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Sleep Paralysis: Awake But Still Asleep
Biology 202
2000 First Web Report
On Serendip
Sleep Paralysis: Awake But Still Asleep
Hiro Takahashi
A person may wake up and find himself unable to move or speak as if he is frozen. He also may hear footsteps, see a ghost-like creature, or feel someone sitting on his chest. Throughout the history, people considered this phenomenon as work done by evil spirits. However, the modern science can explain the terrifying event as a Sleep Paralysis.
A Sleep Paralysis is possibly a hereditary disorder in which one experiences very frightening seconds or minutes of total body paralysis with little respiration and eye movements (1). A victim in this state feels awake, but he cannot move or speak (2). In addition to the immobility, the common symptoms include feeling choked or suffocated, hearing strange noises like footsteps and voices, seeing beings or dark shadows, and feeling an existance of someone in the room (1). Although these symptoms often direct the victims to believe in ghosts, mistransmission of neural signals in the brain causes Sleep Paralysis. When a person sleeps, his brain sends signals to inhibit any muscle contraction (3). If he comes into consciousness before the brain sends signals to activate muscle contraction, he cannot move his body, and consequently, become "paralyzed"(2).
In order to understand how a body becomes paralyzed while the person is awake, it is necessary to understand sleep cycles. In a mammalian sleep, the brain activity undergoes two different states called non-REM (NREM) sleep and REM sleep, which differ very much from wakefulness (3). NREM and REM sleep alternate cyclically through the night; in human, about 80 minutes of NREM sleep starts a night of sleep, about 10 minutes of REM sleep follows, and this 90 minute cycle is repeated about 3 to 6 times during the night (3). During NREM sleep, a body produces few movement, but the body has capability of tossing about in bed and producing some other motor events, such as sleepwalking and sleeptalking (3). The cardiac-muscle contraction and breathing occur at a uniform rate, and the eyes move slowly (2). During REM sleep, on the other hand, heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure vary (3). The eyes move rapidly because most dreaming takes place in this period, and the sleeper probably "look" at the moving objects in a dream (2).
The brain's control over muscles during REM sleep points out that in this period, a body is normally in the state of total paralysis, called a "nonreciprocal flaccid paralysis" (3). Probably to prevent a person from "acting out" a dream, the brain sends signals to inhibit any muscle contractions (2). Although some peripheral muscles, such as the muscles of the fingers and face, still twitch, the large skeletal muscles become relaxed, or "paralyzed" as a result (3). Some evidence supports that the motor paralysis of REM sleep protect against the acting out of one's dreams. A patient who suffers from rare syndrome called REM Sleep Behavior Disorder lacks the normal nonreciprocal flaccid paralysis, and he acts out violent dreams during REM sleep, often with injurious consequences (4). For example, a 60-year-old surgeon dreamt that he was attacked "by criminals, terrorists, and monsters who always tried to kill [him]" and fighting against them in the nightmare, he was actually punching and kicking his wife who slept in the same bed (4).
A nonreciprocal flaccid paralysis during REM sleep is accomplished actively by postsynaptic inhibition of motorneurons (3). Although the exact process of motor inhibition is not clear, some neurotransmitters and hormones are known to generate the many components of REM sleep. Aministering physostigmine, an inhibitor of the catabolic enzyme, increases the concentration of acetylcholine within the neurons in the pons, making it possible to artificially generate and start REM sleep in the middle of NREM sleep (3). Carbachol, the cholinergic agonist, produces a period of REM sleep in cat when directly injected into the pontine tegmentum (3). The hormone melatonin, a "master hormone" (5) that mainly controls circadian rhythms, also seems to play an important role in enhancing the REM state; the level of melatonin secretion by the pineal gland reaches its lowest during REM sleep (5). Such neurotransmitters and hormones probably activate or inhibit the activity of second messengers, which then activate or inhibit the third messengers, and so on till the last messenger inhibit the synaptic transmission or cause hyperpolarization of the motorneurons. And if, for some reason, the nervous or endocrine system continues to release the neural inhibitors, a person may experience Sleep Paralysis as he enters awakefully into or awakens directly from REM period (2).
While the modern neuroscience can describe the state of Sleep Paralysis as some errors of the neural transmission in the brain during REM sleep, a person who has seen or heard ghost-like figures/voices may easily believe that eveil spirits fully controlled his entire body. However, the images or noises, which the victim believes that he has seen or heard, are most likely hallucinations; and hallucinations, too, can result from the brain activity. In the 1960's, the Canadian neurologist W. Penfield introduced that electrical stimulation of the temporal lobe can cause the auditory hallucinations in the wake state (5). The buzzing or ringing sounds in the ears and other auditory hallucinations are closely associated with the activity of the auditory cortex and involves the temporal lobe (5). During the early period of sleep paralysis, the activity of the temporal lobe increases significantly, sometimes inducing hallucinatory sense (5). Similarly, the visual cortex generates internal visual stimuli, causing the victim to "see" terrifying figures during the paralysis (5).
How an episode of Sleep Paralysis induces visual or auditory hallucinations is still not clear, but it seems to have a significant relationship with anxiety (5). For anxiety is a neurocognitive event closely related to both psychological and physical processes, the extreme anxiety or panic may cause the release of several different signal molecules that trigger all kinds of physical events (5). A person experiencing Sleep Paralysis feels mortal fear or extreme panic, and hence, the brain generates and releases internal visual or auditory stimuli, producing hallucinations.
Also, hallucinations during Sleep Paralysis may happen, for one keeps dreaming even after some parts of his brain wakes up directly from REM sleep. Since the nervous and endocrine systems continue to release the neural inhibitors which sustain the paralysis, it may be possible that those systems keep releasing the neural activators that stimulate dreaming. Thus, a person continues to "see" the images and "hear" the noises produced in the dream that he has just had in REM sleep from which he has awaken.
Understanding more neural concepts of Sleep Paralysis, some researchers now hypothesize that a very rare condition called Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome (SUNDS) may closely relate to Sleep Paralysis (1). Upon the death, a SUNDS victim produces no body movement even though he experiences a myocardial infarction and strong breathing difficulties and should straggle in agony (5). The death may be caused by the extreme muscle atonia during Sleep Paralysis, which is so severe that even the cardiac muscles and the diaghragm paralyze (5).
Until I started researching on this subject, I have believed that the total paralysis of a body is due to an evil taking absolute control over the body. However, the interactions between neurons in the brain can explain this seemingly mysterious phenomenon in a scientific way. Although the explanation is not complete yet, for there are many unclear processes about Sleep Paralysis, the current hypothesis appears to reject the possibility of ghosts on this matter. Of course, it is impossible to completely disprove the existence of "spirits", "minds", or "God" affecting one's behavior. Nevertheless, like Sleep Paralysis and SUNDS, many or the mysterious conditions and behaviors which are only explained in supernatural terms probably result from brain.
WWW Sources
1)The Evil's of Sleep Paralysis
4)REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Neurologic Dissociative Sleep Disorder
5)Recurrent Isolated Sleep Paralysis
Comments made prior to 2007
I have been trying to figure out what was going on in my sleep untill i read this.Now i am happy to know what my body was expeiencing. It's quite scary your first couple experiences of sleep paralysis but now i'm gonna stay calm when it is happening to me and try to get my own understanding of the experience ... Jeremy, 21 March 2006
I have had sleep paralyisis at least once per month for the last 8 years. I am 29 as of this writing. I just had the experience about 1 hour ago and thus has caused me to do reasearch about it on the net. I noticed that many Dr.'s contribute this to anxiety, stress and other factors. My question is ... why is there always an evil presence in that concious yet body is still asleep phase? Today I heard a loud static sound, and opened my eyes to a spider crawling all over my arm. When I prayed to God, or said His name (Jehovah) the spider would start to disappear. I finally went thru my mental prayer when I awoke. This leads me to believe that it is more of a spiritual occurence, because I never have positive images while in this paralized state. I know there are many things in which our ancestors thought it was demonic rather than scientific, only to find there was a scientific explanation. However, I think this is different and cannot be simply written off as "scientific". There is not enough proof to show that it is scientific.
About a month ago I had another episode of sleep paralysis and I saw a small presence in the room with me. It was dark, and I could not see it's face (I am getting chills typing about it right now). My question is, why is there always an evil presence not only associated with my episodes, but so many others I have read about? ... Abel, 24 August 2006
i was thinking it is evil who do that during night but now i find out why. I am suffering from sleep paralyze possibly every nigh spicily when i have dinar ... Salah Nasser, 28 January 2007
I used to have this sleeping disorder when I was a child. It has come back once or twice with adulthood, but otherwise, it is in the past. I used to, with great effort, move my hand to my face and pull an eye open, which would wake me up, but sometimes the struggle was too much and I would go on into a deeper sleep.
Since the brain can do this to me, can it also cause me to get migraines just as I am about to wake up?
It seems, as I have discovered, if I get less than 4 hours sleep a night, I do not get migraines. If I get 6 hours or more, it's about a 90% chance I will wake with a migraine. Later in the day, I get an hour or two nap and that is the routine as it works. Doctors just sort of treat the migraine and don't get into the sleep thing I have. I take MaxAult for the migraines when they do get me.
I woke one time, and just as I woke, I felt this white-hot needle going into my head... bingo. A migraine in 5 seconds. That is how they can occur. I wake with them otherwise. I figure it my brain doing things it shouldn't. I have a clean bill of health otherwise.
Thanks for your time. Have a good day ... Jay, 11 February 2007
I have a question, and hope someone out there has an answer, it has been months and I have thus far failed to find one. Has there ever been a record of anyone receiving the effects of sleep paralysis without having been asleep? The reason I ask this, is a while ago, having not slept in a few hours, I was sitting at my computer, and it seemed to have happened to me. Within seconds I was too tired to hold up my own head, and my breathing got very difficult. Then I began to feel a sort of dizziness as my limbs lost feeling, and dropped to my side. after this, the dizziness turned to near blindness. I could see, but nothing would focus, and everything I tried to look at seemed to dart around like a mosquito. By this time I had no feeling in my entire body, could move nothing without quite a bit of concentration, and I could barely breath. My mother heard me try and make out some kind of cry for help, and found me there spilled into my computer chair. She rolled me to my bed, and poured me into it. Within about 10-15 minutes I had regained everything I once had, but my sea legs did not ware off for another ten or so minutes. I went to the emergency soon after. I had an E.K.G. and a C.A.T. scan, with no results, and I piss less in a week then the amount of blood they took that night. After basically telling me I was lying, the doctor told me that my symptoms did not fit anything at all. What I do know, is I have been researching the issue ever since, and can only base my problem on Sleep Paralysis. All the symptoms match. And again, my question....Has there ever been a record of someone under the effects of sleep paralysis without ever having gone to sleep? I hope you can shed some sort of light on this subject, as it,...well, it freaked me the hell out, and no one has been able to answer me! Thank you for your time ... Mitchel Henderson, 7 December 2007
I used get this "evil paralysed me" feeling when i was paralysed and usually saw a ghost. i tried to shout or move but no sound escaped my mouth and couldn't move at all. it happened again yesterday and was almost convinced that ghosts/evil spirits were getting the better of me. But, me being a practical and logical guy, erjected this theory and started researching on this phenomenon. I came across this research paper on Sleep Paralysis. This greatly helped me in alleviating my fears. And next time i "see" a ghost during sleep paralyses, ill just laugh at it ;-) Thanks for the research ... Siddarth, 10 December 2007
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| This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a course at Bryn Mawr College. Like other materials on Serendip, it is not intended to be "authoritative" but rather to help others further develop their own explorations. Web links were active as of the time the paper was posted but are not updated. |
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Comments
Scared !
Im having the same problem sleep while waking up im 13 and itz been happening since i was 11 and yes it is quite frightening and juss woke up from it i havent realy had huluscination but had kind of scary thiughts during i realy need help with it because its really starting to scare me and like when you said that when your cousin went to sleep with a bible it went a way but every time i say my prayer at night it doesnt happen nd juss so happen i didnt say my prayer before i went to sleep and it happened again and it hasnt happen for some weeks now please email me back or conment as early as possible !
Hi, I'm 19 years old, and a
Hi, I'm 19 years old, and a college student. I recently moved in my own apartment last year, and had a friend who has been suffering from sleeping paralysis since a little girl. Now, I work full time and I'm also a full time student, so times were a bit stressful for me, and I was very sleep-deprived. It was weird however that, about 2 days after my friend told me about her symptoms, I began to have them. Sometimes even 4 times in one night. It scared me to death. I immediately researched it, and was not at all happy with the 'scientific' explanations. I mean, It makes no sense. I prayed and they went away. I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with my lack of sleep, but I don't believe for one minute that I was hallucinating, I'm not the type to hallucinate.
Loosing my mind !
I dont know were to start I've been going through this for years happened just lastnite, I feel things,see shadows,hear voices ,hell onenite I even heard my name being called! What that do! Its fearful but I've learned to live with feel free to contact me ..
Sleep Demons
I have been experiencing this phenomena since i was about 7 or 8 years old. My Uncle in alabama who is a minister also associated this with demons or the evil world. What additional information do you have. Thanks.
Now I know what happened to me...
This article is very interesting,
It's been a while since I had my last sleep paralize but I already had it a couple of times, but I actually never did any research about because I thought it was crazyness of my head, but I remember my first time, it was so frigthening, so scary, I could see my brother on the bed next to me but I coudn't move or say anything, my body just didn't got up and I began to struggle within myself in order to wake up even though I knew I was awoke, it probably lasted 10 or 15 seconds but for me it was like an eternity, only those who already experiensed it know what it feels like, it is horrible, but next time I'll try to keep calm and wait for my brain to "reboot"
I remembered too once, I spleept watching "A Nigthmare on elm street", in the middle of the nigth I woke up (But I didn't realized that) and I saw in my roon a Freedy like creature moving on the dark, but somehow I knew that couldn't be real so didn't botered, then I spleept again, that was scary to.
really?
haha i saw the nightmare on elm street yesterday and i had a sleep paralasis i was awake but not.. i cud c freddy there or idk if it was him but there was this shadow n i closed my eyes n it went away n then opened them n it got closer. i started tryin to scream n it didnt really work lol but i sleep with my sister so she always knows to move me wen i try to moan cuz she knows i have sleep papalysis. its soo scary..
Keeps on happening
I think these SP are getting worser...I keep on getting them and I feel like as if someone is in back of me I feel like someone is going to grab me and take me from behind...now when I get these SP I start seeing a white light which freaks me out...just when I was getting use to having these SP moments something new comes along...
again!
I've posted twice now. I just woke up from it and I'm fed up! I need sleep, ts 3am and I have school tomorrow I don't know any cure and I don't thinl there is! This time I had a dream first. Then I woke up to someone/thing (let's call the one/thing, person) so the person was digging into my neck and I could hear a choking sound. Then I could move my haands and I felt a face, have no idea if it waas my face or not but it was a cold, sleeping face. I've never been freake like this before cos the weird thing is.. There was someone there and I felt their hand.. This persons hand was soft and for some reason I didn't want to let go! -_- may sound weird but I ended up reaching out and something pulled us away. Me waking up. Of course, me being tired I shut my eyes trying to sleep but the fear is just too much. I've noticed it stops when I go to bed early and the same time each night but A I can't stick to that and B it happenes more, but not a severe. My friends call me crazy, some think I'm well weird and I've lost friends over it! But now I think all we can do is live it out. Whatever happens I'm sure we won't be severly damaged. Imagine going to sleep fine and waking up with cuts and bruises. Not gonna happen! Best of luck, and please email me replys to anything, thanks so much! -
Hello Again!
Hi,
I used to get this a lot when I was younger, not as much now (I'm in my late 40s). You have sort of hit a good point about going to bed early and at the same time. One thing I figured out was that these episodes were MUCH worse and more frequent when I went to bed when I was over tired. If you can't get to bed early, try taking a brief nap in the day time. That helped me cut down on both the frequency and intensity of these things. My friends used to think I was crazy too. At least this website exists for you. Hang in there.
...
Thank you so much. Im glad I have this so i can see others get it too, haha. It has only happened once this week, which im so glad! Hopefully it will go soon. I go to bed earlier, that helps.
I have severe sleep paralysis
I am 22 years old. I have been with this now for few years now , I would like if someone can add me to their MSN and we can talk about our experiences.
Sleep paralysis
Please feel free to email me im 20 and have only just started to experience this yesterday, it's a scary thing and i didn't want to sleep last night until I did some research it put me at some ease.... Im curious to know if were all experiencing the same things :)
Scary
Hi I'm only 12 and this happent to me it was the scariest thing ever I had a dream before this happened and then I felt a deep humming sound in my head and I couldn't move or breath I tried screaming but I couldn't it was so scary I also woke up with a scratch on my back
olive oil and prayers may be the only cure
Last night i had this hit me again , Only this time before i went into deep sleep , I saw evil by my bed, and i felt as if my body was shut down for a long time , my chest hurt so bad been i woke up. Today i blessed my home with olive oil every room even my pet that sleeps by me and said a prayer over my bed ... Try this and see if it works for the rest of you.
my experience
I'm 18 years old and have had this problem. At first they were really freaky cause it felt like my whole body was getting butterflies and it would progress the become a stronger of a feeling as time moved on. But as it's been happening more and more I've been starting to accept it and try to be as calm as possible. But, lately it has been getting more weird. Like last night I had the occurrence and a whisper came from my own mouth without be speaking and it didn't sound like mine saying, "I'm going to kill you". So that kind of freaked me out a bit and prayed right there in the moment and it went away after rebuking it in Jesus' name.
I've also noticed it happens to me when I have a couple a days going with little sleep. When I don't get that good of sleep I'm more susceptible to these occurrences.
I also have anxiety disorder and i think it's because of my heart problem with Mitral Valve Prolapse. So the whole NUNDS thing I'm kind of worried about. Please any thoughts?
s.p
ive had this for about 15 years now,im 32 yr old female. sometimes i go 6 months or even a year without the episodes. then sometimes 3 times a week.
i dont see anything through do feel a presence in the room sometimes,at 1st it was very frightening, but im that used to it now, it doesnt bother me as muchthough still quite alot!
I always hear a horrible ( all i can describe it as is a high horrible screaching ringing sound inside my ears that feels like my head going to explode) does anyone else hear this, because this it what scares me the most! I can also can open my eyes and look whats in my view but cant move my head or any part of my body. & theres no way ive ever managed to scream though trying my hardest! i always ask my partner "did you not see me , why did you not wake up)
ive learnt over the years that trying to move my toes very slowly, hardly without trying helps, rather that fighting!! any1 else had simalar expirience, ive read lots of different stories , but never about the ringing in the ears thing, its terrible!
I get the same
I get the same that sound its awfull iv also experienced a man figure in a dark cloake and hat trying to strangle me it was really frightning but now I know im not the only one it makes me feel better I think its related to stress and panic
Loud whispers
This use to happen to me as a child (between the ages of 5 to 13). Only I did not hear horrible screeching. I use to hear loud whispers and it seemed like it was ten or more voices whispering in my ear at the same time in a language I didn't understand. I was so afraid because I could see what was directly in front of me so clearly sometimes I used to try and reach out and scream out to my older sister, who slept just a few feet away from me in her bed. I remember, I would be so mad at her the next morning for not helping me, because I know in my mind I was screaming to her loudly for help in getting this dark shadow/presence who seem to be holding me down and whispering loudly in my ear things I did not understand. All of a sudden these episodes just stopped, so I stopped talking about them went on with my life, etc. Well, I'm now 47 and it just happened again last Thursday night 5/12/2011 or Friday morning at about 0300 hours 5/13/2011. Just like back then I told my daughter, who is now 20 and going into her last year of college as a PSYCH major what happened and she looked at me just like people did back then, (like I was crazy) and said "oh, you just had a bad dream or a bout of sleep paralysis you'll be fine". Well thank goodness for the internet, I started doing research and found out I am not alone and I'm not having just a bad dream.
i thought it was just me i
i thought it was just me i get the same thing it is so scary its sooo loud and i literaly feel like my head is going to explode. And one time i kept seeing my dad walk in the room and screaming at me to stop everytime it would happen. This happened like 15 times one night and my dad was never there. When i truly woke up i felt like i couldnt breathe.
same experience
EXACTLY as you described. I've had these episodes since I was 13; I'm 33 now. In fact what prompted me to look this up was the episode I had last night. I was telling my husband the high pitch noise / ringing in my ears made my eyes want to roll to the back of my head it was so painful. I tried to scream, move, but couldn't. Tears were rolling out of my eyes.
similar paralysis
omg! im glad i found this site, out of everyones comments i have felt bits of but you are saying everything that bugs me the most. This sleep paralysis is so scary sometimes i feel like gonna die. The more i try fight to break out of my sleep and open my eyes to wake up the more pressure i get on my head and that screaching ringing sound in my head gets louder and hurts worse. The only way i have been able to wake up before i feel like gonna die is to relax and wiggle my toes or wiggle my foot and for some reason it lets me wake up. i try to scream and feel like someone can hear me to wake me but same thing when i ask my gf why didnt you wake me, no one hears me.
Hi, You are not alone here. I
Hi,
You are not alone here. I too hear this horrible ringing sound inside my ears. The pressure is so bad that sometimes I feel like my head is going to explode. Your symptoms are exactly like mine. I can open my eyes and see around me but can't move at all. I also try to scream to get my wife's attention so that she can wake me up, but nothing ever comes out. I experience this at least once a week. So far I haven't felt a "presence" in the room or anything like that, but still, I get this feeling that if I don't wake up I'm going to die. If you have any information about this please feel free to share it with me at : . I hardly know anything about sleep paralysis, and would like to know more about it.
I am not sure what rining you
I am not sure what rining you talking aabout, but I et like a zing sound in my head like a tv or monitor making that beep sound and then my head hurts and it's not a headache that's me sensing them that I hae notice when I was in primary school i am now 20 yr old male. I experience these things alot then I cant move some times 3 times in one night and then I fight out of it fast by getting anry and things,
yes
i have the same experience as you its freakin me out im having it everyday for the past 2 months it really hurts im 25 years old m from brooklyn its killing me slowly i dont sleep at knights anymore only during the day and it hurts i dont know what to do i have the same exact experience as you do
I would say ignore it but you
I would say ignore it but you cant. The thing that I do is that I get really angry and then I Like taunt the thing but it's not good to taunt it but I do because I want to sort this thing out and find out what's it's problem. I am kinda use to it since I had it since I was small and I like battle out of that numb feeling fast now it last less than a min now and then I can move again.
I've had this issue along
I've had this issue along with cumming in my sleep, this recently started 5 weeks ago for me and has been somewhat constant. I'm only 22, I am afraid to sleep =(
Asleep but awake, trying to wake up.
When i was really young i would be stomach up asleep, but feel awake all i could see was blackness and felt as though i kept having muscle spasms or something running up my spine causing my back to be extremely arched, i wouldn't be able to control it and every time i would try straighten my back i would get this funny feeling shoot up my spine making it curl. I remember trying to wake myself up to try stop it but i couldn't. it would go on sometimes for over 10 minutes.
When i was about 17 i was laying on the couch in our study and woke being completely paralysed numb, i could hear the TV on in the lounge room and could hear my mum on the phone and was trying to scream for her but nothing would come out, i knew something was really wrong and was trying to think of someway to get her attention. I somehow managed to get myself onto the ground and almost worm like crawl to this cupboard door where i started trying to bash my head against it to get her attention. i then woke up properly in the exact position i first awoke in and felt this strange tingling sensation all over my body, the TV was on and my mum was still on the phone.
This morning i woke early, i had an exam later in the day and felt wide awake so thought i would just lay in bed for a while listening to my anatomy and physiology lectures. I fell asleep but half awoke and thought i would take my earphones out cause i was going to continue sleeping, so i sleepily took them out but for some reason could still hear the beginning of the lecture playing in my ears, so i thought i must have left one earphone in, but when i tried to grab at both ears there was no headphones in. I then realised i was vividly hearing, hallucinating/dreaming. The same thing happened three times after, the same lecture playing at the same part before i actually woke up for real.
My dreams/ hallucinations are so vivid, sound is so clear and my feelings are so real. There is nothing abnormal in my dreams everything/objects/colours the direction of sound is in its right spot, there is nothing abnormal, its strange because i don't have a photographic memory if i was asked to draw out or remember all the objects in the room and where they were and what colour they were theres noway i could get it right. But then how can i dream it exactly how it is? if that makes sense...
I always wake with a tingly feeling over my body
Sleep Paralysis
I just wanted to post and say that it's really terrifying when this happens, and it happens to me a lot. The worst thing I think you can do is start googling sleep paralysis afterwards (!), but hey, it's fascinating and now I don't know what's scarier - the paralysis I just experienced, or some of these postings about spirits coming for me.
I think a helpful thing to do once you can move around again is to get someone to talk to you, because during the episode you try to talk, but no sound comes out. So it's reassuring and normal when some sound does. I just got my housemate to tell me what day it was and that we were ok. She was a bit freaked out but I have night terrors too so she didn't mind so much.
I seriously believe mine are connected to anxiety.
In the one I just had there were bright lights in my room, which were getting bigger as I looked at them. I didn't want to look at them but I couldn't move or take my gaze away from them. The paralysis went on for such a long time, which they don't normally. There were voices and stuff, and I feel like my eyes were darting about in my face, presumably because I can't move anything else at this time.
I think people are naturally worried about why they seem like 'evil' visions but must be because they are manifestations of anxiety, so they won't ever really be pleasant. I think people are right to say it's best to stay calm, and let the thing pass.
The one thing i'm worried about is my heart. When I properly wake up it's racing like crazy. I'm 29, but I've had this for such a long time, and i'm worried about being older and the strain of it on my heart. Maybe a racing heart isn't that dangerous. I don't know.
Sleep/Migraine
Wow, I Heard of this sleep dis order, and I think I have had it for along time, by my scarist just happened to me, I know I was dreaming and in my dream a bright light was turned on, I yell for it to shut off, which it did,but I woke up with the Migraine from ****, I felt like I was awake, I know all my husband was doing, I could hear his voice, but I couldn't respond to him, I felt frozen in my own body, In my mind I was screaming, I felt my heart racing, when I did come out of it, I still coulldn't talk, I just cried hard, my hubby took me to the E.R. where I was treated for the Migraine, & release, but when I talked to my doc the following monday, she said that she read the report and the hospital shouldn't released me and I need to go see a Neruologist as fast as possible which I made the appt for, we shall see how that turns out!
I've been having these since
I've been having these since childhood n I thought I had been possesed I am scared to fall asleep I've wanted to tell the doctor about wots been happening but woz scared she would think I woz mad , i experence real pain not just in my chest but like I'm being stabed , pinched , bite n other feelings too does anyone else get that too ? I'm so glad that I stumbled on this site now I no that I'm not possesed lol n I'm gunna maybe talk to my doctor n see if I can get some help after all these years
See if this works
I've learned that I normally have sleep paralysis when I sleeping either flat on my back or sleeping on my right side. I normally sleep on my left side and I've never had an episode sleeping on my left side only noticed when falling asleep in an awkward postion than normal. So if you have a certain postion you sleep in everynight, stick to your routine and do not change it. Just some helpful information I wanted to pass on.
sleep paralysis
It happened to me the other night again and today while i was tacking a nap. Just last night i ran across this sight and i have looked up info all day. It affects 1 in 5 people, But not all have the same experience as another one will.Those that do not have it be glad you don't!!! Mine feels like death!!! And i really think i am dying!! I have been having this since childhood , I thought i might of been the only one Until i ran across this page. I have never talked about it till now because i thought people would think i was nuts. I don't think there is a cure for it , It is something our body just does at a stage in sleep , Or so read . But still talk with your doc about sleep paralysis , There may be something they can do if you have a severe case. When you have this again do your best to move a leg or arm so you will awake out of it , And it never hurts to call out to jesus , He is the only one that will here you . I hope this helps .
This Happened to me Last Night.
I was asleep. I woke up, I couldn't move, I felt like something was choking me, and I could not breathe.
I couldnt breath
I felt the same way the other night, i was on my stomach and felt like something grabbed my leg i couldnt breath or open my eyes. I was so scared
is it Paralysis or something else ??? PLEASE HELP ME
Okay here gos , ever since i been around 10 years of age , I am now 29 ,,, I have had a scary problem , about once a month when i am asleep , I see everything go black , And i try and scream for someone to help me , But can not scream nor talk , It feels like this is going on for 3-5 min each time i do this, And all the breath is being sucked out my body , When i awake , It is hard to get my breath back and i feel a tingle like feeling in my brain.. I never see any figures while this is going on. I wonder is this paralysis or maybe i have some kind of medical condition, Like sleep apnea ??? Sometimes i do this one tima a month , or i have do this 1 a week , and have gone a couple months without doing it at all... If there is anyone out there that knows what this is , Please tell me .. It is really scary ... I need help ...
Ok, i'll try to explain you.
Ok, i'll try to explain you. Dreaming about becoming blind is a known issue. And it tends to irritate some people alot. Screaming usually doesn't work in dreams, you'll probably feel that all you can is make very silent breathing voices, as if the breath is being sucked out of you. This is a symptom of panic in dreams/nightmares. Your panic actually gets transferred to your real body, producing adrenaline, which can make you sweat and have very increased heart rate when waking up. I have had this nightmare a few times as well. The best way to get over it, is actually wake up the moment you feel that everything around you goes dark. Try thinking "Its time i woke up" or "Enough of this, i want out". You can also try closing your eyebrows, it sometimes causes the dream to change. If all of these above do not work, just relax and take it easy, you are just blind -- in a dream, no big deal!
sp
why is everyone getting an evil presence in the room including me.and why do you feel the entity jump on your body this is more than what they say.
You know, science can only go
You know, science can only go so far when it comes to trying to explain the unexplained. You want to know what I believe? I do believe in ghosts and these experiences, to me, are in fact spiritual encounters. Can you someone explain to you why it is ALWAYS an evil entity and not some guy telling you that you won the lotto? When you asked,"Why do you feel the entity jump on your body." It caught my attention. I will tell you all the encounters I have had. Get ready, it is very long.
The first time I ever saw a ghost was at my uncles apartment. I was sleeping in his room with my little cousin, Lily. I was about 8 years old at the time. I woke up one night because I was hot. I sat up and saw a disturbing human shape being with long black hair and a white body by the wall next to the lamp. It stood there, twitching and shaking. I thought I was seeing things so I rubbed my eyes and tried to focus. I stared at it for a very long time and the image never went away. I can see it twitching very violently and as soon as I knew I was completely awake and not seeing things, I threw the covers over me and put my head under the pillow. I was still curious so I pulled the sheets off and sat up again to look. And this time, it was right next beside the bed looking at me. It was still twitching very violently, but as I kept staring at it, it slowly moved back to the wall and stayed there. I was totally freaked out and went to sleep. About 11 years later, on a family trip to a national park in California, Lily, my aunt and I were talking about ghosts. Lily happened to catch my attention when she brought up her story about the ghost at her old apartment. I didn't interrupt her as I allowed her to finish her story. The figure she described was the exact same one I saw that night 11 years ago. Always standing by the wall, and as you keep looking at it, it backs away. However, she said she would point at it, and when she did, the entity would dash behind the tv. Very scary.
The first time I experienced this "sleep paralysis" which I call "getting slept on" was about 2 years ago. I was sleeping in my uncle room when it happened. I woke up and called my girlfriend like I always would and then go back to sleep. However, on this particular day, when I went back to sleep, something joined me. I was sleeping on the right side of his queen sized with my stomach on the bed. My body began to go numb, and started pulsing very rapidly as I can feel my heartbeat pounding away. I was losing the ability to control my limbs rapidly, but I was still conscious and awake. Then,I felt the bed collapse(his bed is extremely soft so when someone gets on, such as putting a knee on the bed to climb over, you will feel the bed drop) as something climbed over me. I was so tired, I ignored it. I thought it was just my uncle sleeping next to me. Then, it started touching me. Grabbing my and holding me, almost as if it were trying to play with me. I thought it was my uncle trying to play around with me like he does and so I woke up by moving my leg. I turned over to see if it was my uncle, but I didn't see anyone. So I turned my head the other way and decided to go back to sleep. As soon as I closed my eyes, I was already beginning to feel that funny feeling again as it happened so fast. I lost movement again, and for the second time, I felt the bed collapse. This time, I knew it was not a dream. I felt it climb over me and lay next to me. Then it proceeded to climb on top of me. I felt a heavy weight on my back as soon as this happened. Since I had my head turned towards my right shoulder, away from the other side of the bed, I decided to open my eyes(They say you can't open your eyes, but you definitely can and you even see everything that exists in real life. It's not like a dream where things are a bit off, you will see whatever is there. However, if someone was in the room with you and was looking at you, your eyes are not actually opened). When I opened my eyes, I could see the desk with a picture frame of my uncle and his girlfriend along with his roll of toilet paper. I also saw his closet door and how it was half open, just the way it was the entire night, along with the blue wall paint. I decided to observe more what could be causing me to have this heavy feeling on my back and that's when I saw it. While looking over my shoulder, I saw a blurry, ghastly, gray arm hanging down as if the entity was sitting directly on top of my back. As soon as I saw it, I screamed for help and moved my toes which allowed me to wake up. Already knowing what happened and what it was I experienced, I ran to the living room where I went right back to sleep on the couch, except peacefully this time.
Another time it happened to me was at the same house. This time, in the TV room. I was lying down on the sofa with my little netbook, chatting with my girlfriend on webcam. I had the laptop on my stomach as I began to feel drowsy and napped. As I slept, I had a dream about my family and me running through a maze. My mother then told me to look at baby Hannah(my little cousin) because she was crawling. At that very moment, I was no longer watching myself in my dream with my family in the maze, I was awake and unable to move. I already knew what was going to happen and so I struggled to escape. I opened my eyes again and could see my laptop screen as it was sitting on top of me. I had my messenger window opened where I could see my girlfriend and myself. Then when I looked at my screen in the webcam showing my face and over my shoulder, I saw the object behind me. It was a blurred and very unfocused but the image was clear, a shadowy figure on the ground creeping towards me with. I was completely terrorized and panicked. I called out to my girlfriend as I looked at her screen. She sat there, completely unaware of what was happening, eating her snacks and not knowing I was screaming for her help to wake me up. I eventually was able to move my arm and woke up. I didn't tell my girlfriend anything because I didn't want to scare her. Instead, my little cousin, Isabelle was nearby as I awoke. I asked her if she was playing behind me by the chimney, and she said no. I then asked her if she heard me screaming or calling out for help. She also told me no, and that all she heard was me taking deep heavy breathes. My eyes weren't even open according to her! How is that possible when I saw my girlfriend's face? Stuffing her mouth with snacks with a headphone in her ear? She wore the same shirt as she did with her hair down split to the side! I clearly saw what was actually occurring in real-time while I was attacked. It was no hallucination. She was still eating even when I awoke. Explain that!
I have many more experiences, as well as my most frightening encounter. However, that may be for another day. Thanks for your time.
-Kevin
I´ve been told that the brain
I´ve been told that the brain captures the last image your eyes see just before you fall in too SP. That is why you think you can see everything that happens in realtime.
I've always thought these episodes were bad dreams.
I'm 28yrs old and I've been having these episodes (sleep paralysis) since I can remember as a young child. I've always thought it was normal and they were just bad dreams. I would wonder why I would have these episodes. I would fall asleep and find myself awaken laying there not able to move or speak out. I could always feel the presence of someone being there. I would say it was an evil spirit there. I've never seen anyone in the dreams but I could always feel the presence of someone being there. The episodes would last for a couple seconds but to me it felt like minutes. Very scary feeling. I would pray or constantly call out the name Jesus in my head. When I was younger I would have these episodes on the regular but I noticed as I got older I would randomly have them. Last night I had 3 episodes but this one was much differnt than the ones I've had before. This time I actually heard a evil growling voice like right in my ear and I could feel myself breaathing hard. Over the years I've never heard this sound and this time it seemed more real than ever and lasted longer. As usual you cant move, speak out or nothing, just lay there and look around scared to death not knowing what is going to happen next. I woke up scared to death. I layed there just frantic. Something told me to go online and google " sleep while awake". I was frightened just to find out what would come up. This website was the first one that came up. I was shocked but enlightened at the same time because I'm not the only one dealing with this problem I've coped with for years. I read all the articles and emails others sent in and it helped me out to understand this sleep paralysis. For a second I thought I was going crazy. After reading about all of this last night I was a little frightened to go to sleep just to find that each time I fell asleep I had another episode. Wow 3 times in one night, each one seemed to become longer and stranger. The last one I had about 4am this morning I could actually feel myself standing and looking all around my room, that was strange because normally I'm paralyzed to my bed. When it's all said and done I'm just very thankful I've learned I'm not the only insane person. Scientist give labels and titles to stuff they have no clue about and this is a subject or topic they have no clue about. Sleep Paralysis is what they so call it.
You aren't alone. The reason
You aren't alone. The reason why you didn't see anything the first couple times is because you didn't get a bad spirit. However, the one you mentioned that growled in your ear, was in fact an evil entity. I'll share one of my many experiences. This was my scariest of all, because this entity was absolutely evil and took pleasure in tormenting me. I went to visit my father in Sacramento. One night, we were up talking about ghosts and my cousin Christy and Angel mentioned a girl they kept seeing outside and in the hall way. Christy then mentioned about how an evil entity would "sleep on" her. I then said that the next time it happens to me, I am going to say pineapple and remain still to prove it wasn't a dream. My dad told me i was an idiot and that I was asking for it. And guess what? it happened the very next night. I was in the living room playing some PC game on my cousins laptop when I got tired and decided to sleep. Couple hours later, he came in and woke me up, asking where his laptop was. I reached down to grab his laptop and gave it to him. I turned over to my left shoulder and closed my eyes. Just then, in that short period of time, I began to feel heavy and as soon as I tried to move my arm to break away, it was already too late and I was caught. Yes, I was scared at this point. The television was on, and I can hear the ESPN guy talking. I opened my eyes and could see the tv. However, everything is a bit blurred(because your eyes are actually not opened if someone were looking at you). I also saw the curtain that separated the bed i slept on from my dads bed in the livingroom. The room looked exactly as it did in. At the same time, I can hear my aunts conversation in the kitchen. Just then, while i was still observing, I felt its presence. It came close to my ear and whispered into my ear with the most horrific, ghastly voice i've ever heard,"I got you now..." Right then and there, BOOM! my body was struck with immense pressure, and I couldn't breathe. My body pulsed vigorously and my heart was pounding. with a hollow and breathy voice, it laughed horrifically as I struggled. I attempted to move my right shoulder and it was impossible. Then I tried to move my legs, and that was impossible, too. However, my left arm was still free and I was able to move it. It took an incredible amount of strength to lift my forearm up an inch. But as soon as I was able to move my arm, I broke away and woke up. I must admit, that was my scariest encounter. It was the strongest and hardest to fight off. I almost thought I wouldn't be able to escape.
Next time this happens to you, make sure you fight it. It does seem impossible to move, but you have to use all your strength. Don't lay there and feel helpless and allow it to torment you. All it takes is an inch of movement and you'll be free. However, its easier said than done and some entities have a stronger grasp than others.
Thanks, I am not the only one cool!
This has start since I was 6 yrs old. On and off up to 27 yrs old. I could move, speak and yell at all. I through I was the only one or just few people but I found there are alot of people like me. I through was an evil spirit trying to attack me. This is wonderful news that there are answers and I am not the only one has experience this problem. The scary thing is that happen to me when I was about 5 or 6 months pregnant with my first child.
Can this pass on to my children?
- Asleep But Awake
- so im 15 , && ive gone through this at like my weakest times when i am very tired, i believe that they are ghosts that do this & they take advantage of when your weak , i dont believe the " scientific explanation" i could care less if anyone agrees with me or not. & ive had this happen to me at different times of the day , sometimes im afraid to even nap . last night i was on my phone & i was pretty tired so i closed my eyes for about 5 minutes & i tried to move but i couldnt it felt like something was holding me down to the ground i was able to move the tips of my finger but i felt very tired it felt heavy on top of me , it felt as if someone was on me , then i started to hear this weird noise right in my ear , it wasnt a noise that i could describe right after that i heard footsteps as if they were getting closer to me & i told myself "go in your body " i dont know why i told myself that but i did , & i jumped up & then i was fully awake & i was scared to go back to sleep . this isnt the first time , it has happened to me various times and it scares me , sometimes i think i should talk to a physic because i feel as if something is after me .
CALM DONE
LISTEN THE MORE YOU FIGHT THE MORE WORSE IT GETS I AM 16 AND I GOT SP WHEN I WAS 14 IAM NOT SURE WHAT REALLY IS BUT BUT WEN U GET IT TRY NOT TO MOVE AND STY CALM SOMETIMES I GET IT WHEN I AM IN SCHOOL.SO BE CALM.
Thank you for understanding
Thank you for understanding that this is not a matter of science. Science can only go so far in explaining things. You aren't the only one. I've had many experiences too. Unfortunately, you had a very evil entity that was tormenting you. You don't need a psychic to tell you what's going on. You should already know. A word of advice. Be careful about going out late(if you do or if you have siblings that go out late. Don't sleep on their bed or on their spot otherwise you'll catch it from them. They say when you go out late at night and come home late a lot, you bring home unwanted guests that are lonely.
It is spirits
Reposting this so that everyone that comes to this site can see the truth.
READ THIS
What you guys are all experiencing is actually evil spirits called jinn. They live in an alternate dimension to humans and they are the only other creation created by God that has free will. Thus there are righteous jinn and corrupt jinn, just like there are good and bad humans. Just like it is forbidden to humans to do certain things like lie, kill unjustly, etc, it is also forbidden for both humans and jinn to make contact with the other dimension, and the jinn that bother you in your sleep are disobeying God by making contact with you. People that get possessed are possessed by jinn. Also when you hear of devil worshipers, they are worshiping jinn. Basically all this paranormal activity that can't be explained by science usually is caused by jinn messing with our world. one of the big misconceptions is that Satan is a fallen angel, when in reality he is a jinn that was downcast by God for disobeying Him. This makes a lot more sense because the angels were created without free will, like the animals, so no angel could ever disobey God, while all the jinn have freedom of choice like humans. This is all taught in the beautiful way of life that is Islam, which means submission to the will of the One True God, Who has no partners. This life did not happen all by chance, there is a God Who created us and gave us eyes, ears, life, the sun so we can see, created us in pairs to reproduce and get benefit from each other, and so much more. God also sent prophets on this earth to tell the people that there is only 1 God, not to worship graven images or their own desires, and that God has a way that must be followed, ie don't lie, steal, kill, disobey your parents, drink alcohol, etc. All the prophets, from Noah to Abraham to Moses to David to even Jesus, peace be upon them all, all preached the same religion and way of life, that is to worship God alone and do righteous deeds and stay away from falsehood and sin, and that is what leads to eternal Paradise and protection from Hellfire, whose fuel is men and stones.The last prophet and messenger sent by God is Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who preached the EXACT SAME message that the prophets of God before him preached, which is to worship the one Creator and submit your will to His. The difference is that the other prophets were sent to their specific nations and people, while Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was sent to all of humanity, as he is the last prophet, and the way of life that he preached is the only remaining way that is in existence. Moses peace be upon him preached the same thing, but after he died the Children of Israel corrupted their religion, and the original Torah is nonexistant, and it has been altered. Jesus peace be upon him also preached the same thing, that he was a prophet and not God or the son of God, but when he was raised his way was also changed. These prophets were given miracles, Moses with the stick that turned into a snake, split the sea, etc, and Jesus curing the blind, the leper, etc, but we cannot see these miracles today. The miracle of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him is the Quran, which is the literal Word of God, exactly as it was revealed over 1400 years ago. God states in it that He will preserve this book and not allow any falsehood to come to it, unlike the other books revealed to the other prophets. Not a single letter has been changed, this is historically proven, and today millions of people have the entire thing memorized. How many people do you know that have memorized the whole Bible? The Quran is in its original language. It speaks of God, His attributes, what a believer must believe in, heaven and hell, past prophets, basically it is a guide and healing for mankind. Look up the scientific facts of the Quran, as God talks about His creation, which is completely in line with science, with many things revealed over 1400 years ago only recently being discovered in the past 100 years, such as the development of the fetus in the womb. In it God challenges anyone to make a book equal to it, or even ten verses. He says that all of mankind could not do so even if they worked together. The Quran is the Word of God revealed to the last prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him, who came with the only way of life that is or ever was accepted by God, and that is submission to God. You can read the English translation of the Quran here: http://d1.islamhouse.com/data/en/ih_books/single/en_Translation_of_the_Meanings_Quran.pdf. Don't take my word for it, read it yourself with an open mind, with the intent that you want God to guide you to the truth no matter what it may be, and He will guide you. We will all die, and we will all be raised up after we die. Islam is the religion of Allah. Allah is the personal name of God, the one Creator, Sustainer, Provider, Giver of Life, Giver of Death. The First, the Last, The Ever Living, The All Hearing, The All Seeing, The All Knowing, The Most Wise. That is your lord. If you have read this far it is because God has allowed you to read this far. And everything happens for a reason. I want to help you with your jinn problem. The only way is to submit to God and to read His Words because the evil jinn have a hard time attacking the body that recites the Word of God. Far beyond that, I want to show you the way that leads to eternal salvation, when we are all resurrected. Use your head. Just because your parents told you this is the only religion doesn't mean it is. And God doesn't accept all religions, how would the Creator and Giver of Life accept if someone directs his worship to other than the one who gave him that body and life to worship Him? The Message has been made clear, through the will of God, for all of mankind to see. Take off the veil. Question everything until you find the Truth, and seek help from your Creator. If you have any questions email me at 321abdullah123@gmail.com. I ask Allah to guide us all to the straight path. Ameen.
What I've learned / experienced with Sleep Paralysis
The first few times I've had sleep paralysis as a child, it really scared me. Dark figures. Screaming for help but can't make a sound. Or I felt I made a sound but not loud enough to wake my sister or anyone else for that matter. The pressure on my chest as though someone "evil" had been sitting on it or pushing down on it.
Initially I'd explained it to someone in my family and they didn't seem too concerned. Their explanation was something along the lines of - when you're asleep or half asleep, your body becomes too heavy for you to do anythig and that's why you feel paralysed.
When I got older I researched this "phenomenon". Since figuring out it's Sleep Paralyses and just my brain doing funky things, I find the episodes less scary then they were when I was young. The "dark figures" come later on in the episode and are not as scary as they used to be when I was a child.
The only strange thing I find is that, I feel I can move during the episode with very great difficulty but I imagine this is part of the dream. For example; I see my curtains, my floor, the night stand, the photo's on my wall, my door. I feel I can get out of bed but my head is always tilted upwards and I can never see a hundred percent. Feels like I am very short and always looking up at things that really aren't that high. Like a child. But I know I'm not. So I can move off my bed and gold onto things like the frame work of my bed or my cupboard and draws to make it across the room. It takes a long time and sometimes I end up back in the bed and have to start over. I feel myself moving, I feel things that are on the nightstand or on the draw. But I ca never quite make it to open my bedroom door.
I've dreamt of my family being inn the house. I can hear them talking and I try to scream and this time it's loud but they're making so much noise they still can't hear me or they misinterpret what I'm saying. Only at the end, someone opens my door, they're shaped like someone I know but they're completely black, no face, no distinction. And they can hear me trying to make noises but they just come close to me and do nothing. That's when I panic and start thinking I need to wake up but it still takes a while for it to happen.
Point is. I feel its weird that the hallucinations of my paralyses are hallucinations in which I can now move. Whereas I couldn't before.
It isn't a hallucination.
It isn't a hallucination. It's a ghost or lonely/evil spirit. I've had the exact same experience. I had a dream where my father and I were running away from something. It was dark and foggy and we were running through an alley way with brick buildings. Just before were about to get out of the alley, I woke up from my dream. I was no longer watching myself run from something through the alley with my dad. I was awake and unable to move(this wasn't my first encounter so I knew what I was going through). So there I laid, trying to break free by moving a limb. However, it was pretty difficult compared to other experiences and just then, I heard my dad's voice! I was sleeping on the sofa in the living room and heard my dad's voice from the end of the hall way. It was getting closer as he said, "Don't worry, I'm coming. I'm on my way. I'm almost there." I freaked out and screamed but all that came out of my mouth was desperate moans, not screams. I eventually struggled my way out and broke free from it and boy, I didn't sleep that night.
We had sort of the same kind of entity. It lead us through a dream, and then once it was ready, it woke us up in that state to torment us. There are the evil ones that growl and make scary sounds next to you and torment you. There are the lonely ones that stay with you or sit on you, there are the playful and perverted ones that will touch you and hold you and such. Then there are the ones that will lead you through a dream, and then at the end, it will disguise itself as someone you know and come to you. SCARY.
57 years old and had my first experience with this
I have never experienced such a strange feeling during sleep as I felt last night. I felt as if my body was trying to shut down, all the muscles tightened up, I could not speak, it's like the electronic or neutrons in my body were freezing. I saw goldish orange auras everywhere in the field of vision. I felt someTHING on the bed crushing me. It was terrifying. The paralysis felt very real to me. I lay wondering if it were a stroke or heart attack. I believe it was SP. I have been very stressed dealing with the death of my brother and am hoping this SP will stop after everything settles down. Has anyone experienced this after the passing of someone they loved?
just had another episode
So I just had an episode just a couple of minutes ago. I finally built up the courage to do some research, fearing that I wouldn't like what I would find. I'm relieved that I came across this article and to see I'm not the only one who struggles with this. I'm glad to see there is a scientific explanation for it, but for some reason I still feel as if there's something else to it...
This past episode really wasn't that bad. Lasted for about 30 seconds. But its my last incident that I still think about. Something about it wasn't right. I was laying down like usual when I felt it come on. Usually I get a tingle sensation all over my body. Well it happens, I'm frozen stiff. This is usually enough to freak me out so I just say a prayer and it goes away. This time it didn't. From my bedroom I can see into my living room which happens to always be lighted. Well as I looked, it was pitch black. Freaking out, I start saying another prayer. In mid-prayer, I was interrupted by noise coming from the outside. Something or someone banging on the outside of my house really hard. Still in bed frozen, I also hear thunder as if there was a storm. (were I live, we haven't had any rain since Sept.) Trying to concentrate, I start back up with my prayer only to be interrupted again by a blinding white light on my wall. In the light, a dark figure is standing there. (this next part is what freaks me out the most) As I was starting.g at this figure, a noise came out of me. It sounded like a cat growling. It wasn't me making the noise though. Freaked out, I prayed and prayed. Then all of a sudden everything was back to normal.