History Main / TemporalSickness

** In the episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang "The Talons of Weng-Chiang"]], Magnus Greel's use of the time-cabinet to travel to the 19th century caused him to develop mutations (and his face to [[Squick melt]]), that needed him to [[VampiricDraining drain the life out of women]] to stay alive.

** The scientists responsible for the project tell Cole that he possesses a mental resilience that makes him a good candidate for time travel: an ability to remember facts and details. He is not unscathed though, as he can GoAmongMadPeople and fit in perfectly.

* In ''Series/SevenDays1998'', Frank Parker is the only '''living''' chrononaut; his survival is attributed to his unusually high tolerance for pain.

* Kyon from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' experiences this every time he (consciously) time travels with Asahina, one incident being seen in the first episode of Haruhi 2009, where [[spoiler: they go off to help Haruhi write a message to some random aliens,]] turning out to [[spoiler: start off the whole premise of the story.]] He talks about the world turning around and wanting to puke (in the novels).

* When the ComicBook/JusticeLeague traveled several thousand years into the past, the human members got sick for a while. Batman was sick the longest because he is the most 'normal'. Green Lantern had some protection but he still got sick. The Flash recovered the fastest because of his super metabolism but he wouldn't recommend recovering that way.

* ''Fanfic/MagicaeEstPotestas'', a crossover between Literature/ArtemisFowl and VideoGame/{{Undertale}}, is also an example. Time travel has been shown to cause memory loss, rearrangement of body parts, or physical and mental de-aging in the Literature/ArtemisFowl series already, but so does MentalTimeTravel - aka the [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Resets]]. Going too back far in time after too many Resets [[spoiler: is what caused the [[LeaveNoSurvivors Genocide runs]]. This has happened twice.]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* ''Film/HappyAccidents'' had Vincent D'Onofrio's character suffer from R.T.D.S. "Residual Temporal Drag Syndrome"
* ''Film/TheTerminator'' had Kyle Reese exhausted and disoriented after his time jump. The Terminator was a machine so it didn't suffer the same problems.

* In ''Film/{{Paradox|2016}}'', the prototype time machine causes disorientation, nosebleeds and a persistent feeling of being unwell. [[spoiler: Its chief architect actually knows it causes brain damage, but he considers his companions expendable for the cause.]]
* ''Film/{{Predestination}}''. People unused to time jumping feel ill, and John has to be hospitalised when the Bartender takes him on a particularly long jump to the future. Temporal agents are warned that making too many jumps can lead to psychosis. [[spoiler:When the Bartender finally catches the Fizzle Bomber, he's revealed to be an insane future version of himself who claims to be working for TheNeedsOfTheMany, but the audience is left to wonder if that's true or just his delusion.]]
* ''Film/TimeFreak'': A mild case, as apparently going back in time causes some sort of sinus headache. After Stillman and Evan travel back in time two minutes via Stillman's Time Machine, Stillman tells Evan to hold the bridge off his nose.

* In Creator/MichaelCrichton's novel ''Literature/{{Timeline}}'', some characters suffer "transcription errors", which accumulate with multiple travels, causing insanity and death.
* In Creator/MichaelMoorcock's ''Literature/BeholdTheMan'' the time traveler has a pretty rough voyage and emerges nauseous. That's nothing to what's about to happen to him, though.
* Hellrides in Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'' series were massively debilitating, involving the equivalents of jet lag and motion sickness as well as exhaustion. They're more dimensional travel than strictly time travel, but the concept is the same.
** One could also take a safe, comfortable trip called the "royal road." Hope you don't have anywhere you have to be at any particular time.
* ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'': Jumping ''between'' times makes you feel "not entirely whole," as F'nor puts it. The effects get worse the farther you travel from your "home" time, and can result in serious mental problems. Returning to your home time makes the effects go away, mostly. This is also the primary way that the worst of all time-travel paradoxes - meeting yourself - is prevented: if you get too close to a you from another time, you get very ill very fast, and usually pass out.

* In the ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' novels people always keep their eyes closed when traveling through time. Open your eyes, and you risk seeing something so horrible that you'll end up puking for weeks.
* In Creator/ConnieWillis' book ''Literature/ToSayNothingOfTheDog'' characters routinely suffer from what is referred to as "time-lag", the effects of which usually last for several days, and consists of physical and mental disorientation; much like a more potent form of jet-lag or a hang-over. This is nicely portrayed when a nurse gives the protagonist a postcard of Oxford. When he rhapsodises over the dreaming spires she diagnoses serious time-lag. Also it allows the characters to carry the idiot ball.
* In Diana Gabaldon's ''Literature/{{Outlander}}'' series, time travel is potentially fatal - and the risk is cumulative, so that each trip is more dangerous than the last. None of the characters have made more than three time-jumps so far. Carrying large precious stones makes it safer and less unpleasant, to some extent, but the gems are consumed during the trip. (The ability to time-travel at all is also a trait only some people have, and is apparently genetically transmitted.)

** In "A Stitch in Time", it is caused not by the act of time travel itself but by the alteration of history. Whenever an alternate timeline is created, the time traveler remembers both the previous timeline and the new one. Travelling through time and [[SerialKillerKiller killing 20 future serial killers]], creating an alternate timeline on each occasion, takes a serious toll on Dr. Theresa Givens' health and she has a cerebral hemorrhage. Although it is not fatal, she realizes that she does not have long left.
** In "Breaking Point", Andrew [=McLaren=] travels two days forward in time and back again. He begins to experience nosebleeds and severe jolts of pain and his behavior becomes highly erratic.
* In ''Series/SevenDays'', Frank Parker is the only '''living''' chrononaut; his survival is attributed to his unusually high tolerance for pain.

* Timesickness (a.k.a. "The Crosstime Cookie Toss") is a common disadvantage in ''GURPS Time Travel''.

* [[spoiler:Porky]] in ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' combines extremely poor physical health with non-stop coughing with AgeWithoutYouth (sort of) and ImmortalityImmorality as the result of excessive time traveeling.
* In ''VideoGame/TimeShift'' it is suggested that time travel may cause disorientation and even memory lost. The Beta suit does counteract some problems, but judging by the intro video motion sickness may be a concern. The player character also passes out shortly after a time jump.
* This can be a side effect of the "tears" in ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite''. The severity of the sickness depends on how well people can cope with it, and people who died in other timelines have it much worse.
* The Chrono Legionnaire unit in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2'' is able to teleport anywhere on the map using the TimeMachine technology invented by UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein (i.e. it's still, technically TimeTravel, minus the "time" part). The farther the jump, the longer the unit has to spend "shifted". While in this state, the unit can't do anything but can be attacked and destroyed. Strangely, the cut scenes showing people using the Chronosphere for actual time travel has no ill effects (beyond the fact that touching someone in the past results in that person ceasing to exist).

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Webcomic/LoveUnlimited2022'': The ''Ms. Marvel & Red Dagger'' arc has a variant. ArcVillain Curio is physically changed and heavily scarred by his time travel. But it also seems to have granted his [[ShockAndAwe electrical powers]].

** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E23Timescape "Timescape"]], improper protection when crossing time continuums can cause a condition known as "temporal narcosis", which causes the sufferer to alternate between hysteria and panic until they are returned to their original time continuum.

*** In the episode [[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS5E23Relativity "Relativity"]], repeated use of time travel causes the user to become progressively ill with a condition known as "temporal psychosis", which can become fatal under some circumstances. [[spoiler:One version of Seven is killed this way, forcing the agents to recruit a past!Seven to fill the gap.]]

** In season 3 of ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', the only one to experience negative side effects after [[spoiler:the ship's jump 930 years into the future]] is Georgiou. When Culber consults Kovich, the strange bespectacled guy at Starfleet Headquarters, he explains that it's a result of time travel coupled with dimensional travel. Since Georgiou is originally from the MirrorUniverse, which [[spoiler:has diverged from the Prime universe in the intervening centuries]], Georgiou's atoms keep alternatively pulling her back in time and across dimensions. Kovich demonstrates the hologram of another such victim, who crossed over from the [[Film/StarTrek2009 Kelvin timeline]] as well as the past, eventually succumbing to the same consequences.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Time travel without a capsule (such as a TARDIS or other time ship) is possible but not recommended due to the temporal sickness it causes. The effects are not explicitly stated, but appear to be similar to being put through a huge tumble dryer.

* In ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', the only one to experience negative side effects after [[spoiler:the ship's jump 930 years into the future]] is Georgiou. When Culber consults Kovich, the strange bespectacled guy at Starfleet Headquarters, he explains that it's a result of time travel coupled with dimensional travel. Since Georgiou is originally from the MirrorUniverse, which [[spoiler:has diverged from the Prime universe in the intervening centuries]], Georgiou's atoms keep alternatively pulling her back in time and across dimensions. Kovich demonstrates the hologram of another such victim, who seems to have crossed over from the [[Film/StarTrek2009 Kelvin timeline]] as well as the past.
* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Relativity", repeated use of time travel causes the user to become progressively ill, to the point of being fatal in certain circumstances. [[spoiler:One version of Seven is killed this way, forcing the agents to recruit a past!Seven to fill the gap.]]
** In an interesting version in the episode "Blink of an Eye", there is a planet ''Voyager'' is orbiting that rotates approximately 83,000 times faster than Earth. When two astronauts from the planet visit ''Voyager'', they are severely sickened by the differential between the passage of time. One doesn't make it.
* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "All Our Yesterdays", inhabitants of a planet are sent back to their past to escape their star going nova. Kirk, Spock and Bones travel without being given the necessary treatment, [[spoiler:and will die if they don't get back to the present]] within a few hours. On the other hand, anyone who ''has'' been given the treatment to travel to the past cannot return to their own time without instantly dying. For those who went through to escape the supernova, this is a moot point anyway, but at an unspecified point in the planet's past, it was used in other ways, including by a dictator to send enemies into permanent and inescapable exile.

* Both averted and played straight in ''Webcomic/AutumnBay''. When Andrew and Marie-Ange are sent to the BadFuture by [[GreatGazoo Nesariel]], they are just fine. In fact, they take the whole thing in stride. On the other hand, after being [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong sent back to their home time]] by [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist Dr. Deacon]], they are quite stunned upon their return.

* [[spoiler:Porky]] in ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' combines extremely poor physical health with non-stop coughing with AgeWithoutYouth (sort of) and ImmortalityImmorality.

* [[spoiler:Porky]] in ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' combines this with AgeWithoutYouth (sort of) and ImmortalityImmorality.

* ''Fanfic/MagicaeEstPotestas'', a crossover between Literature/ArtemisFowl and VideoGame/{{Undertale}}, is also an example. Time travel has been shown to cause memory loss, rearrangement of body parts, or physical and mental de-aging in the Literature/ArtemisFowl series already, but so does MentalTimeTravel - aka the [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Resets]]. Going too back far in time after too many Resets [[spoiler: is what caused the [[KillThemAll Genocide runs]]. Runs, because this has happened '''''twice'''''.]]

** The time machine works by enclosing an area - usually a [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic coffin-sized box]] - in a special field for a certain amount of time, causing that area to TimeLoop. Trying to walk in or out while the field is still on tends to mess up your anatomy, most notably causing [[spoiler: bleeding from the ears]]. However, if you're trying to go into the past, you can't exactly wait until the field is ''off''; all you can do is wait until the field has ''almost'' died and then get in, which invariably leads to problems the more times you try it.
** Not to mention that since this is essentially taking TheSlowPath in the other direction, failing to pack enough air, food, and water can lead to poor health as well.

* In ''Film/{{Paradox}}'', the prototype time machine causes disorientation, nosebleeds and a persistent feeling of being unwell. [[spoiler: Its chief architect actually knows it causes brain damage, but he considers his companions expendable for the cause.]]

* In Creator/MichaelMoorcock's ''Behold the Man'' the time traveler has a pretty rough voyage and emerges nauseous. That's nothing to what's about to happen to him, though.

* In ''Fanfic/WhatTomorrowBrings'', the [[PeggySue time-displaced]] Animorphs keep throwing up.