoing lucid dream therapy, Bart and Lisa (or, rather, Homer's representation of their memory) start attacking the scenery to jar the blocked memory. Back outside, Homer receives a nosebleed.
* Dr. Killinger in ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' manages to induce this upon Dr. Orpheus by merely casually resisting his psychic assault until Orpheus overexerts himself.

* While not bloody, Niko in ''[[WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers Galaxy Rangers]]'' has, on several occasions, exerted herself to the point of collapse. The first example was "New Frontier." While attempting to detect Eliza's location, the Queen intrudes into the vision and rather violently pushes back.
* Manchester Black suffers one at one point in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanVsTheElite.''
* Happens to Gary in the ''WesternAnimation/FinalSpace'' episode "The Happy Place" while he's plugged into a LotusEaterMachine.

Purely mental battles are hard to show with special effects. Sure, you can have the characters sweat, strain, or show [[CrossPoppingVeins veins swelling on their forehead]]. But when a character with {{Telepathy}} or other PsychicPowers [[DeadlyUpgrade pushes them to the limit]], or when a character is under [[MindProbe mental]] [[MindRape attack]], or on the losing end of a [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind duel with another psychic]], nothing quite exemplifies the true state of affairs like a thin trickle of blood oozing from their nose.

Exactly how much damage this implies varies from place to place. Exaggerated versions of this include blood from the eyes, or eyes and nose simultaneously. Within nodding distance of TruthInTelevision, as rupture of the capillaries inside the nasal membranes ''is'' a recognized (albeit rare, and usually only seen in people already in poor health) symptom of dangerously high blood pressure, such as that caused by extreme emotional stress, physical strain, or -- presumably -- intense psychic effort. Sudden nosebleeds under stress have been known to precede strokes.

Bleeding from the eyes or ears instead of or alongside a nosebleed could be considered variations of this trope. Blood from the ears in particular is a more worrying sight than a nosebleed, because it's a highly recognisable sign of head trauma.

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]
* In ''Literature/TheBible'', Jesus is praying at the Mount of Olives just before His arrest, and His sweat appears like drops of blood (Luke 22:44).
[[/folder]]

* ''WebVideo/TransolarGalactica'' plays with this trope in episode VIII: Ominous, when the ship's psychic Samson attempts telepathy with the StringyHairedGhostGirl that they've taken aboard. It ends up with his [[UpToEleven head exploding]].

-->-- [[YourHeadASplode A very unfortunate man]], ''Film/{{Scanners}}''

* In ''Series/StrangerThings'', when Eleven uses her powers, her nose bleeds (when she really exerts herself, so do her ears). She gets them when exerting even a tiny fraction of the force she's capable of and generally ignores them except to wipe the blood away. [[spoiler: Kali also does this when she creates illusions.]]

* ''Series/BabylonFive'',

* In ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' a device called the Disrupter gives this and a headache to anyone with the brain structure of a Doll. [[spoiler: which comes in handy for TheReveal of Senator Perrin's origin.]]

* On ''Series/{{Fringe}}'', if [[spoiler: an Observer]] "reads" you, you can fight it. Symptoms include nosebleeds, bloody eyes, permanent brain damage, and death. (But you might keep him from reading you.)

* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' fanfic [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/29650704/chapters/72899745 The Lost World]], Spock ends up with one of these after he managed to telepathically repair/heal a psychic mastercomputer. Given that the other telepaths to try the same had either been killed outright or driven insane, Kirk is naturally horrified to find him bleeding and unconscious.

* In ''Literature/{{Abarat}}'': Days of Magic, Nights of War Malingo suffers from this when Carion is interfereing with his control over the glyph.

* In ''Literature/RachelGriffin'', one character is found "gushing" blood from intense mental stress caused by fighting against a magical compulsion. Overlaps with DeadlyNosebleed, as she passes out from bloodloss and explicitly would have died without prompt treatment.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', when Chloe telepathically connects with the [[MacGuffin crystal of knowledge]] [[spoiler:using her Brainiac abilities]] to save Clark, she gets a nosebleed before collapsing.
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'':
** Telepathic cop Matt Parkman in the first season.
** Angela Petrelli in the second season, when she (unsuccessfully) resisted Matt's mental assault.
** Peter Petrelli in the second season finale.
** Hiro Nakamura, plus a psychic ear bleed, a burst vein in his eye, and fainting. And now [[spoiler:a brain tumor]]!
** Some other characters as well, such as The Haitian and Eric Doyle. For a list of all the examples, [[http://heroeswiki.com/Nosebleed see here.]]
* Just about everyone who had been TouchedByVorlons in the miniseries ''Series/{{Taken}}'' did this. In fact the series ended with the super psychic girl giving all her fellow abductees nosebleeds to push out the small transistors that the aliens had placed in their brains, to prevent future re-abductions.

* Similarly, various psychic characters in ''Series/TheFortyFourHundred'' have had nosebleeds when using their powers.
* Sci-fi show ''Series/{{Threshold}}'' has Creator/CarlaGugino's character getting nosebleeds every time she even remotely hears the alien signal - EVEN when she's talking on a phone to a friend on a quiet private plane, and neither the friend nor the audience can hear the signal being played on the plane.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "Warlord", the VillainOfTheWeek [[GrandTheftMe takes over Kes]] and starts using her psychic powers for his own evil purposes, like [[BadBoss putting his minions in their place]]. This trope ensues, and given that the aliens on the receiving end have [[BizarreAlienBiology more than the usual number of nasal orifices]], it gets rather bloody.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
** When Kira allows one of the Prophets to take her body to fight a Pah Wraith (in the body of Jake Sisko), the exertion gives her a Psychic Nosebleed.
** In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS04E21TheMuse The Muse]]", Jake experiences a Psychic Nosebleed ([[spoiler:twice]]) because an alien creature is [[spoiler: stimulating his creativity in order to feed off his mental energy]].
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'':
** This occurs whenever a consciousness becomes "unstuck in time" and is forcibly moved between the past and the future without a constant. Those suffering the effects of temporal displacement experience headaches, confusion, memory loss, nosebleeds, and eventually death by cerebral hemorrhage. A major character has died because of this.
** Other examples abound on the show when characters willingly or unwittingly screw with the forces literally surrounding the island.
* ''Series/KyleXY'' did this when he overused his powers. Happened more often to Jessie than it did to Kyle.
* When D'Anna uses the machine on the Algae Planet in the third season of ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'', she experiences a psychic vision while her body has a nosebleed and then dies.
* Parodied in an episode of ''[[Series/LateNight Late Night With Conan O'Brien]]'', where a psychic guest loses copious amounts of blood while using telepathy. The psychic's spoon is indeed ''nudged'', although he is now wearing a wet red shirt for it.
* Happens to Sam on ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' when he uses his PsychicPowers to exorcise demons, first when he was learning how and later when he gets rid of an especially tough demon.
* In the season premiere of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' season 8, Dr. Cox gets one of these while trying to resist an infectious smile. It's more a battle of wills than psychic, but still qualifies.
** Although it takes place in one of JD's {{Imagine Spot}}s.

* In ''Series/StargateSG1'' Jonas Quinn gets a few of these while using precognitive abilities gained by the Goa'uld Nirrti experimenting with his DNA.
* In ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' a device called the Disrupter gives this and a headache to anyone with the brain structure of a Doll. [[spoiler: which comes in handy for TheReveal of Senator Perrin's origin.]]
* Subverted in ''Series/{{Cleopatra 2525}}'' when a telepath spends six months deliberately inducing a nosebleed as part of her escape plan.
* Anna of the rebooted ''[[Series/{{V 2009}} V]]'' gets psychic eyebleeds when she uses her bliss on a human.

* In ''Series/StrangerThings'', when Eleven uses her powers, her nose bleeds (when she really exerts herself, so do her ears). She gets them when exerting even a tiny fraction of the force she's capable of and generally ignores them except to wipe the blood away. [[spoiler: Kali also does this when she creates illusions.]]
* In the ''Series/Class2016'' episode "Detained", Charlie bleeds from the nose and eyes while mentally battling a homicidal alien consciousness possessing a meteorite.

* In an issue of Creator/ChuckDixon's ''ComicBook/TeamSeven'', a Russian telepath tries to use her PsychicRadar to track them through the Cambodian jungle. It doesn't work, due to a ''"greater power."'' She gets a Psychic Nosebleed for her trouble.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, an unscrupulous asari experiences this. [[StarWars Disruptor]] blast 1, biotic barriers 0. The encounter is ultimately fatal even though she doesn't end up vaporized.

** It also happens [[http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2004-05-06 here.]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2850 Slick's last work produces ear bleeding.]]

* In ''Boy 7'' (2015) this is what happens to the young people in the social rehabilitation center [[spoiler: when their memories, which were deleted by the company before, come back as some significant stimuli reaches the character.]]

* Visenna gives herself one after overexerting herself healing Geralt in ''Franchise/TheWitcher Literature/SwordOfDestiny''.

* In ''{{Manga/Gantz}}'', the psychics Sakata and Sakurai get a slight nosebleed when they use their psychic abilities. [[spoiler: This is explained as using these abilities pushes their bodies past limits that just shouldn't be pushed, resulted in wearing out their insides in a process that's exactly like ageing: although they always appear to be the same age, their bodies are becoming that of old men by using these abilities. Of course, considering the Old Man character that's the Hero's Right Hand Man, this might not be a BAD thing, per se.]]

* In ''Manga/{{X1999}}'' Subaru Sumeragi has blood coming from his ears after [[JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind going within Kamui]] to bring him back from his borderline AngstComa after [[spoiler: Fuuma's FaceHeelTurn and Kotori's murder]].

* In ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' when Haruna's artifact is used to defend from a massive attack on all sides, she is knocked unconscious and receives a slight head injury from the feedback received from her artifact.