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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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Comments
Isaac i totally know wot ur
Isaac
i totally know wot ur going through as i have these episodes. they are terrifing... i have also thought ppl were screaming my name to wake up but i couldnt, also hearing thunder & lightning... its like im a dead weight and feel as tho my eyes are flickering so much... it sum times feels like a fit... not sure on how long it lasts for but seems a very long time to me.
Now, I'm 20 years old. I've
Now, I'm 20 years old. I've experienced sleep paralysis since 5 years ago. It happens not so often but still I'm afraid every time I experience it. I've reached the stage when I feel my body flies. Until today, I was afraid to find out what actually happens with my body. But I feel easy now when I found out that it's a common thing. I experience sleep paralysis when I feel my eyes are so heavy and I just wanna sleep but my body refuses. However, I don't think I have any sleeping disorder, maybe I just put too much stress on my brain. Thanks for the information
happend to me
im 13 this happend to me about 1 hour ago, so the night before i didnt get any sleep its 5:30 in the morning the next day im tired so well i try to go to sleep but i guess im just in that blackness
and cannot move at first i saw a small light souronded by blackness and it felt like someones face was right infront of me like im just staring at it and i think fear and my head like... i dont know how to explain this but it felt like i was just scared like scared x1000 and it also felt like
someone
was digging there fingers into my mind and shaking whit all there might while pushing me backwards it hurt alot so i just tried to stop thinking the shaking whent down little by little but then for no reason at all i thought fear again and the same thing happend again so after it whent down the second time i woke up
but it didnt feel like i woke up its like my eyes were already open i didnt think about that till later but thats wat it felt like and i woke up at 5:50 its 6:30 right now and my head still hurts a bit
when i first experienced it
when i first experienced it it was weird becasuse i knew i was awake buti coudnt move but then i saw jesus and lightning flashing behind andi tried to move but i coudnt move it got so annoying cause it felt like forever i threw a punch and hit myself in the face
please help me
okay so last night i got no sleep whats so ever. Everytime i would go to sleep i would wake up.. When i would go to sleep i would dream about something standing over my body pushing down on me. i couldnt move and i couldnt speak what so ever. my hair would stand up all over my body and i would get the chills. i got the feeling of something evil standing over me and wouldnt go away. when i would lay there i would pray and the more i prayed the more it pushed down on me. i felt it getting more aggressive as i prayed. at first when i thought this was happening for real like i was awake. but then i realized i was dreaming because at one point when it finally went away i was talking to my friend about it a friend in who i never talk to anymore. so then i knew i was dreaming this. at least i think im still highly confused about whethering im sleepin or not bc i woke up so many different times and didnt remember going back to sleep at any point in time. throughout the whole night this continued to happen and each time it happened it got worse. i have never been this scared in my entire life. just thinking about it makes me cry i have been crying literally all day today bc of this. it really bothers me. and at one point when this started to happen lastnight i was sleepin on the couch and facing the wall and when i felt it by me i seen the shadow on the wall. i have had dreams similar to this before. something standing over me making me unable to move or speak and im always scared and feel like its a evil presence, but it has never been this bad or bothered me to this point. where i dont want to sleep and im scared and i cry just thinking about what happened. im really scared i dont understand whats going on and i really need some help. can anyone explain whats going on with me? im at the point to where im buyin a cross today to sleep with.
technique.. hope this works
im having sleep paralysis since 13 yrs old. . it happen just like everybody else say. . hearing things and hallucinations. . when this happens i usually pray. . but when praying didn't work, i count to five then i force to open my eyes. ..then it suddenly stops. . the tricky part in this disorder is that you could actually see but your eyes is till close. .and one more thing. .dont force yourself to sleep because i think it happens when you do that. .
Keys relaxation / emotional change
It's nothing to be scared of. To put it in simple terms, when you fall asleep your brain gets creative - creates imagesm events etc which you may recall when you awake. When you "half wake" like this, you are taking in visual imagery, but your brain is still doing it's bit.
You react with panic, and the result is that the brain will play out "panic scenarios" and deliver a nightmare. Your panic will escalate in turn.
The best advice I can offer if you're getting the same scenario happening is to pre-prepare for it. Turn it into something positive. Give the benefit of the doubt.
Disregard the sense of "evil" as it's purely electircal imbalance or static. Imagine the figures as lonely, looking for friendship, but thanks to their "scary field" they just get rejection.
Yes it's not real, but if you pre-program your outlook in that manner, you're likely to find your initial fear turns into sympathy, which your brain will work with and push a more positive scene to you.
Sleep Paralysis,
I feel sleep Paralysis explains alot of the feelings i feel, Alot of the time i feel so drained afterwards, but i have to ask does abyone get touched or feel horny during sleep paralysis?
sleep
sometimes i get the feeling that iv been picked up and i find myself in another part of the room, one time i saw myself crawling up the wall like a lizard, forked toung and claws and eveything. My eyes wer open and my husband was trying to get me up but he couldent get me to movem i saw his face contort into a monster and that monster crawled ontop of me and started to lick my face with a rough forked toung. when i finaly was able to move my body felt like id been dumped down a ravine. My face felt sore and some of my pimples wer actually bleeding. My husband said i was laying ther for 3 hours. This happend when i lay down after work just to rest, not when waking from sleep like it usually does everyday.
Still can't buy the scientific explanation
This has happened to me only once that I can remember. A few years ago, I woke up in paralysis. My eyes were wide open, I was conscious, but could not move. There was a dark shadow figure standing over me at the foot of my bed. I felt like it was trying to find out something about me, not really reading my mind, but perhaps trying to read my soul. I stayed calm, not understanding exactly what was going on, I pretended to be unconscious as a self defense while trying to regain my control. When I did "wake up" completely (which took unexplainable effort) I heard it swiftly run out the door of my house, slamming the door shut on it's way out. It was the most invasive feeling I've ever had. The idea that an unknown entity had entered my home, and was doing something to me against my will in my sleep made me feel very violated. I feel that it had to be malevolent. It was like it got "caught" and fled in fear because it had been noticed.
I once woke up whilst in
I once woke up whilst in sleep paralysis, and when i finally got out of it, i went downstairs, drank a glass of water, went back upstairs, and found out that my mobile phone's screen and my guitar are broken. Not having anything to do about it at that moment, i went back to sleep. Next day i woke up, there was no glass at the washer, my phone was perfectly fine, and my guitar wasn't even home, i've left it at a studio the day before.
You can fall back to sleep after waking in sleep paralysis, and dream that you woke up.
You also can dream of having sleep paralysis.
Dreams are wicked stuff.
Terrified...mortified.
where do I start? Im 21 years old. I do have pretty bad sleeping habits. i cant fall asleep till real late. sometimes wake up early, or sleep until 3pm haha. but ive never had any problems or anything. well lastnight i was up pretty late layed in my bed around 230am. tried sleeping. tossed and turned. would fall asleep for a bit wake back up. stare at a wall. fall back asleep. wake back up..so on and so on until about 430am. I KNOW i was pretty much awake. but was drifting off. i was sleeping on my back ( legit..laying in the position you would be in a COFFIN..) and all of a sudden my face went to the right my whole fricken body was tingly and numb. i tried pulling my arms apart or up or to the side but i just couldnt. i tried screaming for my mom but i couldnt talk at all. ive always been scared of ghosts and bad spirits for some reason and it did feel like someone or something was on top of me holding me down or some sort of nonsense. i was absolutly terrified. literally felt like something was in my room. watching me. i also heard foot steps in the hallway ( which is why i was trying to yell for my mom because i thought it was her, but it wasnt) it lasted a few minutes then stopped and i cldnt help but just lay there. i was confused. dizzy. i was still having a little strouble breathing. i layed there for an hour before my mom finally woke up for work and i JUMPED up and had to tell her imediatly. Yes, it sounds ALOT like SLeep Paralysis, but also i had very very similar sounding symptoms to a " Mini Stroke " ( TIA ) so now im extremely worried and confused. i also have no health insurance or income to pay medical bills. what the hell should i do!? :( this is absolutly crazy to me. i cant handle this at all another time or repeatedly for the rrest of my life...not at all. thats just the most intense thing thats ever happend to me.
No evil spirits, science explained it clearly.
Does anyone else's SP episodes last longer than a few minutes?
I'm sure this explains what used to happen to me when I was a kid. Just when you're a kid you never question these sort of things. I thought it was normal to wake-up and not be able to move. Almost like your body had to reboot or something. Now it has started to occur much more frequently when I turned 18. I was in bed with my boyfriend and I awoke feeling terrified (I had just been dreaming that I landed in the ocean and was drowning, scaring myself awake. I had always had bad night terrors as a kid). I awoke and only my eyes could move. I tried to breath and felt like I was gasping, only I wasn't breathing. I'm sure I was like this for more than a minute when I finally gasped and coughed. My boyfriend awoke and instantly knew something was wrong. He shook me hard and massaged my limbs until I could move again. I thought it was sleep apnea (however that's spelled) because my dad has it and my grandfather. The next few months it continued to happen, usually when I was fatigued or after I drank a soda. Never again did it happen where I couldn't breath or where it was so severe. Just a few seconds of confusion and immobility. I am almost 19 now and just last night I went to bed very late. I had had a soda and left the light and TV on (I am thinking these things can also cause SP or trigger it) I awoke feeling extremely confused, I couldn't breath and I could not move. The moment my boyfriend noticed an touched me, it stopped and I could breath again. No evil spirits, just confusion. (I don't sleep on my back I sleep on my side. Probably why I don't hallucinate). It happened to me five more times in the time span of a few hours to the point where I did not sleep for the rest of the night. I became very pale with a green tint and my eyes could not focus. My boyfriend stayed up with me to make sure I did not stop breathing. I definitely feel that SUNDS is closely related to SP and that I may have almost died last night and that night long ago. Here are my thoughts on SP and SUNDS:
-On the nights when SP occurred I had done this:
Left the light or TV on
Drank something with caffeine or something very sugary
Slept on my side with one knee on the other, giving me very bad circulation in my legs
Slept on my right side (I assume this is because its harder for your heart to pump the blood. Sleeping in the CPR position I have never had SP. I think circulation defenitely can contribute to SP)
Had a late work shift but early morning shift
Was on the computer very late
I also found out that if you are able to wake someone up while having an SP episode, it can really help you come out of it. I now sleep holding hands with my boyfriend. If I have an SP episode all I do is concentrate in squeezing his hand as hard as I can. The moment I do, he jolts awake and begins to shake me massage my limbs, he talks to me and tells me its alright and I recover from the paralysis much quicker.
Also if you can keep yourself from panicking and thinking that "evil spirits" are attacking you, just focus your entire being on moving you leg or hand or anything. Even though it feels like you're not breathing keep acting out the calm in and out motions of relaxed breathing and soon you snap right out of it. The only reason SP scares me to death is because I believe I may become a victim of SUNDS which scares the crap out of me. (My friend's little brother died from SUNDS and it was creepy since he looked wide awake and the doctor's could not explain it)
Another thing I am wondering about SP is I recently found out that I suffer from low blood pressure, low blood sugar and that I am anemic. Do you think this can cause more severe cases of SP?
I will now be going to a sleep center to be watched because my doctor worries that I could become a victim of SUNDS and he believes it is because I have such severe episodes of SP. And I refuse to sleep until I know I am not going to die.
SP
Im 25 yrs old and suffer from the same as you- I can sometimes get a moan out and thats when my boyfriend rolls over to bring me out of it. I suffer from very low blood pressure and love my coffee. However since being pregnant I no longer consume caffien and still get SP- I do have sugar cravings and OD at times. Ill make sure to take note if it happens on nights I have lots of sugar.
It happens to me almost every day though. I also avoid sleeping on my back cos i feel more vulnerable and terrified when it happens in that position. (I used to get it like once a year since I can remember but its more and more frequent as time goes on) Poor circulation runs in my family too but Ive never thought it affected me. Perhaps you are onto something there.
My boyfriend leaves for work at about 5.30am and I stay in bed. I always leave the light on when hes not there in case I get it so I dont feel so scared- and sure enough I always do anyway and its still scary- I have actually noticed it happens more when the light is on too, but it happened once when he wasnt there and the light was off which was terrifying so I prefer to leave it on.
I never have been concerned about SUNDS cos I really didnt know about it. Now I think I should do what you will and go to a sleep centre. I tried to explain my sleep episodes to my doc once and got dismissed like I was crazy- she ended up prescribing me sleeping tablets (i think just to shut me up) which i never took cos I dont want to wind up relying on them to sleep at all. I think i will try again with a different doctor.
Other things Im experiencing which may relate- I have actually been going through a lot of stress lately- places im renting keep getting sold, fighting with my partner, insecurity and trust issues... It cant help. Ive always had really bad PMS- I wonder if hormones play a part. Ive grown up always being terrified of seeing ghosts too. I dont see things during sleep paralasis though- but still, sometimes I think that this fear is what rips me out of my sleep too early only to wind up experiencing SP. (like I feel the need to wake myself up to protect myself incase theres a ghost there or something) Man I feel more and more crazy the more I talk about it. :-(
Experience that may help
This is my first time doing research on my condition although ive had sleep paralasis for a long time. I was probably 12-14 when it began and am now 25 with the same occurances happening. I would say it happens once per month. I just wanted to share my experience with it and how ive dealt with it. Ill start by saying I do not believe it has anything to do with ghosts or spirits (I do believe in God). I believe this changes the effects its always had on me by trying to mentally gain control instead of giving it a reason to be uncontrolable. My condition is always similiar in physically what occurs however mentally it can change by my own doing. When I have a episode I usually feel it coming on and it does happen easier if im extremely tired. I have tried to stimulate it by mental thought to see if it would occur but this doesnt have much effect unless I get that strange feeling. However when it does happen I can mentally make myself fear it and have it happen multiple times in one night. Mine starts directly when I fall asleep. Basically my brain shuts my body down but I am still concious and am completely aware my body just shut down. This is where it is a very scary occurence for me because breathing cant be controlled (not sure if I am breathing or not but I try to and I cannot, that being said ive tried to control breathing for a extended amount of time while being in this state of paralasis). Extended state probably only being 10-15 seconds (I have had what im sure has been 20-30 or more second episodes) but im sure you all know 5 seconds in this state is a lifetime and I dont try to stay in it. During this time its amazing how much your brain can accomplish is thought and fear. I usually do have a out of body dream occur. I see myself in the dream from a elevated view and understand its a dream however they are typically nightmares. Typically the nightmares do inolve evil spirit images however these images did not start untill I was around 16 and my sisters boyfriend told us about "The Hag". That evil lady that gets you when you enter this sleep. Now ive never seen her but the story did make me imagine a lot of evil that might be happening during this period. But I am very stuburn and disagree with the idea that this could be the case. So mentally the images/thought have been in my brain but I work hard to tell myself thats not what it is and God wouldnt allow that to happen to me. Because of this I rarely have evil spirits actually attack me during this (although it does happen). If it is evil I tell myself in the dream to dismiss it and fight the idea of it being there. This does work if its not just to scary to ignore. There have been times were the thought was so scary and overwhelming I couldnt dismiss it. Most the time though the dream has become such a background image to me processing whats going on when I enter this state the only thing I usually do anymore is try and figure it out when it happens. The only way ive ever been able to get out of it was with trying to kick and then eventually kicking. This shocks my muscles back into action and I am able to get back up. However I have to actually get up and move. Ive tried many times to relax and go back to bed minutes afer it occurs and ill simply re-enter the paralasis. Usually I eat something to mentally restimulate myself and maybe read a few sentences about anything and then I try to fall into actual sleep which works 95% of the time.
The thing is I know there has to be different cases out there and some even being related to night terrors but I just want to say I believe my cases are very strong ones and ive had them for so long it could potentially help other with similar occurences to try and understand it when it occurs and not to get to afraid of it. The more worried about it you get the worse the images and effects will be in my experience. Its something I dont believe will stop occuring however ive learned to accept and deal with them which has helped my greatly. I have more details and experiences I could share if someone wants to talk about it. I would love to hear someone elses opinions about how they deal with theirs because what happens hasnt gotten better but my acceptance and trying to understande it has.
Hi...I was just reading what
Hi...I was just reading what you had wrote and thought I would write back. I am experiencing a lot of the same things that you say you have been experiencing for quite some time. I am 26 and have only been experincing these things for the past six months. It started with just the sleep paralysis..my body would get tingly and id drift off..I would get scared and try and move and could not...id kick my legs and eventually wake...a couple weeks ago it started getting scary..again i got tingly felt like i was drifting(i think i know when it was going to happen)..this time i opened my eyes thinking i was awake..turned over to look at my bf and there was an old lady...she was really light...white hair with her mouth open...she says nothing...I close my eyes thinking when I opened them I would be awake...i saw her again and again...i started kicking my legs and finally awoke...I do find if I stay awake for a while ill be ok...if i go right back to sleep in happens again..two nights ago it happened again..this time i actually saw myself lying in bed with my boyfriend..the lady was pulling on me...i get really scared and kick my legs and finally wake up...last night it happened to me again but first i knew to try and move my legs and i tried to keep my eyes shut..i woke up before i saw anything..woke up in a panic and didnt go to sleep for a while...its to the point I am scared to sleep...please tell me your thoughts on this..thanks so much.
Trish
INdeed BEYOND science, admit it
SOME of these may have something paranormal. But normally, it's just the work of the brain. But be aware that there ARE, in fact, cases about it that involves evil.
Evil beings are true ghosts are true.
If you read the bible you can see what Jesus Christ told the men. That those who denies the TRUTH about evil and beings are.....well, umm it's yours to judge.
Inpure Spirit
After reading most of these articles, I wanted to share some information on what really/technically speaking happens (the part science didn’t get to yet but will soon). In Judaism we have documents that explain what happens when we sleep. It's part of Jewish Law and is practice today.
One such law is washing hands with a man-made vassal such as a cup etc.
This is to remove the impure (not necessarily evil but not good either –depends on the person) spirit that enters the body during sleep --approximately 20 minutes after sleep. This is because 1/60 of the Neshama (the Soul in Judaism or more specifically Kabbala is actually 5 souls Nessama is one of these) leaves the body back to G-d (technically: for synchronization or updates if you will).
So when the 1/60th of the soul leaves something must take over --an a impure spirit does that job. i.e. backfilling the void the soul left. So when people wake up in their sleep they may feel a presents since that spirit is there. When the soul returns the spirit is forced out through the finder tips and toes (human interface for the spirits). But they don't completely leave they hold on to the finder tips and toes until the hands are washed three times each hand (Netilat Yadaim) in accordance to Jewish Law (there is more detail then that). Once this happens the spirit bonds/jumps to the water and goes down the drain –the washing needs a break in the water stream etc.. These spirits also can cause physical damage over time (sight or hearing loss e.g. you need glasses etc.) if one touches any openings in the body (eyes, ears etc. etc.) without washing hands first. This is just a small very tiny piece of information, on the soul and sleep, I though I share with you.
ps. the more good the person is the more of a void is left when the 1/60 of the soul leave the body (qualitatively speaking --not size wise since the spirit/angel multiversity is one-dimensional and there is no physicality whatsoever). Good is not what you think of your self or other say about you, it’s in accordance to G-d e.g. the 7 Nohides Laws.
Sleep But Awake
I read each statement and story put here by each person. I realize Im not alone. My dreams most my life as happen this way I am wake clearly I ear the television I hear everything around. As a kid I could hear my mom and dad talking, cleaning or just walking about in the house but I could not move, I would feel so threaten, I could feel something, I knew I was under attack, there were even events where the thing would show itself and bite and attack me amd the pain I could feel, this thing I saw is something now as an adult I lack the ability to describe, weird right. I remeber being awake lying in the bed with my cousin we both her and I fell asleep but I was awaken but couldnt move, as I looked back because I was on my belly I saw something it was very bright so I couldnt stare into this light or reflection of some sought long but it was not earthy not human and it sat on my back I cried out to my cousin who never responded. I am now 28 years old I still do sometimes have such nightmares awaken cant move threaten by creatures hard to breathe a friend of mines told me to say a pray during the attack " I plea the blood of jesus" and I have and guys to tell the truth it worked I was released and the dreams take very long to return in fact its been months. Thanks for listening. Wierdo from Chicago.
re: same thing
This is the first time I have reached out to another regarding these disturbing occurances. they happen every other night for me, and they each begin with that " serial killer in the room" type of fear. But once I get over that feeling, some really interesting things happen. I just wish that I could communicate directly with someone that is experiencing the same thing.
This time awake....
Okay, well this started for me when I was 22 and I was making changes in my life for the better and so I started to read a lot of spirtual books and started to meditate before I would go to bed. One night I layed down for bed and immediatley fell into a deep sleep. I awoke about 20 minutes later with a complete and utter sense of fear beyond any I have ever known. I was frozen and felt like something was starting to lay on me, kind of crawling up on my and put its hand over my mouth. I tried to yell out and all that would come out was murmuring like sounds and I knew someone or something was in the room so I kept my eyes shut and Thought, JESUS CHRIST, JESUS CHRIST, JESUS CHRIST and all of a sudden I sat up freaking out. I couldn't breathe until then and I sat there in a panic and reached for my bible then ran to my parents room. I told my boyfriend the next day and he said I was starting to have an OBE(out of body experience) and to let go of the fear and you will get thru it. Well forget that!
It's happened a few more times in the past years. One that still bugs me is me and my sister were at her house watching a movie during the day and we both fell asleep. I was on my side and looking at her but I could not move and it felt like something was piercing my head and ear and I couldn't talk. I was asking her for help but she didn't hear me.
So last night before I had to get up for my night shift, I had about 2 hrs left of sleep till I had to get up and I kept looking at my phone and couldn't go back to sleep. Just thinking to much and then it started and I was like HELL NO im not doing this again. I listen to my Iphone with the rain and storm sounds to block out sounds like ones I don't want to hear and when this was starting to happen the sound of my phone started to fade away with the starting of the SP or whatever. So I started to roll or something and I was abel to get out of it before it started. A few nights ago I felt something grab my toe with its hole hand and I freaked and no it was not my cats. Im 36 now and it still scares me to witts! I do believe that if you say the Lord's name it will help pull you out and I don't believe you should meditate before you go to bed at all! You become to relaxed and fall into a very deep sleep that will be difficult for you if this happens. Yes, I do believe stress is a big factor at least for me. The first time I was badly stressed and now too. I have had no one I could talk to about this without them looking at me wierdly so there you go. Thank you all for sharing your experiences with others. It helps to know that you are not alone.
1st Experience
I've had my first experience with sleep paralysis just last night. I was so bothered by the event that I googled my symptoms & here it where it lead me. What really bothers me about my episode is the dream that I had right before the incident and now reading other people's posts relating to spirits ... My dream started off pretty normal... it got weird when I started watching myself on video footage being surrounded by what I perceived as a spirit. Just as I watched myself it felt as if my body was being raised as if I was being levitated in my dream... That was the exact moment that I actually felt my body jump in fear. I believe that's when the stages of sleep paraylsis began. I layed there and could see my room, it was blury but I knew that I was some what awake. I tried to yell, cry, scream even slap myself in the face but nothing seem to work. I finally arose in fear moments later and haven't been back to sleep since. I believe in God very much so and I don't think that it's just a coincidence that many people have experienced the same thing. I'm not sure what it was or why my dream included a sprirt I just hope that it doesn't happen again...
i dnt kno wut to believe now
Thanks to everyone whose posted ur stories and experiences, I feel relieved not to be the only one here who is confused..
This happened to me yesterday, dozing in & out of a nightmare of being a part of a tribe probably in Mexico and having a small scary girl staring at me covered in mud and tribal tattoos. I was dozing in and out of this dream while my daughter was in her bedroom next to mine, I heard her playing in her crib and would doze back and forth in to this dream....
Then strangely I began to feel someone going down in me while I was dozing in and out of sleep, I closed my legs feeling no one there but was still feeling an actual tongue doing its thing right thru my legs...I moaned and felt one of the best orgasms ever...at this point I was awake but so confused and weak and tired...all of a sudden I was back in the nightmare with the little girl staring at me from afar with a wretched look.
Then it happened, I awoke stiff, blanket over my head, unable to move struck with fear because I heard my babys voice getting closer to my room.. her small jabbering voice had some how crawled out of her crib and came to the foot my bed... my mind was filled with thoughts of who could have took my baby out of her crib, am I alone, what's going on, why can't I move...
Then my eyes began rolling back uncontrollably and I felt like I was going back into a deep sleep. I couldnt fight it...
I woke up an hr later to my babys cries from her crib...I got up for her and she seemed fine as if nothing had happened...
Idk what to believe but I do know that it wouldn't hurt to pray or go to church either...and if it is scientific, then dats some scary shit!
Sleep para or is it a curse or gift cont.
Another that i left out is when i was younger my sister used to experience hearing voices as if demons would talk to her and she couldnt breathe move or anything she also said that she heard something calling her name whispering in her ear and this has to be true because she used to keep me up with her at night or sleep in the same room with me or sleep in her room and when i slept in her room i remember the ceiling changing forms and not being able to breathe or move and i told her about it and my mom had the same things happen to her my brother never seemed to have it he always kicked and punched in his dreams as if he was fighting off something because he would go into alot of rages when he was younger and still do to this day so i dont know what to call on this situation. if anyone have something similar feel free to share
Not an Evil experience for me ! Weird
I have the same thing happen to me sometimes but to me, it doesn't feel evil. When I was younger it would feel like someone hugging me really hard, or sometimes even laying on top of me, even if it was very scary, It felt to me like a ghost that like me or something. Only one time did it feel like someone's hands holding me down. Now when it happens I rarely feel like anyone touching me. It mostly just feels like i'm paralyzed. I do however hear noises like someone walking in the room, often sounding like it coming through the door and closer to me but not always that close. I have even one time felt like it was laying beside me in a protective manner. It felt like an good energy trying to comfort me while i was paralyzed or something.
I don't really understand why my experience is different from everyone else as it seems the paralysis for everyone else usually occurs with a sense of evil being around. But although it is still very scary to feel paralyzed and feel like someone is there. It is much better if you don't feel threatened . Anyone else has experienced it this way?
Me too
I've had both experiences. Starting from as far back as I remember (literally) 4 or 5. When I was 3 the apartment building my family was living in burned down. We moved into a house after that and I shared a queen-sized bed with my younger sister in the back bedroom. I had terribles nightmares and many that would repeat themselves just slightly different if not the exact same way 3-4 nights in a row.
I would also be completely terrified to sleep in my room at night. I would have this sleep paralysis. I would try to scream or move but nothing. Sometimes I would hear footsteps, sometimes I would hear people talking or felt like someone was watching me. Sometimes it would be a terrified feeling and sometimes I felt calm.
I also recall being awake laying on my stomach in bed late when everyone was sleeping (including my sister next to me) and I felt strong hands rubbing my back I froze i couldnt move. I remember after i went to sleep at night I used to wake up or I thought I was awake, and sit in my large wooden toy box in my closet across the room and talk to a man. I would never see the man just hear his voice. I don't remember what we would talk about. Then I would just get back in my bed and go back to sleep.
I know this was a really long post but I just had to get all of that out as I never really told anyone outside of my immediate family and this seemed to be the place. The 'hauntings' stopped when we moved from that house when I was 10, but I continued to have sleep paralysis sparingly from 10-19. I'm 26 now and havent had an 'episode' since I was 19. I had always wondered what it could have been.
not and evil spirit to me a comforter I would say
I was lying in bed asleep I heard something shake in my bed to my right, I turned over I heard crickets I saw green grass with a mixture of small yellow flower I roll over to my left as I was rolling over I saw a shadow of a body come from beside me and lift it shadow up with in my body and then faded away,I was so very afraid because I didnt know what was happening to me, before I went to bed I was a little upset so I feel the shadow came to comfort me,
dont think its just you
dont think its just you because this phenomenon occurs to me alot. sometimes more than once in one day. ive also never felt any malice intent although it is very scary feeling like you are in acoma...
out of body experience
I think I may have had an out of body experience. Last night I found myself standing in front of my bedroom window. The last thing I remember is being in bed. I often take a look out of the window if I get up during the night, I just can't remember getting up out of bed. All of a sudden I knew something wasn't right & that I needed to get back to my body. I concentrated as hard as I could, then all of a sudden I started floating backwards & landed with a thud on the bed or back in my body. During the floating sensation my breathing was difficult. As soon as I was back everything seemed ok, apart from feeling a little unnerved. It could have been a dream, but it all seemed so real. It's still very clear in my head this morning.
Sleep Paralysis or is it a curse or gift
This started while I was young after hearing my mom tell different stories of how her uncle died and the sounds he was making when his death was happening, I will first tell you her story about her experience with it, she said she was young living with her grandmother when she fell asleep in the bed in the middle room while my grandmother and uncle were in the living room she then experienced something holding her down she explained they looked like little green men and said she tried to struggle she tried to speak but nothing happened she then said she saw her uncle enter the room and looked at her as though he was seeing something on her and the uncle immediately came to her and started yelling get off of her get off of her i rebuke you in the name of jesus. Now she said 2 days later her uncle was in the same bed as she was walking to the kitchen and thats when she saw him making a strange sound but not moving his body at all saying his snoring sounded demonic a little after that he died. Now back to me this happened to me while i was laying in my bed i woke up but i couldnt move i couldnt breathe i could just move my eyes now this was the first time i had this happened so instead of been scared i was mind boggled thinking and asking what is happening is this what happened in the stories my mom told her friends while i eavesdropped. I then got short on breath and thats when the panic started to happen because i needed to breathe i was so much into a panic that i kicked the air so hard to finally awake from it. Now i take you back further before that started happening to me this is what happened before all the paralysis. I was around 12 when i used to have dreams of people dying and what they died by for instance i had a dream my brother died by getting hit by this white car while walking over the bridge chasing after a basketball. This is where it got weird because later in the month there we were walking over the same bridge when i remembered hey i had a dream of this same occurrence and thats when the ball bounced into the road and i saw my brother lunging to go grab it didnt hear a car or anything coming but i grabbed my brother and put him back on the sidewalk on the bridge and at that moment i grabbed him the same white car i had a dream about passed and brushed his shoulder as i pulled him away from road now that is only one time that has happened i had these dreams alot and most almost came true except for a slight change i found that if i told someone what i had dreams about they would remain safe because i guess its messing with fate itself not saying i believe in it just saying just by me telling people what i saw in my dream even if they didnt believe me the crisis was averted and they would come to me and say thank you and i didnt know why because i was young at the time. Now back to sleep paralysis im having this frequently as if im cursed or have a purpose or a medical issue but i know i dont believe science can prove everything to me science is just a way for many to feel they arent human and that they are above humans i honestly think we(the people who get sp alot) are tapping into the other percentage of our brain and can see things before they happen or seeing supernatural things that know we can see them in that state i think its not something holding us down i think its something that recognizes we can see them doing their evil deeds and try to scare us. On another note if science can prove everything why cant they find out how to tap into the other percentages of the brain, runways in pyramids etc. I still have dreams of stuff that happens to people to this day but they are random now and sometimes are just garble images i believe its like that because i try not to believe in it because i feel like im crazy thinking this way or other people can say you are crazy but what is crazy? something society believes that doesnt fit the image that it wants, have you ever taken the time to talk to a crazy person and ask what is it that made them that way? try it out you will come to the understanding that i came too there is real stuff out there its stated in almost every religion all religions have lore on different things some explaining the same things just think about it and try to be open minded instead of saying prove it you might be someone who can save someone's life
Not all has an answer
I have experienced this a few times as a child/ teenager, but never has it been like this. Last nigt I turned the t.v off and lights at 2am and by 2:12 I woke up paralyzed. I felt has if I didn't fall asleep because I watched as the time went from 2:02 to 2:05 to 2:07 and then 2:12. I felt scared because I could not move but what really freightened me was that I could feel someone of something getting close to me, coming closer to my face. I was trying to scream but I couldn't, it was like I lost my voice. I was paralyzed with may face looking towards the left which was the wall. It felt as if something was holding me down and not allowing me to look to my right, which was the side that the object was opproaching me. I was terrified but managed to breath calmly and then was able to move, but I didn't feel like I was asleep, I felt awake the whole time. About 2 months prior to that I had a similar experience, difference was that I felt something crawling up my bed. I couldn't move as I felt it crawl up my bed next to me and then I snapped and jumped out my bed and turned lights on to look for an animal or something in my room. Very scary. Science might have a theory to this as well as religious/spiritual theories but some things in the world man cannot explain.
By the way it feels good to read other similar experiences.
yeah mate its terrifying,
yeah mate its terrifying, your experience sounds the closest to mine. first time it happened i was paralysed it felt like someone was slowly pulling my sheets down my chest but i couldnt look down and see if they were moving. later that night i was paralysed again and i could see an old lady in my room walking around muttering something but it wasnt that scary just the heart beating, compared to the sheets anyway. Last night was one of the worst ive had out of 5 or 6 experiences. Mid nightmare, i woke up and seemed to be fighting to stay awake, was a little weird. I was definitely in my room on my bed paralysed and could feel what almost felt like hands sliding up my legs, was so so bad. Im quite scientific and spiritual, and have had my own scientific explanations before seeing this site but whenever it happens i find myself praying for it to stop. Sometime i can force myself to move with great difficulty and other times i fall back into a deep sleep, sometimes straight back into a nightmare i was experiencing. seriously sucks lol
I need reassurance...
Ok. so I'm 19 and this has been happening to me for about 7 months.
I have panic disorder, I may have some symptoms of Depersonalization disorder, I also have delayed sleep pattern disorder. I have a history of depression and possible bipolar disorder. I try to fall asleep but am usually woken up by a strong fear like im going to die for no reason my heart races and my eyes pop open suddenly and other times I feel like I'm forgetting to breath and I try to wake up and I can't really move but it's more like I'm frozen from fear, then i slowly move my legs, I never have a problem opening my eyes, although on a rare occasion I'll be falling asleep then I'm like oh no I'm falling off a cliff, or oh no I'm going to slip on ice. Recently I've been hearing faint whispering, I have such a fear of dying, now I read this could be linked with sudden death?!?! Can someone(preferably educated on this) Please help me, and tell me I'm not crazy or going to die. I need help. I'm really terrified. :(
Sleep Apnea
Marc,
About 3 yrs. ago I was experiencing the same thing. I felt like I was forgetting to breathe and I was. I had been on Ambian for insomnia and it causes weight gain. Then I began snoring. I woke up one night gasping for breath and dreaming I was drowning and my heart was racing so fast I thought I was dying. I went to the dr. and he said I probably had Sleep Apnea. He sent me to the sleep clinic--most hospitals have one. They ran a sleep study where they put electrodes on your head (not painful) and monitor your sleep patterns. That night I quit breathing 15 to 30 times. They promptly fit me with a C-Pap machine. It has a mask and pushes air into your lungs so you will breathe continuously through the night. There are 2 kins of Sleep Apnea, Marc. They are both dangerous and I hate to tell you but they can both kill you by having a stroke or a heart attack. One kind of Sleep Apnea is caused from snoring and the other is due to your brain not telling you to breath. It is the most dangerous and unfortunately I have both kinds. Not everyone does and while the snoring kind is not as dangerous as the kind caused by your brain not signaling you to breathe they are both bad and do not need to be taken lightly. You can go online and search Sleep Apnea and you can learn a lot. I was scared to death when this 1st happened to me. So I know exactly how you feel. I hope I have helped you. God Bless and Good Luck.
I know what Im having is not
I know what Im having is not under sleep paralysis, its more of lucid dreams/nightmares. Somatimes(twice a week?) When i go to sleep, i will feel as if Im drifting off to a state where Im aware that I am dreaming. it comes so often that i know when it is going to happen, so i force myself to wake up(by moving a body part) before i drift off into deeper sleep where it is harder to wake up. The dream is usually a nightmare, but it is blurry and not vivid, i dont really know what is happening but i feel extremely scared. It is horrible and if i wake up from it and go back to sleep right again, the same thing happen. So what i found which works is after you finally manage to wake up from the dream, take a little walk around your room before going to sleep again. It feels horrible and what is the problem with me?
Ps i am only fourteen and this started since last year? It has gotten more frequent.
I sleep 6 hours a day, which is really little i know, but i need to balance sch work (my sch is crazy) and social/online activities.
Please give me some advice/tell me how to prevent it? I will really really appreciate it, thank you so much.
yes... it started when my
yes...
it started when my grandma turn off the lights and i opened my eyes. I was awake but cannot move. I can hear a *pringing* NOT RINGING BUT PRINGING. the sounds go faster, and the when it has reach the fastest i'd wake up and feel like a melted marshmallow.
Terrifying sleep paralysis last night!
I needed to share my nightmare just to get it off my mind. I am so disturbed, I am sure it was sleep paralysis because I start out slepping with my husband in our bedroom and end up in the guest bedroom when he starts snorning :) and I could see that I was in the guest bedroom so my eyes had to be open. So I "wake up" to this large black mass in my room and it is banging around making lots of noise trying to get me. I feel that it is evil and wants to hurt me. I keep trying to get out of bed and turn the light on, I finally reach the switch and turn it on but it is still dark. I am screaming for my husband but it only comes out a whisper. When I manage to get out of bed and out of the room the thing is chasing me and I can see a hand which I slam repeatedly in the bedroom door. Then I woke up, my heart was beating so fast and I felt so scared. I just sat there in bed and couldn't move for an hour. Whay is it that most people experience an evil presence. What if I was asleep and felt it in my room then woke up a little trying to get away? It just felt so real and I could ee everything in my room exactly as it is.
awake sp - is it possible.. HELP PLEASE
hi im a 19 yr old male. just a few hours ago i was laying in bed trying to fall asleep for work tommorrow(not going now) and i suddenly stopped moving and wasnt able to move i was completely paralyzed i was tryinng to yell and trying really hard to move i think i mumbled a little and moved my toes. i was completely consious eyes open looking at my kitten laying next to me, no hulicinations or anything but still very scary. ive had 2 seizures before but nothing ever like this i finally focused all my energy on my foot, kept trying to wiggle it and moved it little by little until i "came out of it". *i took add meds called focalin yest. and not today, i just started them but used to take them and nothing happend like this. PLEASE! if anyone has any info at all please email me @killamyk101@aim.com yea i know its gay i was 15 wen i made it gimme a break.. thank you
ItsHereditary
This site is great. Lots of postings about people who know what this feels like.
The first time it happened to me I heard a Snap like fingers in my ear. Something cold grabed my toe and pulled my leg off the bed. Then I was paralazed and felt a buzzing in my head. I knew I had to wake up to stop it. I felt someone was in the room . That was 25 years ago. Since then nothing has been as bad as the first time. Always fear, always the need to wake up to stop it, always someone there. Was totally loving my life until my 14 daughter confessed to me she was tormented the same way we are. It's seems this is hereditary. There is other anxiety that goes along with this (and you know what I am talking about). I have learned to live with this, but I will not put her through that.
Finally an answer
I have experienced this for quite a few years now and have never researched why it happens. It usually occurs during a nap or early in the morning before I wake. I can usually get one eye slightly opened but cannot move at all. My occurrences almost always include voices, whispering, and visions of evil beings in my bedroom. The most recent sp happened 2 days ago. I saw something enter my bedroom. It ran around my bed and put it's face 2" from mine...making a screeching noise. As much as I know it isn't real, I am still terrified. I have found that if I fight it and try to scream, it gets worse. What works for me is to relax my stiff body, close my eyes and force myself back to sleep. It always goes away if I do that.
What I don't understand is why are all the visions evil instead of happy?
sp
i've had these same sort of scenarios since i was a child and
yes, still find it hard to fall asleep some nights because of the fear of sp and maybe not being able to break free of the paralysis.
i just tell myself that i'm getting through this and it's like
breaking free from some temporary restraint and can drain you once you do awake from this. i have been to every site possible per these feelings and it's nice to know that we all can share our like experiences on this subject
Jinn
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. I ask Allah to guide us all to the straight path. Ameen.
Response
If you want to talk about Jesus' teachings please read what he really says. For example, when he was talking about going to his Father (recorded in John 14:6)he says "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to Father but through me". So he himself says he is the only way to God. He died for my and your sins so we can through faith and not our good works, be in favor with God or experience his love and blessing. Please do not pretend that teachings of Islam are compatible with the teachings of Jesus Christ. And towards my perspective on the causes of sleep paralysis, having them experienced many years ago for a period of time and overcome with Jesus' grace and love and never had them again, I am convinced they are emotionally based, anxiety induced. You can read more about it in my post a little down.
Utter Disbelief
Sleep paralysis is NOT caused by Jinn or Demons. That is ridiculous.
Science has many cases and studies that prove just the opposite. The article above is proof of that.
Praying to God or Allah never helped me, even when I was a devout Christian. Putting Religion/ Paranormal into completely provable science is insane. It's completely backwards thinking.
The comments prove otherwise
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
If you read through many of these comments a lot of these people are convinced that another being is messing with them. That is because there is one messing with them. Check a few posts down, the long one about the guy in the military. This stuff is real. When you were a devout Christian, you were praying to Jesus Christ, who is a creation of God, just like you and I, but he is a Messenger of God. He has been raised to heaven and will come down to kill the antichrist, but currently he cannot help anyone, just like all the other dead Prophets and Messengers of God cannot help us. In fact no human, jinn, angel, or whatever can help us or harm us without the will of Allah, as He is in control of everything and nothing happens without His will. The proof is there for jinn though you just have to open your eyes. You know seances right? You think people have to been doing that for thousands of years just to play around and pretend they're communicating with something/one. The thing is though, that they never have and never will talk to dead to dead people, they always communicate with jinn if its actually a real seance and not just people joking around or profiting off it with no communication. Some fortunetellers are complete bogus, but some communicate with jinn to learn certain things. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said that when the jinn learn stuff we cannot, they say 1 truth and 99 lies. So when they tell the fortuneteller their info, the people go crazy off of that one truth and forget the lies, because there was no way he/she could know that one truth. How about Son of Sam. Pay close attention. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said, over 1,400 years ago, that the jinn can easily come into snakes and all black dogs. Son of Sam, the crazy serial killer some years ago on the east coast, said an all black dog would TALK to him and tell him to kill people. When the authorities went to his house, they found a bunch of satanic stuff. Look it up. Like I said earlier, the big Satan that we've all heard of is a jinn, and all the jinn that follow him and try to misguide both humans and jinn to do evil things, are what we know as devils. Son of Sam was a devil worshiper, meaning messing with some evil jinn, which eventually came to him in the form of a black dog because they can easily enter into black dogs. What do you think the illuminati worship? Look up the crazy rituals at the Bohemian Grove, where many influential people go and have gone, from Bush to Raegan. Its all just a coincidence? I don't think so. We have all been created. It is so clear that there is a God. And while people worship these jinn, the same types of being that mess with people in their sleep (which doesn't mean those people worship them), the only one deserving to be worshiped is the God that created everything. Not jinn, not Jesus, not the dollar bill, not idols or graves, but Allah. He created the sun that we see every day but never really "look" at, the tress that we pass by everyday like they are not there, He created the planets, the animals, the jinn, the angels, and He made it all run through science. Who made the laws of physics, did they just happen randomly? Come on. And for those that can see that there obviously is a God, Islam is clearly the only way of that God, but only those that are willing to take the truth no matter what it is will see this. What has happened in the West is that Christianity, with so many flaws and holes, not to bash on anybody but to make clear to people what is true and what is not, has failed so many people, and because of that there are now millions of atheists in America. Even though they are still less than 2% of the population, another indication, it is growing because Christianity is failing people and they are turning to a way where there are no set moral or ethical rules. Have sex with who you want, do what you want. But there is obviously a Creator. Interesting fact, that thousands of priests and ministers, when they begin to learn about their religion of Christianity or Catholicism, leave their faith after seeing that it doesn't make sense, and many eventually join Islam. On the other hand, there has never been a scholar of Islam, once obtaining the extensive and vast knowledge of the way of life ordained by Allah, that left Islam. We are beings created with strong minds, we have to use them. Look up the stories of Joshua Evans and Yusuf Estes on youtube, they break it down pretty well. Read the Quran. If you're experiencing these problems with jinn, go talk to the local imam, the leader of the mosque in your vicinity, there probably will be one because Islam is the fastest growing religion. Islam is truth. Everything goes back to God because He created everything. If you search for and follow guidance, you do it for the benefit of your ownself, and if you ignore truth and partake in evil, you do it only to the harm and destruction of your ownself. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said that if you walk towards God, He will run to you. But we have to start walking. I'll leave you with one beautiful verse, translated to English, from the Quran, the preserved Word of God, the book in which every verse is a miracle:
"Say: (O Muhammad) Is there of your (Allah's so called) partners one that guides to the truth? Say: it is Allah Who guides to the truth. Is then He Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who finds not guidance (himself) unless he is guided? Then, what is the matter with you? How judge you?"
All praise is to Allah, Lord of all exists.
There is a God and I don't
There is a God and I don't think he would appreciate you scaring people with your crazy evil stories. God want's us happy not terrified!
Someone taken over me
I started having these nightmares after feeling great anxiety which is now gone. However, it feels like a demon is trying to take over me because i'm weak. When ever this happens i feel as if I was possesed in my dream and unable to wake up even if I yelled. Someone told me to start praying. So now I start praying when ever I have no control, and I will wake up right away. I try to be brave and I even pray outloud so if anything is out there can hear me. It really sucks and I want it to stop. Im making some adjustments to my sleep from now on. Im going to put the ac a bit warmer so i dont have to cuddle the blanket and I will pray each night before going to sleep. Now that I remember I think I have always had this. I believe is something supernatural because one time when I was younger in one of my dreams I wake up and when i turned on the light it would blow out in my dream. then I would wake up for real and this event would happen. Any ideas how to stop it? im very fine during the day. its just when i go to sleep that this will happen and i dont want to be scared to sleep but this thing is taking over me
Sleep Paralysis !!?!!
Sleep Paralysis happens to me, and I am glad to have found this article because I didn't know what it was until now that I have just read it.
It has happened about 10 times a year for the past 10 years. It usually happens early in the morning, around 5am. I become conscious from my sleep, but I can't open my eyes, struggle to breath, or move, and lately I have been hearing sounds such as music or loud bangs. I used to panic and wished someone would shake me until I woke up, but now, although still terrifying, I remember during these events to remain calm. Now instead of my wanting to have someone shake me to wake up, I remember to do something such as slowly, though difficult, moving one arm or hand to snap out of this state. It is a struggle, but the next thing I know, it is daylight and I am wide awake.
My advice is to not panic. Try to remember in your sleep that this happens, and you should try to do something to snap yourself out of that state. It will continue to be scary, but you will feel more in control.
sleep fears
The first time a realised this was happening to me i thought it was an out of body experience felt my self all light and floating and would wake up with the sheets pulled up around my self as if i had tried to tie my self to the bed , but i could feel it happening and was full aware of it but could not shout out or move and was confused to start with if it was a dream , but i was aware i was trying to wake my self up so how was it a dream all strange .
I feel alot better reading some of these posts although scared that i seem to get them 4 or 5 times in one night , can have a week or two with nothing then will have 3 or 4 days in a row . and usually as soon as i hit the pillow feel it on coming with my breathing but can still get a fright although been around 4 years now , has got worse lately . I have been diagnosed with narcalepsy and cataplexic , and do take medication . which is more awful than any can imagine people think its only falling asleep and how can that be a bad thing ?? but its falling asleep with out the goodness of it , tired all the time no energy no go and the sleep fears to boot !!!
Although i was sent to a sleep clinic and diagnosed , that has been the end of my help , my local doctors dont know enough about it and the clinic dont want to know they have diagnosed me , but i get really down and upset that it is getting worse and people find it a joke and its not taken serious even by doctors because they dont understand it !!!
Scary stuff!
I have this happen to me every couple of months, its starts off that i get really really hot and my heart starts to race, then i can hear really loud noise in my ears, like yelling, and i try and wake my boyfriend up but i cant move or speak. Is there anyway i can stop this from happening?