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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
confused
i tend to take small naps during the middle of the day, but i constantly wake up with something similar to tunnel vision, and i can't talk at all, and impossible to move. i start to freak out and try to use all my force to throw my arm across my body to wake it up, it takes a few minutes to do it and i cant go back to sleep after im in this status. as far as i know, no one in my family has this problem. is there any treatment for this? or any exams to see how severe this problem is?
Is it normal to have this at my age?
Hello, my name is Stacey and I am 15 years old. I have had several cases of SP, especially last year. I had them about several times a month. I never knew what it was, at first I just ignored it, brushed it over, until it started to occur more frequently. I became worried and told my mother about it, she didn't really say much about the matter either.
Then about November time they stopped, until a few days ago. I woke up from a strange dream which for some reason I didnt like so I woke up. Yet when I did I could not open my eyes or move my body, I felt as if there was someone in the room with me. So I desperatly tried to move my body, mostly I remember trying to lift my head, yet I could not as it felt so heavy. Also I could feel my body shaking slightly due to my desperation of body movement.
Eventually I do manage to open my eyes. The time periods that these occurances last for differ. Sometimes it feels like several minutes whereas on other occassioans it only seems like several seconds.
Another example of when this happened would be when my mum came in to wake me up for school. I could hear her, and I was already awake. I was going to get up when I couldnt move or open my eyes.So it looked like I was asleep, or even dead. I could hear her calling my name asking if I was awake, which I knew I was. Then she came over and shook me, which obviously woke me up. She said "That was wierd, it was as if you were in a deep sleep."
I am now glad that I am not the only one that this has happened too and that there are others out there. Stacey - 09/04/10
lol yeah my sp staeted around
lol yeah my sp staeted around that age to haha and i have a very similar story to yours i guess it is normal to have sp at your age cuz thats the age i got it im 17 now and i still get it
I'm really relieved to put a
I'm really relieved to put a name to what I'm experiencing and to know that others have experienced this. I haven't read through all of the posts but I just want to write this down while it's fresh in my mind.
I've had SP throughout my life, but in a normal way - maybe once or twice a year. Recently I've had it about 3 times a week after a full night's sleep and trying to wake up in the morning. A few months ago I was sleeping in a hotel room with some friends when it happened; I was scared (especially because I was face-down to my pillow having difficulty breathing) but I knew they were in the room talking so I tried to cry out for help but could not speak. When I woke up they were like dude you were breathing really heavy (which I was intentionally) and making weird moaning noises haha. It was kind of funny but they didn't try waking me up which is what I was trying to get them to do by making those noises.
I can best describe it as a point in between sleeping and being awake. The only thing that was similar each time was that right before I would wake up I would feel a pain/migraine, normally in my head (maybe 2 times it was in my chest). I can best describe this as a wide, spread-out fog that slowly, but exponentially expands inward as everything grows darker and darker, and as it does the pain increases, and at its peak when all is black, I wake up. When I'm awake there is no lingering pain/migraine or anything - all is normal. I don't get migraines ever.
Just before writing this I woke up naturally after about 4-5 hours of sleep. I got up and went to the bathroom, messed around on the computer, listened to some music, and then decided I was still tired and tried to go back to sleep. Now somehow I knew (I just felt it) that if I were to lose consciousness I would be stuck in that sleep paralysis state again; I've never felt like I could predict it happening before this occurrence. I felt myself fading about 3 times and caught myself before I drifted. Finally, I gave up and let it take me. The next few times (6-8 times) I went into sleep paralysis but directly from being conscious (I was never asleep); this was the 1st time that SP didn't occur from a sleeping state and I think also the 1st time it occurred more than once in one session of sleeping. I was awake one moment and then the next I was just frozen. The last time I wanted to sort of experiment. During this time I tried to count my breaths to guesstimate how long it was (I lost count but think it was about 2-4 minutes). I also decided that I could move my hands from my wrist to fingertips, and my feet from below my ankle to my toes (sort of futile if I can't move my arms or legs). I could control my breathing, and I could open and close my eyes (my right eye would only open when my left eye was also open). I was skeptical if my eyes were actually open because in past instances my mind has fabricated things that weren't there, so I started counting. 10 feet away on my left (was lying on my left side) was a bookshelf. I counted 5 shelves. I counted 13 books on the top shelf (this took me about 4-7 tries of focusing, refocusing, closing and opening my eyes). When I woke I counted and I was dead on. Comparing my vision to my awake vision it seemed about the same (-3.25 contact lens prescription so it's not that great). Also of the 6-8 times, about 2 or 3 the migraines were accompanied by a very large buzzing sound which was new to me. The very last time I went into sleep paralysis I realized that it was a fly buzzing around.
I'm afraid to go back to sleep right now. After I wake up I usually don't think anything of it, and usually even question if it actually happened or if I dreamt that I was paralyzed. But while it's happening, I actually am accepting that I might die. I'm not suicidal or anything and I don't want to die, but at that moment where the pain is at its peak right before I wake up, I think it's the end. Right now I think it's silly, but not when it's happening.
Hey I just read your post and
Hey I just read your post and just wanted you to know that the way you described it is exactly how it happens to me. Feels like a fog/ migraine/ and then its kinda sucked out and its over.
That buzzing sound you experience can be explained in this vid I found on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCSqT5nZ9n4
Oh and it also sounds like you are in control of the situation... by doing those counting techniques (nice work dude). Alot of the time I can't bring myself to achieving anything. So just stay in control, be aware of the situation and you will get out of it calmly...and hopefully fuck off the experience for good!
Dunno if that helps at all.
hi i had the same thing
hi i had the same thing happing to me i want to no wat is it as i read ur story i said to mi seif that was me the other night its kind crazy to me now i cant sleep
Out of body experience?
I go into sleep paralysis almost every time I lie on my back when I'm sleepy. I experiment with it sometimes when i'm bored. It feels like I can "move" my arms and raise them through the covers but I don't see anything in front of me. My vision is always a little blurry and my breathing slightly difficult. I don't really hallucinate anymore since discovering what this condition is, I think the hallucinations are usually brought about by fear. I only feel the pressure on my lower body rising then settling on the upper chest. Lately I've taken this "movement" a step further and rolled myself out of the bed and wandered around my room, while my real body is still lying on the bed. It is easy to go back (I just have to think about it and I wake up), but fascinating to explore this alternate reality. Has anyone else experienced this during SP?
i experiment too
yeah man when i started having sleep paralysis i was scared too. i couldn't move and i seen people who weren't there. i started getting it a lot so i started to play around with it too. i found that if you just let it happen and don't fight it you go into a different state of mind. i think that the fear that comes with sleep paralysis is us trying to wake up when our mind is still asleep. Anyway, when i first did this i felt like i was conscious in my dreams. the first time i was on a roller-coaster and i could fell the turns. another time i was in a cartoon and i could clearly hear music in the background, mostly when i do it im in a cartoon, it's a pretty big trip when you do it...
Out of body experience?
I have experienced this as well. If i remember correctly, the last time i went into SP i actually managed to lift my body out of bed by just trying to bounce up and down and the next thing i know, I flew up in the ceiling. When i crashed, i woke up in bed as if nothing had happened. Seriously weird, right? :)
you will be interested to what i have to say about this!!!!
i'm 31 years old male and i never knew that others experienced this disorder like i do (in fact, i didn't know it had a name!) until i ran into this site, and i'm glad to write to you about my experience and the solution that worked for me.
Although this disorder might have a medical explanation but i strongly believe that there is a spiritual side to it (whether you like it or not such things exist!).
Most of what i read here applies exactly to what i used to go through for almost the last 14 years of my life (evil, dark side, etc..) the least i can say about it is that is damn scary and physically stressful.
In my case its always connected to something evil/bad, and sometimes while i'm sleeping i can see it coming. In some cases i just snap out of it before it happens or if i'm not that quick it hits me like electricity!! I'm sure the day that science can invent measuring tools for a person's aura or brain electrical activities my numbers will brake records (if measured during the state of paralysis).
I tried so many things that worked "partially", like sleeping early, light dinners and relaxing both body and soul by taking it easy on your self. however, that made my sleep better but didn't prevent/stop SP from happening!
Therefore i decided to research this on the spiritual side (which worked!). Being a Muslim i approached our shiekh (like a priest in Christianity)and explained my problem in which he advised me to recite certain versus from the quran on daily bases. Thankfully, it worked!
Ever since i started this spiritual practice i stopped having SP after reaching a point where i was about to lose my mind over it.
The weird part if i stop reciting, i get hit with it again :(
Thanks for reading and will be glad to keep reading your input on the same topic.
Hi I have a same problem. My
Hi
I have a same problem. My brother if you can help me where to go because i am now tired, I have tried to many things to stop this problem but i am not winning please reffer me to the pastor. I am in Johannesburg I don't care which side of Johannesburg i will find the place.
Please help!!!
help
Hey, my name is Zach and I wanted to let you know that I will pray for you. You do not have to take my advice but I do encourage you to read God's Word and pray to Him. I do not know you or what you believe but I encourage you regardless to pray to God for help. I want to help in any way I can so let me know if there is anything else that I can do.
Sleep paralysis
I remeber I had this experience 4 times in my life (maybe it also occured when I was a child but I have no recall of it) and the last one happened several days ago.
The first one that I remember happened when I was 15 years old. It was very hot summer night and I decided to sleep on my porch. I was sleeping on my back all alone, my parents were in the house. Suddenly I noticed a strange, faceless figure bending over my head, staring at me. I was sure that I was awake and closed my eyes thightly hoping the figure will disappear. I was so frightened that I would not open my eyes again and after some time went to deep sleep again.
Second and third time happened several years ago, when I was about 27 years old. I was then sharing bedroom with my boyfriend. That two times I had almost the same experience: two hooded, faceless creatures standing at the bottom of our bad, talking something and pointing their long arms towards us. I was horrified, the dream was so vivid and I could not move. I was scared for me and for him.
I am 31 years old now. Couple of days ago I again had sleeping paralysis experince and this time was somewhat different. I had a feeling that someone is in the room and is crawling from the bottom of the bad over my body; I could feel my blanket moving, and wrapping over my body from the pressure of other "perons" body on my bad. I am religious, not to extremes but I do beleive in God, and started praying. After a while I was totally awake and still praying. It was horrible, horrible experience and I hope this will never ever happen again. I though my heart will burst out of my chest, I had never been scared so much in my life. I just hope that the reason for this is only my mind but I cannot put aside the fact that there is a lot of people out there with almost the same experience.
It happens to me at random times in my life
Ok so on once when I was about 15 the first time it happened to me I was so scared I saw a massive black figure at the foot of my bed and I could not move or do anything all I could do was moan moans like uncomprihensible then the figure started moving away towards the door and as soon as it left the room I was able to move and was so scared I stayed up all the rest of the night. Since then I've had it anfew times but without the figure. Mostly noe though I just have what my girlfriend describes as panic attacks where I suddenly start breathing really fast and saying no no no and literally as soon as it starts I'm asleep again. But I tell u it really is not a nice experiance.
Thanks for listening.
Sleeep it scares me
Ok well it usally happens after i woke up and ate and then go back to sleep. i dont Know why though but after i woke up went out to eat breakfast with my family and came back home, i went to sleep. Ok. I was asleep for about 30 minutes and my fone started to ring so i went to get up and i couldnt, i started to freak out, i thought i was dead.but then my fone stopped and the sleep paralysis thing stoped i read my text message and layed back down, then another 15 seconds i fell asleep so i woke up again because of my cat was making noise and it happened again so wat i did was trying to move my fingers and i could and i tried screaming for my mom but nothing came out it lasted for about 10 minutes when my sister came in and told me so weird thing about something. So i lay back down like the stupid person i am and falls back asleep (OF COURSE)and i'm asleep for a while it was about 12:00 Pm because my alarm went off because i had to get ready for something and i couldnt mive for 30 minutes because when i looked at my clock it said it was 12:00 after the paralysis thing stopped when my mom walked in and told me to get up. BUt the first time this happened to me i heard a loud screaching noise like a chalk board and it scared me so i need help and answers to make this stop because i'm only 13 and this isnt normal so please comment back and help me.
Sorry for all the mis-spelled words and puncuations
I seen hell with my own eyes I don't think its SP...
For me it started when I was five yours of age and has been going on to this day I'm now 31. I'm sure you've most likely heard this. "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."
I will say it like this...When a person is sitting in their room behind a closed door, unwilling to come out, trying to convince themselves that there is nothing on the other side; is foolish.
Whether you see it or not behind that close door is a world filled with things you've never seen. And two of those things are Good and Evil. I might not be able to touch the wind and wrap my fingers around it but it exist. I might not see the electric currents that flow through my home but it exist. And even though I don't "feel" it, the world still spins.
I say that to say this, we can put names on anything to make what each of us are going through feel like we can be in control of what's happening. You need to know that each of us are special and the enemy knows it. Ask yourself why isn't this happening to everyone? And why do we all have the same events occurring? Even though most of us a miles apart, countries apart, yet we are connected. What is it about us?
The title "Sleep Paralysis" is the door that closes our room. And we need to open that door and realize that when we die it's not just lights out and that's it. There is and will "forever" be a spiritual realm. I've seen both sides and science (which I do respect and love) can not explain.
Demons do exist and their job is to take us out, because we are important...very important to God. Each of us has a gift that we need to share with the world and that gift the enemy can't stand because it destroys his kingdom. But in order to take us out he has to convince us that...we're crazy in thinking that scary spirits exist and the boogie man is after us or the things that go bump in the night is stupid.
Once you except that the satan isn't real...then his job is done. And as you sit in your room with your door closed, the wind still moves and the electric currents still flows and the law of gravity still happens rather you believe or feel or see it or not.
And the people that need you and the gift that God has given you will be in need until you decide to take a step of faith and realize who you are and how important you are to God. Ask yourself...What if it's not SP but what if God and satan exist?
And if satan exist what if it is threaten by my being here? What if I have a special gift that God wants me to use to help save someone life? What if it is real? I prey that all will find the truth and find it through Jesus Christ. I love you all God bless.
Sleep paralysis
I read your comment asking for help regarding sleep paralysis. The next time this happens to you try to say out loud " I rebuke you in the name of Jesus Christ" If you can not speak because of the paralysis pray inside your mind for Jesus to stop this. It will stop immediately.
I am experiencing sleep
I am experiencing sleep paralysis I thought it was a nightmare but I had such since I was in elementary it was stopped when I was in High School but last year and til now Im experiencing such almost thrice a week and I always woke up,dizzy and catching up my breath but the scariest ever was that I thought I was already woke up but I just found out that I was still in my dreams then I tried to forced my self to wake up but I could not move then finally I woke up but still I was in my dreams. I had read that if you have a nightmare just try to move your hands I did I even able to bite my tongue it was wounded tho but when I woke up I still feel that I am still in my dreams it just made me cry T_T I had to get a blade and slice my skin it was painful but my brain seems felt asleep. Because of sleep paralysis I am so worried someday I may not able to wake up anymore because every time I experience it, I felt like I could not breath I wonder if there's a cure in that illness? I do see hallucination too and heard phone ringing and see's devil in my dreams creepy T_T
dreams dreams dreams
i can't believe that there is so many others who have these dreams as i do. ive had about 10 so far and i have been trying to explain to my parents about what is happening but they just kept turning it into sort of a joke...like i was lying. until i showed them all of this information and now they understand.
my last dream happened about a week ago. i felt as if i was awake and when i opened my eyes i saw the same black figure with a hood lying next to me in my bed. usually the black figure is in the corner of my room, this time it was an inch away from my face. as always i panic and feel like i can't move or scream, i try to scream and get out of my body but i cant, after about 20 seconds the figure disapears and i wake up gasping for air and crying. but then i fall back asleep. i also woke up from one of my dreams with a huge spider bite on the back of my leg...i checked my whole room, redid sheets and everything but there was no spider. i still have a scar that is big and purple from it also.
another thing i would like to add but i dont know if this is part of this dream stuff...but i wake up either at 3:30 or 3:33 all the time...someone told me that time is from a movie but i honestly dont know what they are talking about...all i know is that i sike myself out alot by telling myself stuff...like thinking to myself "if you wakeup tonight at 3:33 your going to die" and then i wake up at 3:33.
i just want all of this to go away and so far all i have read is that everyone has had these dreams for most of there life. i dont want to deal with this. its affecting me badly and i just want it gone.
i get sleep paralysis all the
i get sleep paralysis all the time. its very scary..especially wen i see things.... demons, angels... i saw a friendly angel about 2 yrs ago. she died in my brothers home and told me her name. i didnt see her face or hear her, but i knew.. she was a bright light hovering over me (this happened waking up, it was daylight..)
a week ago, a man...a demon attacked me. i havent been able to sleep since then. i leave my light on but cant fall asleep til daylight hits....
i have found a pattern.... everytime i watch the show ghost adventures on the travel channel, my strong Christian bff tells me that im leaving a gateway open. when the angel came to me.... i taunted the ghosts in my brothers home... they messed with me every night for about a month until she finally showed herself to me and made peace. these are demons. these are not hallucinations. i saw them clear as day.
the demon a week ago was erratic. he paced my doorway really fast about 5 times then lunged at me like superman flies. he was a white shadow. not bright.
im having problems finding people that relate. if anyone wants a friend who experiences the same things as u do, plz email me. maybe we can be friends on facebook.
my bff showed me psalms 91. its supposed to protect u. read psalms 91 over a bottle of oil to bless it. read it again as u spread the oil over ur body. face eyes temples ears arms and shirt and pants before going to bed. sleep with the Bible if you need to.
i am doing this tonight.
Misha from Philly
lovemishamail@yahoo.com
Protection from the other side?
I dont believe totally that this is caused by the brain!, this started to happen to me when i was 13, now im 31, sometimes it would happen every nite, or once a month or a couple of times a year, it was always very scary, a horrible feeling, sometimes it would make me see horrible things, and sometimes i would have the feeling of someone in my bed, once i tried to move and i managed to open my eyes and a big hand slapped me in the face, it was horrible, this is when i really started to believe that this things are no dreams, no one would believe me.
over the years, i started to let it happen and be more calm, and sometimes the feeling was horrible, and sometimes the feeling was so good, peaceful, as if someone was watching over me i even felt someone putting the blanket to protect me from the cold; once that i was in alot of distress cause by personal problems, i pray for help, that nite it happened again an this time i could hear my grandmum who died many years before, she was talking to me, i wanted to say hi, but i couldnt, she was touching my hands, i wanted to move but i couldnt, after this many times happened, sometimes the horrible feeling, sometimes the good feeling, it would even make me happy this to happen, i was feeling being protected, `sometimes it would happen if i went on a trip away, usually the first nite, or if i was staying to sleep in a different place other that my bed, it was as if someone was telling me that it was there looking after me no matter where i was, once i got too tired of this and my aunty a crazy christian fanatic spended 1 hour over the phone praying with me to help me to get all those dreams away, she was concern about the fact that grand mum (ghost) was involved in all this and that she should be resting in heavens and no here!, so she did what she did and then this started to happen less and less.
now im 31, i just had my first baby, this SP didnt happen to me in at all for a bout 3 years or more, but it did happen the day before my baby was born, i freaked out, i was very scared, coz while it happen i was concern about my baby, that this could do some damage inside my belly, anyway i fight it and when finally i managed to get out of bed i was feeling tired and happy at the same time, that day i knew my baby was gonna came out soon, it was as if someone was trying to tell me that it was here with me in this special moment of my life at giving birth, baby was born the day after! i was so happy,
This is why i believe that this is no just caused by the brain,
Help
My name is Zach and I am a Christian. While I do not have the same trouble as you have been having I do agree that God can and will help you if you are willing to let Him. I cannot tell you or anyone to believe in and follow anything, that is your choice. However, I encourage you to read the Bible and spend time studying its pages. God will reveal His will for you and how to overcome this trouble again if you are willing to let Him. Demons will intrude with any chance that they get to cause trouble. I have been looking at this sleep paralysis and the stories for a while now and I am not entirely sure what to think about them yet as I've heard many different stories. Some say in their stories that they are just dreams while the others say they are more so I don't want to claim one thing or the other. You have experience and from this experience I ask that you would look into Gods word to find answers. Pray to Him as well for guidance. I will pray for you and your courage to overcome this trouble. If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
~Zach~
In the name of Jesus Christ...
I rlly appreciate the emails & responses from everyone. I tried a tip from someone on here to say "in the name of Jesus Christ, I rebuke you" and it worked. I repeated it over and over til I was in a normal state. I am still a little scared to sleep in the dark (I WONT do it) but I pray aloud every night and listen to my Julie True Christian music at my bedside. I pray that God blesses everyone on this website.
Misha
I was laying on my stomach, not my back.
I share a room with my older siser because our parents decided to have someone rent the up stairs apartment. I've been having this sleep paralysis since middle school. I'm a freshman now in college. But since today is Friday, I don't have classes. My dad woke me up around 8:30am today so I can make him a 6.95 Lunch Special sign for his friends restaruant. And when I finished, I decided to take a nap until work at 2:30pm. I just woke up from my nap where I had experienced SP. But this time, it was really weird. I usually get it at night when I'm sleeping on my back. But this time, I was sleeping on my stomach with one hand under the pillow. I normally don't hear anything while this happens but I heard sharp screaming and whispering phrases in a language that I couldn't understand. I could see my hand through my hair that was covering my face and I could still hear my sister's lecture that she was watching on youtube about oligodendrocytes. While I was trying to move my body, the screaming got lounder and more violent sounding. I use to be really scared of this when it happened for the first few times but then I read about it last year, I'm pretty okay with it now. But since this happened, I'm freaking out again. I've never heard voices before and I''m not sure when this will happend again because it happens randomly. And when I asked my sister if I looked funny sleeping, she said that I looked normal.
Sleep Paralysis
This has happened to me 20 times in my 40+ years of life. It is terrifying. It only happens when I am exhausted, so if I can avoid getting to that state, I can avoid the experience. It hasn't happened now for maybe a year. If you are in the middle of a nightmare and know it is a night terror and that you can't wake yourself up, try to manipulate the monsters or scary beings into friendly, smiling faces. It might work for a second- I got that advice from a clinical psychologist and tried it. It worked for a short time but she said that the more times you exercise that effort, the more of a chance that you can control the dream. Get into a normal sleep pattern and also try to manipulate the nightmare and maybe that will help some people.
Wake Me Up Inside
I don't have dreams,only nightmares.These occur almost every day. For months now. I keep having the same one. That i'm laying in my bed (i sleep on my back)i usually have my door closed or cracked so that no soundwaves or light can get in when i'm trying to sleep.And i usually tilt the verticles to let the lighting from the street lights in. I keep having the same nightmare that i'm in bed- in the same position i fell asleep, trying to get up.I always have a full visual of my room.I see no evil. Way back- about three years ago,i am currently 16. i remember my first SP like this- it was morning and for some reason, i liked to to sleep with the comforter over my body. i actully felt something siting on me. Now a days i don't feel like somethings on me, i just feel and i've always felt paralyzed. i feel like getting out of bed but i can't and when i do get close to opening my bedroom door, i am right back where i started. I always make small advancements to my door but never truly open it . One time i had a dream i went down the hall into my parents room to wake mom, but she doesn't seem to care- she's tired and shows no interest. I feel like screaming but my voice is lost.
IT WAS TERRIBLE,the last time i had SP, i felt like i was being drained of life. I recently prayed and snapped out of it.
One things certain PRAY AND YOU SHALL BE DELIVERED.
Nightmares
Many of my dreams are nightmares, and I've learned that if you're dreaming you're in your room, it's most likely going to turn into a nightmare. Isn't it strange how vivid nightmares are? It's like our minds are in a different state than if we were just normal dreaming. But yeah, if your dream starts off in your own room or the room where you are sleeping, chances are it could turn into one of those dream-within-a-dreams, with mild hallucinations (thinking you walked to the door 50 times but you keep "waking up" in bed). And this state of mind is usually prime for paralysis, for me anyway.
Feeling held down..
I've experienced this a couple minutes ago but this time it was stronger than before which caused to research it. I can usually move my fingers slightly and tap myself awake but i found myself not being able to move at all...it was very frightening. In my mind i started shouting Jesus until i suddenly woke up... it's really hard to understand whether it's a supernatural encounter or a disorder most as scientists would say...because even though i believe that it is caused by the brain being awake while the body in still paralysed..the experience feels as though there is some element of spiritual interaction.
sleep paralysis
Sleep Paralysis sounds familiar to me since I used to experience it in childhood. I used to dream every night that my room was like a big ocean and I was just drowning in it. When I would finally wake up out of it, I would go to my mom and she would say: 'go and drink water and go back to sleep.' I was about 6 years old. This lasted for a long time.
It has happened a few time since in my life I had sleep paralysis, and bad one as described here. All of the suggestions given work like: relaxing, praying, not panicking, calling on the name of Jesus.
A few reason were given to me over time but the best solution I have found is: waiting at least 4-5 hours after eating before going to bed. It has been that simple for me: eating habit.
I know it sounds simple but after analyzing my habits - lifestyle, I found out that most of my sleep paralyzing experiences occurred when I went to bed to close to having eaten something. The pressure felt on my chest especially lying down on my back was related to my stomach area and I do relate my experience especially for those who are under stressed and their schedule may be off.
The stomach and the brain require a lot of blood to function. And when the stomach is filled up after a good meal or a quick one in or out of schedule, it demands a lot of blood to work out the digestion.
It is a known fact that while we eat we should not read and and while we read we should not eat for that very reason. And the stomach does not digest on the horizontal, meaning lying down.
So when I had those weird SP, with all the evil connection as well, I immediately connected it with: not enough water drank during the day, did I eat between meal? did I exercise? did I eat something too close to bedtime?
Sleep disorder is a symptom and the cause is often related to poor lifestyle: medications - drugs can give hallucinations, nightmare of the worst, seeing scary movies can play on the imaginations while a person sleep especially if eating popcorn, pizza, and pop with it which slows down the digestion even more during the viewing and upsetting the stomach, it could also have a spiritual side to it depending again of lifestyle but for most cases, especially children and young adult, I would suggest watching eating habits and hours before sleep without food in the stomach while lying down.
I do not cancel the spiritual side either but suggest the same approach by looking at what might bring that about. Some people maybe be tackling the spiritual world even through watching spiritualistic movie or playing with board, books on magic in the home, sometimes it is related to sexual habits as well. Sometimes it is done for fun but it can turn into reality because this under world does exist and these entities are not the protective ones which the Lord promises in Psalm 91 verse 11, 'For He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.'
While I believe in science, I also believe in the spiritual world and its power on both sides. I would not go along with the wrong side either! Search out His word for comfort and power by claiming His promises.'The angels of the Lord encompass around them the fear Him and deliver them' The reason I know it is real is because I have had cases in prison of teenagers having these bad experiences. Sometimes because they were withdrawing from drugs, sometimes because they were into spiritualism (and not on drugs) and I offered the same solutions; for some it did work because they were willing to change their ways for the better!
Just thought it might help!
With His love, odette
I experience sleep paralysis, every couple of months.
It happens most frequently to me when I take naps during the day, although it has happend at night or upon waking in the morning. It usually happens when I am sleeping on my back. This is what I feel, My mind is awake but I am unable to move anything. I just focus on my breathing and try to wake myself, It usually takes a few trys before I can awake. I also say a prayer in my mind. These episodes usually last 15 sec although it feels alot longer! when I finally do wake, my heart is racing, never do I feel an evil presence. Its just a small disorder but God helps me snap out of it.
sleep paralysis and hallucinations
i have had sleep paralysis for so long, i am now 19. the first time i can recall this happening to me was in grade school, it used to happen if i would sleep during class, but would only last for a few seconds. I started having this happen to me alot on highschool, again it would only happen in school. one time i was in class, i had my head down on my desk during a movie when i went into sleep paralysis, i was hallucinating, i heard myself moaning, i got scared because i thought the people in my class heard me, then i imagined someone was shaking me trying to get me up. i awoke to find that everyone was silenting watching the movie.
another time in school i was asleep on the couch in our senior lounge, when i went into sleep paralysis, i imagined my teacher came in the room and started asking if i was ok, but i couldnt move or speak, when i snapped out of it i was alone. Then it started happening to me at home when i was trying to sleep at night or in the morning. One time i this happened to me my mother came in my room trying to wake me but i couldnt move, she was yelling at me, and getting scared, i thought this was a hallucination but when i snapped out of it she was walking over to my bed. she thought i was dead. i feel like each more time this happens it becomes harder and harder for me to struggle myself out of it. ive researched this disorder alot and i guess some people just lay there and wait for it to end? i cannot do that. i feel like im dying or suffocating, sometimes i get over heated, it terrifies me. im seriously so fucking sick of this. sleep paralysis can happen to me like 5 times a month, then not happen for a signnificant amount of time, just whne i think its not going to happen again it does. the reason why i chose to write just now is because i was just trying to fit in a nap before our cleaning lady came and this last 45 minutes has been a battle between me and sleep paralysis, and this time was the most unusual of all.
heres what happpened this time:
It has been a long time since ive had sleep paralysis, since ive been out of highschool it has happened alot less, in fact i cant even remember the lsat time it happened.
So about 45minutes ago i was in my bed trying to take a nap when it happened. i had several hallucinations. the first time i laid there my hand was on my neck, i was choking myself, i couldnt get it off, i tried so hard to kick my blanket off because i felt like i was overheating, i tried with all my leg muscles to move them but i couldnt, the way i always get myself out of it is i relax, then i suddenly jolt and try to move my entire body quickly and thne once i can move i keep moving untill i can pull myself up and be concious. usually while this is happening i imagine that im moving my arms, ive even imagined that i did somehow stand up, but then i wake to find myself still lying there.
After i got myself out of my first sleep paralysis this morning i fell into another one. this time i imagined someone was in my house, my dad opened the door and was talking to me, he walked around my room, then went into the kitchen and turned on the sink and went downtstairs. when i pulled myself out of this, i found that nothing had changed my door was still closed and i was the only one home. then i fell back into it fucking again, this time i imagined that i pulled myself up into a seated postion on my bed and i was looking in the mirror, my eyes were pink and huge like saucers and my hair was bright pink, i looked like a cartoon, my tv was talking to me, i tried to stand up and run out of my bed room door to get help when i saw tons of coat hangers on my floor, which i thought was strange since i put them all away. then the coat hangers became animated and started running around my room, i fell onto the floor with terror, the next thing i know im back in my bed trying to wake myself up, then i imagine my dad opening the door and letting my little dog into the room, he runs up onto my bed and i still cant move, then i woke up and he wasnt there my door was still closed and my body hadnt moved an inch.
what the fuck. i have had hallucinations before about normal things happening like my dad coming in my room but the thing about me seeign myself with the pink hair and eyes and the whole coat hanger thing...not ok.
oh adn the best part is i woke up with a huge swollen spider bite on my stomach, this is the weirdest shit of my life. i dont want this i ever happen again, im scared to go to sleep, i feel like its just going to be worse next time.
During one of my episodes today i did feel like there was something else going on my room, the time where i was choking myself, i mean how the fuck did i get my hand on my neck?
does anyone who if theres a special doctor i can see? i mean i would feel so much better if i talked to someone professional, because i dont think that this is normal. my parents just laugh at me when i tell them. i cant do it anymore.
comments
I've had some pretty bad nightmares also, and have realized that you will wake yourself up if you feel enough terror. Like you said, you fell to the floor in terror and then "woke up", (i wonder what really happens when we wake up but are still in a dream. like we were on the 5th floor of dream land now we're on the 4th and have to wake up 3 more times? lol) so our minds obviously have a defense mechanism. I bet it works when awake too, heightens our senses or something...but the other thing I wanted to tell you is my secret for moving when stuck in that paralysis state. Forget the body, focus on your head and neck. You can shake it off, starting with your eyes moving back and forth if necessary, then your head, and finally your neck should give out and move. This works every time for me. Good luck!
hi
You are dealing with demonic spiritual forces. I am not trying to frighten you but rather help you. Pray to God to rebuke these evil forces in the name of Jesus Christ. The power to stop this is in his (Jesus) name. If you can not speak it out loud the repeat the prayer in your mind. Do not forget to speak the name of Jesus the Christ. It will stop the experience immediately if you pray sincerely.
I use to experience this
I use to experience this quite a bit years ago. I thought I was the only one. I was so scared and felt an eerie buzzing presence and I thought I couldn't breathe I called the name Jesus, Jesus over and over and it went away. I got rid of new age books in my house and changed my lifestyle by reading the bible, going to church etc. It seemed to help because I don't have those experiences any more.
Thank God...I pray that you all are free from this.
Frequent Sleep Paralysis
I experience this condition when I'm under extreme stress, especially for the past 6 months. (I'm 17 and a junior in high school this year.) It's been happening infrequently for a few years now, but recently it has been between 1-3 times a week. Also, I've noticed that it seems to occur after meditation. I find this quite strange.
Thanks for the article!
huh?
how long has this been happening to you and what happens to you
Good or Bad?
The Other Day My Friends Went To The Club & I Stayed At Home Alone In Bed In The Dark. Hours Later I Heard Someone In The Room With Me & It Knocked My Bag Onto The Floor Because I Heard The Keys But The Thing Is, The Bag Was Already On The Floor. So I Ignored It & I Had Fell Asleep On My Back For The 1st Time & As Soon As I Went To Sleep, I Begin To See A Man Appear Before Me But Couldn't Make Out His Face. I Soon Held Out My Hands 1 At A Time. As I Did That he Placed His Hands Into Mine. . . I Felt Safe But At The Same Time I Felt That I Was Being Held Down, Could Barely Breathe, & Wasn't Able To Speak. I Tried To Move & Wake Up My Partner But You Know How That Goes (They Won't Wake Up) But I Began To Feel That Pressure On Top Of Me & I Felt As If I Was Drowning. . .
Sleep paralysis
I began suffering with sleep paralysis as a result of tramadol addiction. I have spoken to other people through the internet who have also suffered with sleep paralysis caused by tramadol usage.
It is a very frightening experience and one which is not easy to articulate. The first time it happened I remember being asleep one minute and then the next I regained consciousness despite my eyes being firmly shut and I realised I was unable to move my body or open my eyes.
I began to struggle to move, which I could not and I tried to call out which quickly became an attempt to scream, nothing audible came out. After what may have been just a matter of seconds (although it felt like minutes), I was able to win the struggle and forced a noise out which in turn woke me up.
I began to get sleep paralysis more often and it changed somewhat in form. I started to regain consciousness whilst still retaining some aspects of unconsciousness, ie a dreamworld would sometimes continue around me. It wasn't completely fictional dreams as one may have during normal sleep: I'd tend to realise I was in bed and was trying to wake up but I would visualise the bedroom around me despite my eyes being shut and sometimes I would see something or someone in the bedroom too. I'd always manage to wake up eventually by trying to scream or shout out which would culminate in me actually making a sound.
What I find really disturbing is that often I will wake up briefly from the sleep paralysis and think to myself "must get up and walk around" or "must take tramadol" (the phenomena tends to be caused by w/d from tramadol you see) but before I have a chance to put the plan into action I will lapse back into unconsciousness and the whole thing immediately starts up again. This means I can experience the anxiety and struggle to wake up several times before actually managing to effectively do it.
Thankfully I have a boyfriend who is now aware of the situation and as soon as he hears laboured breathing or any noise coming from me he'll say something or gently shake me to wake me up properly.
I'm very concerned about this sudden nocturnal death syndrome though as I had never heard of it before and I have actually felt as if I am suffocating sometimes during sleep paralysis and this increases anxiety as I think to myself I will die unless I can wake myself up. After it happens I always tell myself that this part was just a dream but now I am not so sure.
Finally I must say that I think it is very irresponsible for religious zealots to jump on to the bandwagon of what is a genuine and very upsetting medical complaint and immediately declaim "it's the holy spirit" or some other bullshit. Keep your unfounded superstitions to yourselves: you can only do harm by spouting this kind of nonsense.
ive nad to get my friend to
ive nad to get my friend to write this i went asleep one day and woke up but could not open my eyes talk or move mabye evan think will he pull throw this
Tramadol
Tramadol wasn't even invented when I began having these, and I remember them as early as age 4, when it can be confirmed no drugs were involved. That this occurs in the CNS is obvious, and supported by the fact that I have two forms of neuropathy that cause severe pain and cancer as well.
BTW to the site owner--this arbitrary captcha that decides that some things I say are spam (despite them being simple personal reflections) and other things I say not is annoying and discriminatory. You obviously have too much time on your hands to write this arbitrary code. Also, because if my multiple disabilities, your captcha's are often painfully difficult. Keep on keeping out the disabled, we're just a pain anyway.
really weird feeling...
the other morning around 9:30 i know i was awake because i could tell i was awake but i also felt like i was still half asleep but i knew what was going on around me. all of a sudden i got this weird feeling where i couldnt feel myself breathing or my heart beating so i panicked and tried to open my eyes and get up but i could not move for the life of me!!! i felt like i was being suffocated and somebody wasnt allowing me to move. i tried screaming ''MOM!! MOM'' but nothing would come out...my mouth wouldnt even move!!! i was trying to move as hard as i could but i just couldnt...so i just laid there hoping i would just get up! finally about 2 minutes later i got up. as soon as i could move again i sat straight up as fast as i could gasping for air..it felt like something had taken over my body to be honest. i don't wanna sound crazy ..hopefully someone will see where im coming from. it was honestly one of the worst expierences of my life. i felt like i was going to die.
Me too
I have experienced basically the same thing a few times and do not know what it is. Exactly as you described, I felt like I was having a heart attack at one point.
Sleep Paralysis
After reading the many entries on this website last night, I fell into a state of severe Sleep Paralysis, characterized by constant screaming in tongues, aware of what I was saying, yet somehow not in control of the words. I have suffered from these symptoms my entire life. I am 46 years old now. It was much worse when I was younger. It began as early as age 6 or 7. And reading other people's reports of an evil, threatening presence in the room - that is spot on! I felt it again last night. I want to yell out, scream for help. And often I do, but in some unintelligible language. I'm somewhere between an awakened state and an sleep state, paralyzed physically and mentally from waking myself out of it. It is a most frustrating and infuriating feeling of being forced to endure mental torture. What is this caused from? Is this a precursor to Parkinson's Disease, as I have read on other websites about night terrors? I have always been hungry for any information about my experiences. Reading other entries on this site, now I know that I am not alone. But what is the cause????
I am so relieved that I am
I am so relieved that I am not the only one experiencing these sleep disorders. I've been suffering from them for over 20yrs and they are utterly terrifying. I get them about twice a month and it is the worst feeling. In my experiences I actually feel like someone is on top of me or laying next to me. I feel the bed move,I see images and I hear voices and they aren't very nice. Although I can't make out what these images look like or completely understand what they're saying, I know it's something evil.I had one instance not to long ago where I felt someone laying on top of me,while I was sleeping on my stomach,and whisper in my ear something in another lanugage.I could actually feel their breath. I woke up and never went back to sleep! That day I only slept about 2hrs. You would think I would get use to them after all this time,but I haven't. I'm not a very religious person,but whenever I feel myself fall into one of these espisodes,I start praying and it seems to help me snap out of it or at least the feeling of the evil presence goes away.I wonder,as did someone in a previous post,if anyone has had one that doesn't always pertain to something evil. I do hope ,like someone mentioned, that this is scientific related and not spiritual because that would cause me to lose even more sleep! I thank everyone for sharing their experiences and helping me feel like i'm not alone in this or that I'm going crazy. I wish you all a good night and pleasant dreams.
sleep paralysis
I been having sleep paralysis ever since I was 10 I'm thinking. I'm 21 now. My experiences are the worse. I see things like ghost. And I have been choked, hit, some1 has pulled me by my legs and some1 or sumthin has bitten my toes. I have been threatned and cursed at. Sometimes I even feel like I'm being sexually asaulted. The thing is that I have seen ghost plenty of times.. I have also seen the devil two times. I personally think that I'm haunted but who knows. I'm used to the sleep paralysis if that's what u wanna call it. I already know when its about to happen I hear a noise then my body starts to tingle from my toes to my brain and then I can't move I can't tlk but I do scream and I can open my eyes everything is normal but then I can see someone walking up to me from a distance as it gets closer I try to wake myself up but I can't some1 has 2 wake me up or sometimes it turns into a dream. If I wake up and go bac 2 sleep rite away it will come back and I already know that so I get up and walk around. I have fought it plenty of times just by feeling tingling I start to curse and move I get up in time. And it always tries to get me. Praying helps sometimes but not always. The best way is just wait atleast 20 mins before u go back to sleep after it happens the first time. Sometimes its more than 1 presence there I have heard females and males attacking me. It is scary sometimes but u get used to it especially after 10 years. I tell people about it. My baby daddy started getting it after I moved in with him and so did his sister. So I personally think I paranormal but that's just my opinoin.
Change the room
Guys,try change the room and see if its happening
From my personal experience,when i am sleeping in some rooms,i have problem.not all :)
Can be absolutely horrific
I feel so relieved to see people coming forward with these experiences because it is rare to share these with people without having people assume you're crazy.
I am 25 years old and these experiences have been happening to me on a very frequent basis for the past 6 years. I find myself in a state of sleep paralysis several times a month. Sometimes every night of a week. I'm learning to get a better grasp on what is happening.
1)My first experience I awoke in my dorm room during college and thought there was a wolf locked inside my room ready to chomp on me while I struggled to scream and move my body. The s.p I experienced in that dorm room became easier and easier to handle. I learned that there was no wolf, but I would struggle to move my arm and knock something over to test if I was dreaming or really awake and paralyzed. It seems that no matter how hard I try to move, I really couldn't.
2)I was staying at Notre Dame campus at an older style hotel nearby. I awoke in the middle of the night and felt a huge gush of wind rumble over my body. I was trying to gaze into the darkness of the other side of the room and I remember praying to god to help me because I truly thought something terrible was taking over me from the darkness.
3)I now understand that it is sleep paralysis on the many times a month this occurs to me. Often I do my best to just relax and re-fall asleep. I now know that the wind that I think is smothering and blasting all around me, is just my ear drums rattling and having muscle spasms. Knowing more about the situation makes it much more easier to handle when experiencing. Just the other night I thought I heard an old woman say goodnight to me.
It's hard to not think that this is some abnormal or paranormal activity, but it's such a relief to have and understand a scientific explanation :-) I hope there is more research on this in the future.
afraid to go to sleep.
ive recently started getting episodes and now i get them all of the time and each time i get them i hear a demonic voice and it is the scariest thing ever. i know that while im paralyzed im in a dream but at the same time i am awake and i always force myself to get up. ive had voices in my face, hands choking me, people hitting my bed, and people going through my stuff. im just curious, are all episodes associated with only terror? because they're always a living nightmire for me D:
iHave SP too !
Hi . Im 15 & Im a sophmore in Hiqh school ; Im so happy that i found this so that iCan understand whats Happening to me . It only Lasts about a minute but it feels weird when yuh can hear whats going on around you but you cant move or talk . & just yesterday iHeard Like alot of noise but iDidnt see any figures . The elderly say its the " Hags riding you " But id Like to learn more about this so that it doesnt get as survere as other people's cases are .
Hungarians have it too
Yeah, I'm experiencing this since last summer, and no one actually believes me when I talk about it, and I wouldn't be surprised if the doctor called this nonsense too... And not like it's a serious problem (I mean, I can live with it...), but yeah it's damned annoying.
And apart from this, I also hear and feel the pressure of my heart's beating in my right ear (and always experiencing this while I can't wake up aswell)
So no, I never saw anything evil/dark/strange cos I'm fully aware of myself when this is happening to me, and I can only wake up while I'm trying to move my legs (because that is the only part I feel of my body when it happens). And yeah, I always start to panic too, I just can't disable it.
I'm 18 years old, so I do live in stress but I don't know... I would rather want answers on how to bust this thing out, since it's clearly an illness (for me).